Wolfman63

The F-15E Dual Role Fighter was carefully packed up with a CD of all the build photos (always included in commission builds) as well as a brass nameplate. Two days later it arrived at the client’s home with no issues. He then placed it and the nameplate in one of Grandpa’s Cabinet display case. He is extremely happy and proudly displays it. You can see all the final photos in my Commissioned Work section at https://davidsscalemodels.com/commissioned-work/1-48-hasegawa-f-15e-dual-role-fighter/

The Eagle is complete! I finished applying the decals and then installed all the weapons. The canopy was polished , detailed and painted. Earlier I trimmed off the kit HUD and replaced it with a photo etch version using clear acetate film for the HUD glass. The canopy was then mounted in the open position. I did a final weathering of the exhaust and some detail painting to complete the aircraft. As for the kit, back in the day Hasegawa rushed the F-15E kit to the market by taking their F-15D and adding some “E” parts. While the kit resembles the “E” version it is not quite accurate to the real aircraft. Aside from the aftermarket decals and photo etch accessories this client supplied kit is straight out of the box. The fit is very good and the instructions are laid out well. I cannot comment on the kit decals as these did not age well. The aircraft now needs to be carefully packed up and shipped to the client. Thank you for following along! See more photos and details of this build from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/1-48-f-15e-dual-role-fighter/

The F-15E build continues. This week all the bombs and missiles were assembled, painted and decaled. Starting with the bombs, these were painted drab with aluminum fins. They were then mounted on the racks. The AIM-7 missiles were then painted. For the AIM-9 missiles I cut the tips off and made the sensor head out of clear acrylic gel and painting them with Tamiya X-19 smoke. You can see how to do this in the Tips and Trick section at https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/how-to-make-laser-and-ir-sensor-heads/ Next I worked on the exhaust area by painting it with the Vallejo duraluminum Metal Color and weathering it with some blue, brown and black pastel chalk. The landing gear and tails were then installed. The kit decals are very brittle and yellowed due to being in storage for so long. I looked thru my decals sets and found a set of Afterburner Decals set (# 48-031). These are F-15E Strike Eagle flagships from the 366th FW at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. I will be doing the F-15E 87-0210 366th WG CO aircraft 2003. This aircraft features the "Let's Roll" decal on the left front fuselage. I am in the process of applying the many, many stencil decals then on to the specific aircraft decals. See more photos and details of this build from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/1-48-f-15e-dual-role-fighter/

The build of the F-15E Dual Role Fighter is moving forward. I assembled the exhaust cans. The detail on them is very good. The kit even comes with photo etch parts for the turkey feather rods and control links. I painted the turkey feathers section using Vallejo’s Metal Color Jet Exhaust. It gives them a nice burnt metal finish. The base ring of the exhaust cans were then painted with Metal Color Steel. For the inside I used light gray, dark gray, and black pastel chalk. The outside I used dark gray, brown, and black then used blue and brown on the base ring. The intake vanes were painted Metal Color duraluminum with the intake ducts painted white. I was able to get the seam between the intakes halves filled with putty. Once the intakes were installed I assembled the main part of the fuselage then installed the forward section and the wings. The fuselage was then base coat painted with FS36118 (gunship grey). I then started on the centerline tank and weapons. The kit CBU’s lacked detail. Looking thru my spare parts drawers I found some Eduard Brassin resin CBU’s and opted to use these instead of the kit ones. I am currently working on all the weapons. The aircraft will be armed with the CBU’s, 4 sparrow missiles and 4 sidewinder missiles See more photos and details of this build in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/1-48-f-15e-dual-role-fighter/

Update - Just letting all know that the Aircraft was packed up with a brass nameplate and shipped to the client. It arrived without any issues. I also recommended to use one of Grandpa's Cabinets Display Cases. The aircraft will be presented to his Father on Father's Day. All the final photos can be seen at https://davidsscalemodels.com/commissioned-work/1-72-hasegawa-p-2h-neptune-of-vp-4/

They look bluer in the photos, but they look a little too blue as well.

I created a tip in the Tops and Tricks Section on my blog on how I mask canopies. https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/masking-with-kapton-tape/

This next build is the Hasegawa 1/48 F-15E Dual Role Fighter. It is a commission build for the same client as my last one. It will be built mostly out of the box but I will be adding an Eduard cockpit photo etch detail set. The first thing I noticed was the canopy and wind screen have a seam that runs down the middle. I sanded the seam down with 800 grit sand paper then went over it with 2000 grit. Once the seam was gone I polished them. You can see what I use to removed seams and polish clear parts in the Tips and Trick section at https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/how-to-repair-clean-and-polish-clear-parts/ I then started on the cockpit. The ejection seats were detailed with the photo etch accessories and some spare decals for the labels. The cockpit tub was then detailed with photo etch side panels. The instrument panels were then sanded down so that the photo etch accessories could be added. The cockpit tub was then assembled and installed into the front section of the fuselage. I cut off the HUD glass mount as this will later be replaced with a more accurate photo etch replacement. Starting on the rest of the fuselage and the exhaust cans. See more photos and details of this build in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/1-48-f-15e-dual-role-fighter/

