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THE AIRCRAFT
Conceived in the 1960's and built in the 1970's and 1980's the F-15
was originally designed as a single purpose aircraft. "Not a pound
for air to ground" was the design team's rallying cry, as they built an
airplane that was intended to win and maintain air superiority over contemporary
and projected adversary aircraft. As it turned out the F-15 spent a
mercifully short period in the 1980's carrying and dropping green, drag inducing
devices, and a separate model (the F-15E) was built to perform the air to
ground mission, but the Eagle has stayed relatively true to that original air to
air intent. It's historic kill ratio (over 100 to 0 at last count: the
best ever in air combat history) has been achieved as a result of the excellence
of the airframe, avionics, weapons, tactics, and the training of it's pilots. In
order to maintain that superiority there have been several modifications to the
aircraft through the years, the most significant being the MSIP (Multi-Stage
Improvement Program) program of the mid-80's to early 90's. This is the
standard which all F-15 A thru D models in both the Active and Guard inventories
are presently at. From a modeler's point of view this program resulted in
several internal and external changes. Internally the cockpit was modified
with an MPCD (Multi Purpose Color Display) replacing the old armament control
panel on the lower left of the instrument panel. Externally the biggest
difference was the ability to carry the AMRAAM. While pre-MSIP jets were
theoretically capable of doing that, they never had the software in operational
units to support it. In addition, some MSIP jets (all C models and a very
few D models) carry an extra antenna on the right, rear tail boom, and the rear
formation strip light was modified to make room for the electronics for this
antenna. In another program from the early 90's small antennas were added
at the top and bottom of the base of the radome as was an F-15E stick grip.
During the mid-90's the F-15 program was essentially starved of funds, but with
a change in political administrations and the delays of the F/A-22 program money
started flowing again. The APG-63 (V1) radar, 220E engine kits, FDL,
AIM-9X, JHMCS, and BOL dispensers are being added fleet wide over the next
several years, while the AIM-7 will finally be phased out. There was also
a small program during the late 1990's that installed the APG-63 (V2) AESA
(Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar on 18 jets based at Elmendorf AFB.
Even after the Raptor is introduced, it is still anticipated to maintain a
sizeable number of F-15's, primarily in the National Guard, with even more
planned upgrades.
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ASSEMBLING THE
MODEL
The subject matter was an easy choice as was the
research for it. At the time I built this kit, I was flying the F-15C at
Langley, and the late, great Repliscale had produced a couple of sheets of
Langley F-15's; one of them included one of my aircraft (81-036). This
particular aircraft was a pre-MSIP jet, but it had chaff/flare dispensers
installed. I elected to build it with more of a "European" type
weapon's load (i.e. only one external tank) rather than the more typical three
bags used in Southwest Asia; I'm saving that for when I do the MSIP jet that
carried my name. The best starting point for an F-15 in 1/72 scale is the
Hasegawa kit. While it has some incorrect panel lines and subtle shape
problems, as Dave Whalen has thoroughly documented, it makes a perfectly
acceptable replica of a pre-MSIP C model OOB. This was combined with
Hasegawa's Weapons Set III, for the AIM-7MH's and the AIM-9M's.
Construction started, as usual, with the cockpit. The control stick in the
Eagle does not end in a canvas boot; it is mounted on a half round
"axle;" I used sectioned sprue for this. Carved sprue also
provided the throttle quadrant and throttles. The sidewalls and rear
bulkhead were detailed using evergreen strips and sheet plastic. The ACES
II seat is a True Details product. I'm not a big fan of this product (or
Verlinden's) because the headrest is undersized, but this was pre-Neomega days.
