This is my Revell 1/48 F-15E Strike Eagle which I have been working on since July this year! The kit contains decals for the 1998 Tigermeet at Lechfield in Germany, but I have converted it to the 2001 Tigermeet F-15E, AF 91-601, from Klein Brogul Airbase in Belgium. The reason for this conversion was because I had seen this year's plane on operations while out spotting at RAF Lakenheath in the summer and it was the only Tigermeet plane I have ever seen 'in the metal'.

This is my first model where I have attempted to weather the plane, use decal setting solution and varnishes to get a nice finish.

Construction begins with the cockpit. I used the kit cockpit, which is very
nicely detailed. There is a decal on the sheet for the instrumentation,
however I hand painted it because it gives a better finish overall and its
more satisfying to know that it is all your own work.

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I painted the model using Humbrol paints and the weathering is done with watercolours, which I apply around the panel lines, leave for a few moments (until the paints are drying) and then rub off, in the direction of airflow around the plane, using moistened paper towels and Q-tips. The results are very effective.

The painting of the Tiger Scheme was all done by hand using Humbrol gloss paints. I masked off the areas where the squadron badges should go with masking tape, by tracing the shape of the decal onto the masking tape, then cutting it and applying it.

The decals that I got in the kit were faulty, because when I first tried to apply them, they kept silvering and peeling. I sent an email to Revell and quickly received a spare sheet through the post several days later.  When comparing the sheets, I noticed that there was more detail of the tiger markings on the replacement sheet compared to the original.  The original sheet proved problematic when using microset to apply the decals also, as they began silvering again. The second set eliminated this problem. The serial number was made using the serial number decals of both the Lakenheath and Nellis F-15E included in the kit, turning a '9' upside down to make the '6'.

I finished the model off using Humbrol Matt Cote varnish and I am very pleased with the final result. An excellent kit that I highly recommend, great fun to build!

Special thanks to the webmaster at natotigers.org who allowed me access to
his 91-601 pictures before he had put a link up to them on his site for
reference. Also to Steve 'Cloggy' Cladingboel, who gave me many useful hints
and tips and searched the net for pictures of 91-601 for me.

Also, special thanks to Revell of Germany, for sending me out a new decal sheet very swiftly and also to Chelmsford Cameras Ltd (UK) for allowing me the use of their digital camera.


Daniel 

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