The last ADC Eagle.
Hello everyone first finish in a few weeks.
This is the not-too-good Academy 1:48 F-15A, I've had this in the stash for a fair number of years and had always intended to build it as a Bitburg machine fully loaded with wall-to-wall Sparrows'n 'winders. That idea went away when I 'impulse bought' Superscale sheet 48-753 which has this superb scheme for the 5th FIS out of Minot AFB in the mid 1980's.
This unit swapped it's F-106's for F-15's 1984 and was dis-established just three years later along with the rest of Air Defence Command. Back home at the Duxford museum we have an F-15A in this scheme and it always looks very impressive, so I guess there's a (very) tenuous personal link.
OK to the kit - well it's 'OK'; the fit is mostly fine - the intakes though' are a nightmare, there is some question as to the contours of the fuselage/airbrake area aft of the cockpit and the instructions are woeful. However with a lot of perseverance and a continuous supply of strong coffee it can be hammered in to submission. For paint I've used Xtracolour enamels throughout - still my favourite brand of paint, there's an old Aeroclub white metal seat in the pit and other than that the only 'extra' is an AIM-9P from the old Hasegawa weapons set 'B'. I HAVE to mention the stencils - these come from one of the first ever Microscale sheets issued back in 1986 (48-063) I used the entire sheet and they behaved impeccably, not a hint of silvering, not a single tear, man those folks in Carson City knew what they doing back in the day !
Definitely not one from the 'top drawer' but looks quite imposing in the cabinet (as long as you don't look too closely). My thanks taking the time to look and/or comment, and as ever all criticism, comments and questions are welcome.
Ian.
Well done Ian, I have built this as well quite awhile ago. It is in a box right now to be rebuilt as it has suffered some damage one moving trip. It does go together quite well. Not as accurate as the Monogram kit, and the Hasegawa F-15 is more labor intensive. Still a nice build. I agree with Xtracolour I love to use them as the 2 Greys used in this scheme are more distinctive (Lt Ghost Grey 36375/Dk Ghost Grey 36320). And you can see in your pics the 2 shades quite well. Thanks for sharing.
Looks pretty good from where I'm sittin', Ian, despite any perceived (real OR imagined) drawbacks. Never have done the Acadamy Eagle, but yours turned out well, I must say.
Great looking albino! Would have loved to see a few more close-up pics to get a better look at the stencils and detail work. Despite your concerns, it turned out wonderful.
Hi Greg
I'll post a couple of close-up's on the iModeler FB page if you want ?
Great looking Eagle. The last F-15 that I did I got the greys all wrong.
Looks great Ian. I like the colours you've achieved, and the exhausts look cool!
Yep, those grays look pretty good, certainly an imposing machine as you say.
A true beauty. You did an amazing job on this Eagle!
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the comments as ever. Next for me is to get back to the F-8 that I started a few months ago but in the background I'm working on a couple of F-4 builds, which you'll see in due course.