On the positive side it does have the option of canopy breakers on the headrest,
and, as far as I know, was the first to include this feature. When
painting the seat cushions and parachute packs, the one rule I've seen is that
there are no rules; the colors were highly variable. The seat cushion was
painted sage green, and the back cushion O.D.# 34087; I've often seen that
reversed. The parachute pack on top of the headrest is black green, while
on the seat shoulders it is medium gray. The seat belts are medium gray
and the shoulder harness and survival kit straps were painted a lightened green
FS# 34092. The hardware was done in matte aluminum; this stuff is never
shiny in the real thing to keep down internal canopy reflections. The
cockpit was painted gray Polly S FS# 36231, and Bay 5, being a post 1980 jet,
was done in gloss white, while the canopy actuator
was metallic green. The ICS boxes in Bay 5 are way too short, so they were
scratch built, and the canopy jettison actuator also had to be added to the
front of the bay (from a chopped down AIM-9P). Once the fuselage halves
were assembled the VTR recorder and cable was added on top of the coaming out of
scrap plastic and wire, while the HUD came from the old Model Technology etched
metal set for the F-15. The main fuselage went together with no major
problems, the wings though needed CA type filler along the top joints. The
chaff/flare dispensers were borrowed from an Airwaves A-10 etched metal set and
glued on in front of the main wheel wells; although not totally accurate,
they're close enough. The forward fuselage and vertical "stabs"
were also added at this time with no major fit problems. The most
"fiddly" part of the kit was the nozzles. The major sections
were assembled onto their base, then the support struts were added. To do
it over I would reverse that order and apply the struts to each nozzle section
first, then glue them to their bases. The burner cans themselves were
painted Gunze# 336 Hemp, to simulate the ceramic coating they have in real life,
then streaked with black. The nozzles were painted a mix of matte aluminum
and matte black. These assemblies were added after all painting was done.
Finally, the windscreen (which needed putty to blend it in), pylons, speed brake
and small parts were all added at this point to make the model ready for
painting. One comment here. In real life both the speed brake and
intakes require hydraulic power to be actuated; although, the speed brake can be
manually lifted up with no power on the jet, then propped up using a red brace
on the actuator. Generally, though, if the aircraft is shut down the
intakes are up and locked and the speed brake is full down. While all
this was going on I started working on the AIM-7's. As they come out of
the box, they represent AIM-7E's, which means that they have two external cable
tunnels each running half the length of the missile, where as the AIM-7F and
later versions all had a single tunnel running the whole length of the missile
up to the radome. The old tunnels were sanded off, and a new one made out
of strip styrene replaced them. This work is now unnecessary, because
Hasegawa Weapons Set V includes accurate AIM-7F/M's.
PAINTING AND DECALING
The first thing to do was masking the canopy and tack
gluing it on.
The NMF areas on the rear of the jet were also masked at this time; they would
be the last things painted. In a reverse of the normal order (to make
masking easier) I painted the dark ghost gray FS# 36320 (Gunze H307) first, then
the light ghost gray FS# 36375 (Gunze H308) was applied over this. In
order to provide identical, mirrored patterns I used a single set of masks. I
painted one side, let it dry, removed the masks, turned them over and applied
them to the other side, then sprayed the other side. For those of you who
have a copy of WAPJ's Gulf War Debrief, the cover has a terrific shot of a
Langley F-15 refueling during the war and is an excellent reference for markings
and weathering. One difference in Langley jets from other Eagles in the
CAF at this time, was that the canopy frames were not the red brown commonly
seen. Instead they were also painted in light ghost gray. An aside here
for you fans of exact FS numbers; in real life the light ghost gray came pre
mixed, but the dark ghost gray was created by
adding black in a certain proportion to it. This resulted in the
occasional foul up, and, when too much black was added during one repaint, a
Langley jet (tail# 81-037) ended up in an aviation magazine with the caption
that Langley was testing an experimental scheme; don't believe everything you
read in the aviation press! That particular paint job lasted all of two
weeks, before the wing commander, who was never noted for his sense of humor,
had it repainted. Once dry the model received a coat of Tamiya gloss
acrylic. When this dried the decaling started; it was a combination of
Repliscale sheet# 72-1037, Super Scale sheet# 72-488 for the black stencils, and
some odds and ends from the spares box. The kit sheet also supplied some
markings, mainly the formation strip lights, which are a light yellow (not green
or yellow green as is often stated) when turned off. By this time frame,
the Eagle fleet had switched to all black stenciling, so that's why Super Scale
sheet# 488 (which is actually for the F-15E) was used. In
addition, these jets are repainted on average once a year, so most of the
stenciling had long since been painted over, including the aircraft data block
on this particular jet. Only the major servicing info, and no step
markings remained. The one exception to this was the centerline tank.
