F-15CSE - Finished

[Diamondback]

That is looking good. Eagles are simply awesome aeroplanes. I'd rather see the tip missiles slightly in and under tho, would just make more sense to me. But then again, there prob is no reason why they couldn't be right at the tip ?

As elmayerle occasionally reminds us, the original design had a bigger, squared-off tip--the clipping and deletion of STN's 1/9 were required for stability and control, since addressed with FBW systems on the SA model.

[DogfighterZen]

Is that primer or final color? Either way it looks good--the original plan for one of mine (the one that was stolen) was a metallic black base-finish with purple and silver stripes, the other metallic-blue with red-and-white.

Given that these two aircraft are AI-controlled, I think you can guess what any '80s kid would name and paint a pair of F-15s with Attitude Problems as... LOL

They must have looked good, i love dark colored aircraft! But i think i was probably too young in the 80's too know what you're talking about on the name... The color is just Tamiya's Nato Black and one of my first attempts at trying to paint a model... I should have stripped the paint before i started work on it but now i'm just gonna lightly sand it before the final colors... Speaking of which, i might be painting this in a different scheme than the one i first
chose. Might just go with the normal dark grey the Eagles use.

That is looking good. Eagles are simply awesome aeroplanes. I'd rather see the tip missiles slightly in and under tho, would just make more sense to me. But then again, there prob is no reason why they couldn't be right at the tip ?

Well, i thought of that at first cause i didn't wanna cut the wings but if you think of it, American fighters normally have the wing tip mounted missiles and Russian carry them underneath. I'm sticking to American design philosophy on this one. It really doesn't take much out of the wing, i'm not going to square it off, i've measured the F-16's wing area on the tip, without the slats and used that on the Eagle's wing. A squared off wing was not on my plans, i don't like it, i'd rather have the missiles under the wings and keep the original shape, which i like a lot. Seen from above with the missiles, it's more of a Raptor wing with the launchers squaring off just a bit of the tip. If you ask me, the Raptor is really a stealthy modernized version of the Eagle so, could it make sense to do this to the wing, even if no launchers were to be used there?


[/quote]
As elmayerle occasionally reminds us, the original design had a bigger, squared-off tip--the clipping and deletion of STN's 1/9 were required for stability and control, since addressed with FBW systems on the SA model.
[/quote]

Thanks for the bit of info, i did some reading a while back and just didn't find the reason why they didn't use the wingtip missiles on the Eagle. 

So i'm going to proceed and put on some LAU-127s from Hasegawa's weapons sets tonight. Pics soon after it's done.

Hasta La Pasta, Bacani...

[Diamondback]

They must have looked good, i love dark colored aircraft! But i think i was probably too young in the 80's too know what you're talking about on the name...

One only exists as plans and parts in sealed boxes, the other was stolen before it could be finished (and outside of SketchUp CAD, I only ever started mocking up the paint schemes on a spare top-section that arrived broken)--back in the 1980s, three of the Transformers bad guys were F-15s, and the templates I was using for these models' paint schemes were the more recent Masterpiece Edition resculpts of Skywarp (black) and Thundercracker (blue)... though those pink fins on SW gotta go, I'm thinking more reverse the wing colors with black stripes on purple surface. LOL

[DogfighterZen]

Sorry, Diamondback... somehow i skipped this post and only read it now...  

Go right ahead, that's why I posted it! It's just as scary in A2G, especially since internal datalinks rather than pod-carry allows another useful station when packing two AGM-130s or Have Naps--not to mention an "SDB Spam" option... kind of an A2G version of the A2A "Macross Missile Massacre" above.

A2A is what Tiger Eye is built for, they rack Sniper-XR for A2G normally on TE-equipped birds. (Sniper-XR is also pretty good in A2A, which is why I chose Israeli Pythons for their dual-mode IR/optical guidance--if you make the mistake of taking a shot at these birds, you don't even get the courtesy of enough warning to eject.)

Maybe a standard-profile CWB would be good for 2 AMRAAM and 4 Sidewinder-class. I once saw a CWB concept back when the Eagle's  FAST-pack suite was being developed  that woulda been a one-bay Macross Missile Massacre, but I can't  remember where.

ALE-50 you might be able to adapt from a Viper--it replaces the outboard pylon with a LAU-129 (similar to 128) rail below.

If I were working in 1/72, I'd be starting with the Hase SG, probably--big reason for 1/48 is I can handle the math and fab on custom parts easier, and the "Super Pave Low" these things are conceived as being able to air-launch from was started in this scale first. ("Air-launch" being "have fighter sling-loaded, get up to 20K', start engines and emergency-release sling".)

Also worth noting: LAU-12_-series are dual use, carrying both AMRAAM and Sidewinder mounts. They might be IRIS-T compatible, but I know that Pythons would take some modification--IDF birds have a 128 on one shoulder each on 2/8, with a LAU-7 (old Sidewinder rail) for Pythons on the other shoulder.

