New Project 1/144 F-15B ACTIVE 2D

  Well it has been a long time since I have put up anything on here.  Been busy with various other bits in my life.  All fun and games believe me!!! Anyhow... this is a project I have entered myself into for an STGB (Single Type Group Build) over on Britmodeller.  Since I love the semi-arcade game Ace Combat, I thought I would do something different from all of the various Mudhens/Ra'am's/Baz's and Eagles.  I decided to do one of my all time fav planes, the F-15B ACTIVE 2D, also known as the STOL/MTD.  At the time I wasn't too sure if I wanted to do this version...

  Which is the proper NASA version, but me being me I wanted to do the ACE Combat version which is this one.

 Turns out tho, that the host of the GB will let me do both, so I am. :) Well I being a two seater I decided to use the excellent Revell 1/144 F-15E Strike Eagle.  I am not going to post the box art as we all know what it looks like by now, if you don't, google-fu it.  Onto the parts tho.

   Just look at the detail on this bugger, it's great.  Gonna have fun trying to bring out the detail in this one, when I can figure out how to bloody do it!!!

  I just love the CFT's, just a damn shame I am not going to use them tho.  However I do have some other F-15C's that I might make into the squadron that was based in Iceland as they used them.  The actual squadron escapes me right now tho.

  Why are those cans just so hideous?!  Good job I am not going to use them eh??

   I am going to replace the pretty crappy no-decal tubs with the Retrowings set which came out about 3-4 months ago.  I expected great things from these little baby's and they didn't disappoint!! :D  I have since bought a newer kit of the F-15 and the decal sheet has been changed to include the cockpit Instrument Panels (IP's).  I will still be sticking with the Retrowings stuff tho, I just love their gear.

   This is my failed attempt of the tubs, not too bad I dont think.  Now its hard enough to find ANY decent pictures of the ACTIVE as it is, let alone the cockpit or how it would of looked.  So I am taking the wild assumption that they are going to be like the F-15E, as this actual aircraft was the test bed for the F-15E prototype.  I have a picture of this plane in "lizard one" camo loaded up with Rockeye bombs.  Very cool!

   The seats, now this is also a kinda assumption as I have found loads of different coloured seats in my hunts for info.  So in the end I went with what I had in my paint draw, so it if the colour was the wrong shade.

  
   Now here is the best result ever!  The canards on the real aircraft where spares from an legacy F-18, I just happen to have some spares from the folding wings kit, also from Retrowings.  So I gotta order another set (I got about 12 F-18's to make anyhow so it's no biggie anyhow) just to get the tailplanes.  This picture was taken so you could the general idea of what it would look like.

   Here is the canards attachment points, being that the actuators, motors and stuff was in there, they removed the gun on the left hand side.  Not a big problem for a NASA aircraft, but I am pretty sure that "Bedivere" would like to have that gun!!!

   I tried to scratch build the nozzles, now there is supposed to be a gap between the two nozzles.  I am going to have to remake these again, please be aware that the card is 0.4mm thick and the width of the nozzles paddle is only 8mm.  I don't think I done too bad for my first attempt!  Gonna do better with the second model tho.

  And finall a muck up of how the plane will look once the nose is on.  I gotta use loads of filler on her to blend in those engines, which will be fun.  I was expecting that really so I can not complain.

  More updates as and when they come!

  Peace!

  Dazz