GusMac Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 As well as lurking on here I have actually been doing some modelling recently amongst work, decorating the house and kids. So here is the progress to date. This is the kit, Tamiya's venerable F15C with various bits of AM - GT Resin seamless intakes and exhausts, Quickboost ACES II and Cutting Edge IDF Baz decals. Plan is to do it as this aircraft 840 Commando which shot down the Mig-23 I built last over the Bekaa Valley on 10th June 1982. It was flown on that occasion by Benny Zinker who shot down the first Mig-25, flew on the Osirak mission and retired as a Brigadier-General. The aircraft also claimed a Mig-21 the following day flown by Yiftak Schadmi and two Mig-23s in 1985 flown by Avner Nave who ended up as Air Force Chief-of-Staff. These are all the bits done so far. Everything was primed with Mister Surfacer 1500 black then airbrush and hand painting with Tamiya and Gunze acrylics, finally wash with a mix of Ammo's products. Some more detailed pics - apologies for some of the quality, I still can't get decent photos as I think I need a better lighting set-up. The serial number for this airframe was 80-0129 so in the absence of any exact pictures of the interior I've gone with the theory that all sent out the door after the end of 1979 had Bay 5 painted white rather than the preceding metallic turquoise-ish. If I'm wrong, tough it's staying! The Quickboost seat is very nice and I'm happier with the end result than I was with the PE seatbelts on the Mig. Painting them is definitely a test of my skills with a brush and of my eyesight! Thank god for the Optivisor. Just wish someone would come out with fabric belts for modern aircraft though. As usual comments, critiques, etc welcome. Gus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingco57 Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Good start Gus. Don't tell anyone but I always had a soft spot for these big brutish jets shhhht. Cees 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 Thanks Cees. I like them partly because they're relatively simple. The WNW kits look amazing but the thought of having to rig them scares me off. Got to keep trying to improve so maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One-Oh-Four Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Nice goings, Gus! Carry on!! Good start Gus. Don't tell anyone but I always had a soft spot for these big brutish jets shhhht. Cees 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 Thanks Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 I like it Gus! From what I know, the IDF were (and still are)continually changing both the configuration and coloration on their airframes on almost a rotational basis, so pinning down one particular scheme may not prove to be as simple as you might think...Anyway Gus, I think what you have done is great, and I'll be following along! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Thanks Dennis. Yes, you're right about the difficulty in getting exact references for Israeli jets at given time points. However, I think the Syrian Mig I did last was even worse, there is so little out there on the Syrian, Egyptian and Jordanian aircraft that it gives you a bit of licence with how you finish things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Your Mig was fantastic Gus...finish this one in the same ballpark as your Trumpy Mig and you should have a right smile from ear to ear.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Okay next steps. These are all the resin upgrades from Gary Hatherly at GT Resin primed with Mr Surfacer 1500. The quality is excellent - having always been a little scared of these big resin sets because of the clean up, etc - this has been a bit of a revelation. The clean up was easy and the fit is excellent. The casting is lovely, the fins on the flameholder are very fine but robust, so easy easy to remove from the casting block without damage. Apologies for the quality of these last two pics as they don't do justice to the quality of the casting on these exhausts. The turkey feathers especially are very finely cast and look very in-scale. Next step is to get all of these pieces painted up so I can get on with the construction of the main fuselage. Hopefully get some time over the weekend to get on with this. As usual, comments, critiques welcome. Cheers, Gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PILOTE109 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 What an extraordinary job you did for now !!!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 What colors are you planning on using for the exhaust cans Gus? I got bogged down with the myriad of tones offered by Vallejo (then, of course, the Revell 32 scale F-15C I was trying to resurrect died completely and now rests sadly back in it's box)! Cheers, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 Not sure Dennis at the moment. I know a lot of people swear by Alclad but I'm not keen on lacquer at all. I was wondering about the new(ish) acrylic metallics from Ammo of Mig Jiminez but I haven't seen many reviews of how they perform. Any of his other stuff I've used has been excellent, so I may take a punt and get some anyway so I can experiment. Gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 I've never actually tried that particular product line Gus...there appears to be so many out there now it's almost confusing! I'm following along with your build, and look forward to seeing the results of your 'tinkering s'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 A little more progress to report. The GT Resin intakes are fitted and installed. Went together very easily with a very snug fit. The exhaust tubes and interior of the burner cans are also painted, but these are just placed there for effect at the moment, as I'll install them at the end of the build. View down the inside of the inlet. I left the white resin unpainted as I think it looks ok as it is. The forward section was primed in black then painted with Gunze FS36375. The turbine is Tamiya steel and chrome with a light wash. Inside of the burner can was primed in black then airbrushed with Tamiya XF-2. Then used Ammo's panel line washes for grey jets to give the wear effect. I felt a dark wash would be too stark and I'm happy with the outcome. It looks better to the naked eye than I can show in a picture. Finally, an attempt to give a view down the tube, again my photographic efforts don't do it justice. There's a lot more colour variation than is apparent here. The fit of the resin was again excellent - the flameholder and exhaust face just dropped in and the clean up needed to mate the tube with the can was very easy, even for a resin novice like me. As always, comments, critiques, etc welcome. Cheers, Gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Looking good Gus! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Good Afternoon Gus;- Any progress at all? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi Dennis, been busy assembling the main fuselage and wings. Bit of filling and sanding to do next. Will post some pics soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Look forward to it mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Evening all, bit more progress to show which might be the last for a while. Off to Normandy for a couple of weeks soon so 'me' time will be limited by packing, organising kids packing, etc. Anyway, construction of the main fuselage is where I'm at, with the then obligatory filling and sanding. Apologies for the photobomb! I decided to take the pictures outside to see if I could get better light but Mitzi, one of our Jack Russells, decided to have a nosey to see what I was up to. I followed advice seen on other forums to attach the top wings to the upper fuselage before joining the lower fuselage but I was still left with a bit of filling required. I should have been more ruthless and cut the tabs which are meant to get screwed in off completely as this seemed to be what pulled things slightly out of alignment. Fairly big bit of filling required around the covers for the cannon. Seems a strange idea to have part of the area attached to the upper half which has to slot into the lower section. Just a means get to get poor fitting to my eyes but that's the way it is. Overall, I'm fairly happy with where I am - my filling and sanding skills are definitely improving with every build and getting some good quality sanding sticks has certainly helped. I know this is one of the earliest Tamiya lsp kits and that they've moved the game on in a major way since, but I can't say I'm overly impressed with the fit and engineering of this. I'll now commit further sacrilege and say it's no better or worse than the two Trumpeter kits I did last - the P47 bubbletop and the Mig-23. Maybe it's just the common denominator - me! Perhaps it's just my hamfistedness but anyway I'm happy that after the rest of the construction it'll be fine under a coat of primer. See you all in a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beychevelle Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 cool beast it is! One thing...the ailerons are both facing down, while they should face opposite directions I think...one down...the other up same amount. I dont think they're landing flaps, but I'm not an expert, so I might be wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 Thanks Rob, I'll check the Osprey book I have and have hunt online to see if I can find any photos to clarify that. I'm certainly no expert, so could well be I've got it wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padubon Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 GusMac, You can leave both ailerons on the down position. Their hydraulic actuators bleed pressure while the aircraft is not being powered causing the ailerons to drop on their own weight. The flaps on the other hand, have locks to keep them in place. Good build and I am looking forward for the completion. Paulo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 Thanks Paulo, that's good to know. Especially as I had attached them using CA and it might have made a bit of a mess to change it. Gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padubon Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 You are welcome. Paulo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis.E Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Have a safe and happy vacation Gus! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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