First of all, thanks again for all the info and the permission to use your ideas!
I've been trying various configurations with the pylons and missiles to see what i like best and still not sure. I also have Pythons in the weapons stash but i only have 3 pairs and i already have plans for them... Maybe i'll use a pair or 2 on the Hase kit. Maybe buy some more and use a pair on this one... Hard decisions!
All i know is that i'd like a reasonable weapons load without making it too bulky... As this is an F-15C, it wouldn't move dirt anyway so it could be a proposal for air superiority variant of the Silent Eagle. I believe it would be cheaper and lighter than the SE, so for countries looking for air superiority fighters, probably a better choice than the F-16... I don't know, i'll finish the work on the airframe and then i'll choose. Might even end up with this: 4 missiles in CWB, 4 on bottom fuselage hard points, and the 2 on the wingtips. Could carry the winders on the wing tips, if flutter wasn't an issue, then it it would be the 120's as with the F-16. Supposedly, studies have shown that the weight helps to counter the flutter of the wings. Maybe not an issue with the Eagle's wing as it is much thicker than the F-16's wing. I know, in the end, this is a whif, so i'll probably just end up going with what looks better to my eyes...

One only exists as plans and parts in sealed boxes, the other was stolen before it could be finished (and outside of SketchUp CAD, I only ever started mocking up the paint schemes on a spare top-section that arrived broken)--back in the 1980s, three of the Transformers bad guys were F-15s, and the templates I was using for these models' paint schemes were the more recent Masterpiece Edition resculpts of Skywarp (black) and Thundercracker (blue)... though those pink fins on SW gotta go, I'm thinking more reverse the wing colors with black stripes on purple surface. LOL

Ok, now i get it.. I remember the first Transformers cartoons, used to watch and loved it back then, but i actually would prefer if they were all aircraft instead of cars... Would make some pretty unusual paint schemes.

[Captain Canada]

Very true with the US wing tip version !

[DogfighterZen]

Hey guys, last week was busy in the RW, so not much whiffing time...
Did get to sit down last night and added a few items, F-15SG type RWR sensors on the tails, slightly relocated...
Also changed the wingtip missiles to 9Xs to be more like Boeing's other fighter in production, the Super Hornet. In fact, it was just because the 120s seemed too big... I still have to get the right place for the pylon so the missile won't stick out of the wing too much.




Also managed to scratch build the IRST and Forward Looking Sensors for the front fuselage, finding the right place took a patient google search but led to good pics so it should, at least, be something quick... it would've been, if the tweezers din't shoot the part across the room a dozen times!!
The last time i almost lost one bit and was about to build a new one... still, found them every time.



Let's see, next is to decide weapons load and corresponding pylons, polish the canopy, touch-up the cockpit painting, sand the whole surface with high grade sand paper to even out the horrible brush-painted layers of paint on it and it's ready for the paint shop.

Hasta la Pasta! 

[Captain Canada]

She's really getting there ! Looks huge !

[DogfighterZen]

She's really getting there ! Looks huge !

Thanks, Captain! I must admit that recently ive been caught up in the Eagle fever and have been considering the idea of buying at least one more of these Italeri F-15s, as they're cheaper than Hasegawa's and both the C and the E kits have the Fast Packs. Might try to build the weapons bays on the CWB to display open on one of those... in a few years time, of course!

[Captain Canada]

I like that idea. That's exactly why I've been thinking about getting an F-35 ( 72nd scale ) just so I could play with the weapons bays. I'd also like to do an F-15 with the conformal pods some day as well. Maybe we'll see each other in a couple of years eh ?

[DogfighterZen]

I like that idea. That's exactly why I've been thinking about getting an F-35 ( 72nd scale ) just so I could play with the weapons bays. I'd also like to do an F-15 with the conformal pods some day as well. Maybe we'll see each other in a couple of years eh ?

Yep, probably will!  Now, you have helped me out with that post, took me out of my stupid mode, i have the Academy and Italeri F-35A kits, and Orange Hobby's F-35C, all of them have weapons bays but i think only one of them will show them open, so the other 2 can easily give up their parts... And i'm forgetting about the F-22's side bays for the winders, those are very close to the ones on the Eagle's CWB.
Thanks for the idea!

[Captain Canada]

No worries ! How is the Orange Hobby kit É seems expensive but from what I`ve seen it looks excellent !

[DogfighterZen]

Well, IMHO, it's worth the money. It may seem like a steep price for a 1/72 kit but, at around 30£+shipping, it's around the same price as any limited edition Hasegawa kit, has lots of stuff in the box, including photo-etch and a tow tug for carrier dioramas. Check out this review, helped me make my decision.
http://www.hyperscale.com/2015/reviews/kits/orangea72001148reviewmd_1.htm

Did a little work on the F-15 today, took the chance to try out Dragon's white putty, the stuff really drys up fast but i like it. Still, couldn't be bothered with sanding as i'm wrecked from work...

[Captain Canada]

Thanks for the link  The tails are looking good !

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks, Captain. I've been sanding off the putty and i have to say, it's the second twin-tailed aircraft i'm changing and this is the part what i'm starting to dislike about it... i have to figure out a way of simplifying this kind of work on that area. Would've been better to not have the fins there, just the fairings themselves. Attaching the fins after the fairings were properly blended in, even if i had to fill the fin to fairing joint, it still would be less sanding, and easier too. But that's how it goes, right? Trial and error...
Should be able to finish the PSR and do some touch-up work on the cockpit tomorrow, pics soon after it happens.

[FAR148]

Like what you did to the intakes.



Keep it up!
Steven L