Looks like I'm the only wingy thingy builder in this group of tread heads. Great work so far, by the way!
I've started on the F-15D. I've got the base dark gull gray in the cockpit and white on the wheel wells, intake trunks, etc. Here's a couple of in progress shots.
The canopy and windscreen are among the parts that Great Wall remolded due to shape issues with the original parts. This gives me the opportunity to show a before and after shot of the mold line along the top. It's hard to photograph but you can see it at the rear of the bottom canopy:
These lines are inevitable when they have to mold a bubble canopy that curves in at the bottom. You just need to have the right tools to clean it off, which I did with the top one in the picture. Here are my tools:
You need to be careful handling the parts so as not to crack them when sanding and polishing. I tried to be but still broke off one of the hinges at the back. Happily, I was able to cut the same hinge off the old part and glue it on to the new one.
I also had to clean up a couple of pin marks inside the intakes that I was afraid would be seen:
I didn't do some of them further back as they won't be seen and I'm lazy.
Finally the kit seats looked a little anemic so I'm substituting a set from a Revell F-15E that I didn't use on that kit. The Revell seats are on the left and I think look much better.
That's all for now. My office is closed today for Veterans' Day so I may get some more work done later.
Michael
By the way, my trip to Israel was inspiring indeed! We visited Latrun and I had a hard time not building armor for this campaign, but I need to build this F-15 for a review. On the other hand, while staying at a hotel by the Dead Sea three F-15s buzzed us very close, so there ya go!
M.
And about the Achzarit, it's so easy to build and paint. The big issue are the tracks. I sended an e-mail to Meng about it. Let's see the answer.
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