These were removed for repaints, so they retained the original full color
markings long after the jets had switched to all black. At this point I
painted the CFT and outer pylon connection points red. Once dry a
matte coat of Testor's Dullcote was sprayed on. This was doctored by
pouring off some of the clear carrier fluid after letting the bottle settle for
a few weeks and then highly thinned for an absolutely matte finish. In
real life the finish on the Eagle is absolutely matte, with the exception of the
command, wing, and squadron insignia. These are essentially large
"zaps" on the aircraft and are gloss finish. If I reproduced
this on a model though,
there would probably be a stern lecture on the use of the Micro Scale method, so
I kept them flat also. Once the matte coat had thoroughly dried the NMF
areas were masked off carefully with the stickiness of the tape reduced where
the tape covered applied decals, in order to prevent pulling them off when
removing the tape. Testors buffing aluminum metalizer was used as a base
with some panels masked off and sprayed with titanium. Lastly the hinge areas of
the intake ramps were painted gloss ADC gray FS#16473 from the Model Master
line.
FINISHING UP
At this point tape was removed, and the nozzles and
landing gear were added as well as the doors. I used a pure black, not a
scale black on the tires, because they are replaced so frequently (every 4 to 5
missions typically), that except for the tread, they generally look like brand
new. The anti collision and navigation lights were painted using darkened
red and blue-green colors appropriately, and the TEWS antennas off white.
The canopy was now removed and painted matte black on the inside.
Detailing on the canopy inside was done using sprue and scrap plastic along with
the etched metal Model Technology set mentioned earlier. The seat was
added and the canopy was glued on in the open position. Following that
weathering was accomplished; at this time frame, most of TAC went under the
adage that a clean jet flies better, so not a lot was done. The streaking
from the control hinges was done using drops of acrylic black paint smeared in
the direction of the air flow, while the gun vent staining was accomplished with
dry brushing and pastels. One crew chief, looking at the model, did
comment that the wheel hubs were too clean and some streaking behind the wheel
bays should have been done During this time the missiles were also being
detailed. The rocket motors of the AIM-7's were drilled out slightly.
They were painted a base of FS# 36375 (as were the AIM-9's). The nozzle
section on the Sparrows was painted red brown, while on the pointy end the
radomes of the AIM-7's were painted an off white. They are a ceramic
material, and the cream/yellow color I see mentioned occasionally is an urban
myth, probably created by Lou Drendel's paintings. The wings and fins were
painted a matte metallic dark gray. Decals were then applied, which meant
stenciling on each section (seeker, warhead, rocket motor, and GCS) along
with the four fuse windows that characterize the AIM-7M series, and the usual
warhead and rocket motor stripes; by the time I finished each AIM-7 had 11
decals on it. Moving to the AIM-9's, the rocket nozzles were not drilled
out but left flat, and the nozzle caps were painted a light yellow. The
noses of the AIM-9's were painted a graphite color, while the fins were a matte
metallic gray (pewter being close). The TDD (fuse) and the extreme nose of
the missile were painted silver, while the rollerons were matte
aluminum. Finally the seeker "glass" was painted a dark tan
color. Again each section had stenciling decals placed on it, only 6 per
missile for these. These were then added to the kit, along with the
centerline tank, and I called it a wrap; the completed model now sits in a
display case at work. The Hasegawa kit is a reasonably easy build, but
being pre-ALPS days, this project actually stretched over a couple of years,
while I waited for Repliscale to release their decal sheet.
Below is a "hero shot"
of me in front of an F-15.
Murph
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