The F-15, in all its guises, has long been my favourite aircraft. I had hankered after the large Tamiya offering for some time, having built a few in 1/72nd and 1/48th, but I always found the cost to be a bit off-putting. As luck would have it I stumbled across a model at half price so couldn't afford not to buy it! I was very impressed with the detail at this scale and realised why Tamiya and other manufacturers have to charge so much for models of this calibre.
I decided that to try and do justice to the model I would use aftermarket detailing sets and improve the already excellent kit by some super-detailing. Inspired by models on ARC and F-15E.com and using the wealth of reference material on these sites I set about the task of creating a mini-Mudhen.

The place to start for me was definitely the cockpit. I poured over every possible photo I could an decided to create a sheepskin effect for one of the seats as I saw that on the sites and thought it would add a little interest and realism. This was achieved by coating the seat cushions and backrest with a thin coat of filler and then teasing the texture out with the bristles of an old toothbrush. Seat straps were added from the Eduard F-15E cockpit detail set, RBF tags were adapted from the kit ones and from Verlinden.

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For the coiled up oxygen hoses I wound fine wire around thicker wire and added cable from even more wire, secured by strips of lead foil. The map lights were coiled wire again and the throttle quadrants were beefed up using "Greenstuff" available from Gamesworkshop stores. For the instruments I filled each dial with white paint, drizzled black ink into them (which left the details showing) and then finished them off with some Klear. The CRT screens were cut from film negatives and aligned slightly closer to the front of the panels before being washed with blue and brown inks to give the impression of slightly smeared t.v screens. To finish the cockpit area I cut out the sidewalls and added pipes and hoses for effect before assembling it, added the available switches from the Eduard set and detailed the sidewalls of the fuselage. I also spent quite some effort detailing the nose wheel undercarriage leg before I completed the nose section.

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For the HUD I had been very impressed by the models of Douglas Chan and Massa Narita on F-15E.com but decided to go a slightly different way. From the pictures in the Lock-on book the HUD seemed to have a pinkish tinge so I opted for that. I mixed some Citadel Magenta ink with Johnsons Klear, dipped the kit part in it and let it dry. I was very pleased with the effect and I think the colour is about right.
I had decided that my Eagle would be modelled to appear as if it was on static at an airshow and so the covers were modelled over the ejection seat pitot tubes and the decals were left off the CRT displays as they would be switched off. The front section was assembled and the instrument shrouds added to complete the nose.
I was staggered by the size of the model and decided to build up sub-sections first and then complete the kit by assembling the sub-sections together. If anyone can suggest an easy method of dealing with such large models I'd be interested to hear them.

Now I'll talk about the main undercarriage and the intake ducts/jet exhausts.

From the many reference photos on ARC and F-15E.com along with my own pics and the Verlinden Lock-On book I wanted to add a more detail to the main gear legs, wheel bays and gear doors. The Eduard F-15C detail set gave me some details but I added the rest from scratch. Brake pipes were added from wire, chrome paper for the oleo strut and various plastic rod for other details. I hollowed out the kits rubber tyres to allow the side walls to bulge and scratch built a set of wheel chocks to represent some that I'd seen at RAF Waddington in 2002/3.

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For the jet intakes I followed the kit instructions, but for the jet pipes I had bought a pair of etched metal aftermarket parts from Mr. Parkin at Flightpath. The kit exhausts are very good, but the Flightpath set takes it to another level. These etched metal sets are models in their own right, very intricate, delicate and minutely detailed. I painted the components first and then slowly and carefully assembled them using super glue. Mr Parkin stresses that these kits are not for beginners and patience is required which I can whole heartedly agree with, but the end results are well worth the effort and very pleasing. Incidentally, these metal exhausts don't bounce very well as I found to my expense when I caught one and knocked it off my modelling table! You know the sound an eggshell makes when it breaks...........if the port motor looks less tidy than the starboard one, you know why.