The 1/72 Hasegawa P-2H Neptune (P2V-7) is now complete! Before we get to the final photos there are a couple of details I needed to add. I first took a photo with the aircraft outside. Seems that different camera’s show the weathering differently but natural sunlight shows off the weathering better. Now on to the last detail, the nose has a frame that protects the crew member while giving him a place for his feet and legs instead of resting on the clear nose. The kit came with a small frame that looked nothing like the actual aircraft. I started with 30 AWG wire and cut 8 pieces. These were bent and tack soldered together. The nose frame was then painted and installed. I then used EZ-Line fine to add in the antenna. With the aircraft completed, I am waiting for the brass nameplate before I can pack it up and ship it to the client. Seems the USPS is experiencing some delays and tracking keeps changing expected delivery day. Once it arrives I will post a few photos of it packed. The client purchased one of Grandpa’s Cabinets display cases. Once he has the display case and the aircraft together he will send me some photos and I will post them here. Thanks again for following along on this special build. See more photos and details of this build from start to finish in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/hp-2h-neptune-p2v-7/

Work on the Neptune this week has been very tedious. First, I had a lot of questions and comments on why I use kapton tape. So there are a couple of photos on removing the tape masks on the canopy. I then installed the landing gear. The nose gear did not have the landing light so I scratch built the housing from styrene rod then made the lens using acrylic gel. Once I had all the base coat painting completed I started to do the decals. Since this kit was manufactured way back in the early 1970’s, the kit decals did not age well. I cut out a decal for the Japanese scheme to see how they would work. After soaking in warm water for over three minutes the decal started to slide. However, it then immediately broke apart. I took another one and coated it with Microscale decal film and let it dry. It still took a long time of soaking buy I was able to get the decal to stay mostly together. It required some very careful small movements to get it moved and placed on the spare surface. It was successfully placed. I decided that the only decal’s I was going to use off the sheet was the yellow rectangles for the tail. I then dug thru my spare decal binder and after an extensive search I located nearly all of the letters and numbers in the correct sizes as well as the US insignias. Surprisingly I found a decal for the propeller warning lines that was the correct size and looked more accurate than the kit decal. I then made the squadron logo decal that goes on the nose, the trident for the tip of the tail, and the “Jet Intake” decals. Since each of the letters and numbers were individual decals it took a lot of time to get them placed and aligned. With all the decals placed I then started on the heavy weathering starting with the jet engines. The aircraft itself was sealed with a matte finish so that the weathering can be applied. I will be using three different shades of blue and two shades of gray to weather the aircraft with gray, black, and brown for exhausts. See more photos and details of this build from in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/hp-2h-neptune-p2v-7/

I used it on the inside of the E-2D windows. It is not crystal clear, but better than spraying tint.

This week’s update on the 1/72 Hasegawa P-2H Neptune (P2V-7) I was able to get the fuselage together evenly after many hours of sanding and shaping. I then masked off the white sections and base coated it white. While it was drying I then assembled and detailed to radial engines and propellers. After the fuselage dried the white areas were masked off. I then assembled the canopy and scratch built the overhead console. I used some spare photo etch levers and made some of the panels to match the reference photos. The canopy was them masked with kapton tape and installed. With the radial engines installed I then started to assemble the jets engines. The kit provides nothing to detail the exhaust of the jets. I dug through my photo etch extras and found a set of exhaust details and attached them. The wings were then assembled and detailed. The fit of the wings was very good. I am working on completing the jet engines then a little masking on the landing gear bays and it should be ready to base coat the sea blue. See more photos and details of this build from in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/hp-2h-neptune-p2v-7/

For my next build I will be doing another commission build. This will be a 1/72 Hasegawa P-2H Neptune (P2V-7) of VP-4. The P-2 was a Lockheed built Maritime Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft. This aircraft flew from 1947 until the late 1960’s for the US Navy and continued to fly until 1984 for other countries. The client is having this built to match his Father’s aircraft. I will be making all the specific decals and weathering it to match actual photos. I will also bescratch building additional details as needed. This kit is the Minicraft/Hasegawa version. This kit was released back in 1972. Many kits back then did not have the better details as more recent model kits. The cockpit consists of only 6 parts and no details on the parts at all. After reviewing some references online I modified the seat, made my own instrument panel, ( see https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/making-a-cockpit-dash-from-scratch/ ) center console, detailed the rear bulkheads of the cockpit and nose area, and scratch built the control sticks for the pilot and co-pilot. The seats were painted with the international orange pads and I used small strips of Tamiya tape for the seat belts. The nose gear bay also lacked details so with some photo etch extras I added more details. Once the cockpit and nose section were completed I assembled the fuselage. The seams between the fuselage halves were difficult to get them to line up. I slowly glued the halves together then used Tamiya putty to fill the gaps and improper fit. As soon as the putty finishes curing I will be detail sanding for a while. See more photos and details of this build from in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/hp-2h-neptune-p2v-7/

The AMP 1/144 B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber is now complete and delivered to the client. The kit decals for the ”Spirit of California” were applied. The decals went on nicely. The walkways were a bit tricky due to there is no film between the lines. Getting them moved into place and aligned took a lot of care to avoid tearing or rolling of the decals. After the decals had dried, the model was top coated with a matte clear finish. Next I drilled a hole in one tire on each landing gear and glued a 30 AWG wire into each one. The display case base was then drilled into 3 spots to line up with the wires. The wire was coated with epoxy and the aircraft e=was set into position. The brass nameplate from EnM engraving was affixed to the bottom left corner. I then made the Northrop Grumman Logo for the top left corner. I used their new logo instead of the older blue one. Finally the Lexan cover was set into place. Last night this was delivered to the client. He was VERY pleased with his new addition to his home office! Overall the AMP 1/144 B-2A is a decent model. It has good details for the scale, fit was very good, and the decals were delicate but very good. The only negative is the instructions on installing the intakes. I would recommend the Metallic Details set as well. While the kit has good details, the photo etch set compliments them well. Check out this build from start to finish in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-144-b-2a-spirit-stealth-bomber/

More work continues on the Spirit. This week I assembled the fuselage and attached the wings. The wing edges that mate with the fuselage needed to be sanded smooth due the molding process but once cleaner up the fit is very nice. Once the fuselage and wings were done I filled the landing gear bays with paper towels and covered them with kapton tape. I also taped off the intakes and exhaust then sprayed the rest with six parts FS36118 and one part aluminum. This gives the stealth paint the slight hue changes from different angles like the real aircraft. While the fuselage dries I started on the landing gear. There are landing lights on all three. The dual set on the main gear had sink holes in the middle of them so I drilled into them and painted the inside chrome silver. Next I filled them with a small drop of acrylic gel to make a lens. I did this for the nose gear as well. I also purchased the Metallic Details (MD14438) photo etch set for this kit. This had details for the landing gear and associated bays. I added these details to the landing gear and the bays. After the fuselage was dry I removed the masked covers on the landing gear bays and added the photo etch details. I am getting ready now to apply the numerous decals. On a side note, the display case arrived yesterday. As usual, Grandpa’s cabinets did another awesome job. The display case arrived safely. The only thing I am waiting for now is the brass nameplate which is scheduled to arrive on Monday. Should have it all competed by Monday night! Check out this build from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-144-b-2a-spirit-stealth-bomber/

For my next build this is the 1/144 AMP B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber. This is another build for a local client. I will be mounting it in one of Grandpa’s Cabinets display cases. (https://www.grandpascabinets.com/model-display-kits/ ) The kit comes with four different aircraft markings of New York, Indiana, Arizona, and California. I will be using the “Spirit of California” for this build. The kit has very good details for such a small scale. I will also be using Metallic Details photo etch set to detail some of the areas. To start off I assembled the cockpit and used the kit decals for the instrument panel and side/center consoles. The seats were assembled and I used thin strips of Tamiya tape to make the seat belts. The nose gear bay was detailed with some photo etc parts. The rest of the landing gear bays will be detailed later as the photo etch details run between the bay doors and the bays. I would like to note that the parts require a lot of clean up due to mod seams and minor flash on many of the parts. However with all the seams and flash cleaned up the fit is very good. I assembled the bays and closed the bomb bay doors as this will be mounted inside the case. I then built up the intakes and exhaust so I can assemble the main fuselage. While reviewing the instructions, I found out there is an error in them. The instructions call out to assemble the intakes and mount them to the outside intake panels then install them from the top. While checking the fit into the fuselage I quickly realized the intake assembly cannot fit in from the top. You need to install the intake assembly from the bottom then the outside panels from the top. Surprisingly it all fits together very well. With the intake assemblies, exhaust, landing gear bays, and cockpit installed the fuselage was them assembled. The fit of the fuselage halves after cleaning up the seams and flash is great. There are no gaps at all. I then installed the windscreen to the cockpit and used kapton tape to mask it off. The kit comes with a mask set but they seem slightly undersized for the windscreen. The kapton tape was trimmed to the edge of the frame. With the fuselage assembled I am starting on the landing and wing assemblies. Check out the build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-144-b-2a-spirit-stealth-bomber/