My model was to appear as if it had been parked up at an airshow and weaponry would be kept to a minimum but I spent some time painting the pylons and rails as the kit items are very well detailed, I drilled out various holes and added cabling inside the CFT rails and weathered the targeting pods. The only weapons on the aircraft are one AIM-120 and one AIM-9 on the wing pylons both from Flightpath, and a pair of scratch built travel pods on the rear most CFT mounting points. RBF tags were added, again from Verlinden, and the undercarriage legs weathered using artists pastels to represent brake dust.

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I now turned my attention to the avionics bay and radar. Although the panels would be displayed in the closed position on the finished model I decided to add a bit of detail for the fun of it! I used lead wire for additional cabling in the avionics bay and detailed the radar dish with parts from the Eduard F-15C set. The metallic green colour was mixed using Citadel acrylic colours available from Gamesworkshop stores. I also detailed the gatling gun and bay but haven't had the door open on that to this day!!

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So far I have the nose section assembled, the main undercarriage detailed and fitted and the jet intakes and exhausts built and painted. I thought it was time to turn my attention to the main bulk of the fuselage. The kit parts were joined and the resulting gaps filled and sanded as best possible. The F-15E style two piece rear formation lights from the Flightpath exhaust set were added in place of the kit items and scratch built exhausts made at the rear of the CFTs. These replace the heavily moulded kit items. The bare metal panels under the fuselage were hand painted using a mix of Humbrol metalcote shiny aluminium and a drop of metalcote steel. The exhaust behind the cockpit was painted with the same colour after it had had its louvres opened up a bit.

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The wings were assembled, tail fins added and stabilators affixed. I painted each of these items individually before fitting them as I was using Tamiya spray cans (I don't own an airbrush). I applied the markings from Eagle Strike for a Lakenheath bird and although it wasn't the serial number of the aircraft I'd seen it would represent those I'd viewed at the RAF Waddington airshows.  (As an aside, this particular aircraft was on static at the Royal International Air Tattoo, held at RAF Fairfird, U.K. It was in the markings of the 492nd FS in 2004)

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I chose to use Tamiya's AS10 Ocean grey spray paint as I think the colour more closely represents the true colour than their TS48 Gunship grey which is a little dark.
I also added the seal between the CFT and the airframe from Evergreen strip and fitted the auxiliary air intakes from the Cutting Edge upgrade set. These had to be slightly modified to give a more accurate looking profile.
The U.K. based aircraft seem to suffer from the weather more than U.S based birds seem to. I therefore applied some weathering using artists pastels to the more heavily travelled/weathered areas. A matt varnish from Gamesworkshop was sprayed all over to seal in the paint taking care to avoid the bare metal panels. Great care must be taken as the metallic finish is easily upset by masking fluids or varnishes.

Probably the final task for me was the canopy. I had not been looking forward to tackling this and was quite daunted. The main canopy of this model was already detached from the sprue when I opened the box and as I began sanding the mold line a small crack became apparent. A telephone call to The Hobby Company, Tamiyas distributor in the UK, and one week later a new clear sprue arrived. My thanks go to them for their prompt and efficient service. I took great care of this canopy and finally got it smooth, dipped it in Klear and let it dry. I added a small amount if brown and black ink to the Klear which gives the canopy a very subtle tinted look similar to the full sized aircraft.  After adding the remainder of the Eduard detail set to the canopy I tweaked the stay and rams a little, painted the boarding ladder and she was nearly complete.

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The photos were taken outside in natural light, in front of a picture I took of the RAF Waddington horizon, to give the model an appropriate back drop. I am very impressed by the models of Peter Dron amongst others and wanted to replicate that kind of realism. Please let me know what you think. The base is MDF, dusted with pastels and scored using coarse grade sandpaper to simulate a concrete apron. The caulking is merely thick paint and oil spots and spills were added using inks.
I very much hope you like my MUDHEN. Thank-you for taking the time to view it, any comments, good or bad, are always welcome.

Guy

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