The multiple aircraft commission build is finished! This build consisted of the Airfix Spitfire MK-1a, the Airfix Spitfire MK-1a converted to a MK-II using 3-D Kits conversion set, the Eduard Spitfire MK-IXc, the Tamiya P-51D and Academy F-35A. These are all built with “wheels up” and pilots. For the kits that did not include a pilot figure I used PJ productions resin pilots. All five are 1/72 scale and were built per the clients specifications. These were packed and shipped to the client on the east coast. I have one build log showing all five build and many photos of the details that went into each aircraft. Check out the build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-multi-aircraft-commissioned-build/ For all the final photos see the commissioned work page at https://davidsscalemodels.com/commissioned-work/1-72-multi-aircraft-build/ And here they are being packed for shipping

1/72 Eduard Spitfire MK IXc Late Version –This is the fourth out of five aircraft. This Eduard kit is the ProfiPACK which includes photo etch parts for the cockpit. The cockpit was assembled and I used another PJ Production RAF pilot since the kit did not supply one. The photo etch instrument panel had three sections as well as the compass. The cockpit had separate walls so I was able to add some details and paint. The resin figure had the seat belts molded on. These were partially trimmed off and the photo etch seat belts were modified to match the molded seat belts and I had to make the buckle for the belt to hook together. One set of seat belts mounted to the back of the seat and there is a second set that mounted to the back wall of the cockpit. With the fuselage together, I added some more photo etch details to the underside. The bottom was then base coated in Sky Grey. The camouflage was then done with RAF ocean grey and RAF dark green. The spinner and fuselage stripe were painted with duck egg. The kit decals were applied and I added some EZ-Line for the antenna. The canopy was polished, painted, and installed which completed this aircraft. The Eduard kit has a little better fit and much better quality decals than the Airfix kits. The photo etch accessories were a nice feature. Even with a pilot and canopy closed the instrument panel details can be seen. With this one finished I am now finishing up the MK II Spitfire then I just need to build the fifth (and last) one of this multi-aircraft build which is the 1/72 Academy F-35A. You can see all the photos and details in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-multi-aircraft-commissioned-build/

1/72 Airfix Spitfire MK II – This was stopped as the client wanted a slight change to the scheme. He wanted to use Mission Models paint colors for this. So this build is paused until the paint arrives. While waiting on the paint, I started on the Tamiya P-51D. 1/72 Tamiya P-51D Mustang – Since this is mostly straight out of the box this build went very smoothly. The cockpit was detail painted and lightly weathered. I added some of the cabling to the equipment section behind the pilot seat. This kit did not come with a pilot figure so I used one of the PJ Production pilots I had. The figure fit perfectly in the seat. The cockpit was mounted in the fuselage and the rest of the fuselage assembled. The tail wheel doors were molded with the fuselage in the open position. Since this is being built “wheels up” I cut off the open doors and trimmed the doors to fit closed. The fuselage was sprayed with gloss aluminum with the nose and spinner painted blue. Next the decals were added and a gloss top coat was sprayed on. For the recognition lights (see https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/recognition-lights/ ) I drilled a divot where the lights go, Painted the inside chrome silver, then filled the divot wit acrylic gel. Once dry they were painted using Tamiya clear paint for each color. The canopy was then polished, painted, and installed. This completed the P-51. This makes the Multi-Aircraft build 50% completed. The paint for the MK-II has arrived so I will finish up the MK –II then start working on the MK IXc Spitfire. You can see all the photos and details in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-multi-aircraft-commissioned-build/

1/72 Airfix Spitfire MK II – This week I started work on the second Spitfire. This is the same kit as the MK-1a with the addition of the 3D kits conversion parts. The difference that the conversion kit changes is the pilot seat, a bulge on the starboard side nose and the propeller and hub. I installed the seat and realized the seat is a little narrower than the kit seat. The kit pilot figure is too wide to fit in the seat. I have some JP Productions resin pilot figures so I used one of the RAF figures instead. I looked online and noticed the instrument panel is slightly different on the MK-II as well. So instead of using the kit decal I found a photo of a real MK-II panel and made a decal out of it. The pilot fit perfectly. The interior of the fuselage was detailed and the cockpit tub installed. Working on getting the fuselage and wings assembled. You can see all the photos and details in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-multi-aircraft-commissioned-build/

1/72 Airfix Spitfire MK 1a – After completing the cockpit I assembled the fuselage. The exhaust from the kit was modified by drilling out the pipes. Since these all are going to be built wheels up, I installed the landing gear up. The underside was then base coated with sky gray. The topside was base coated with RAF dark green and dark earth for the requested scheme. The client included a specific set of decals for the scheme as well. With decals applied and some mild weathering the aircraft was top coated. I polished the canopy and painted the frame then installed it. Right behind the canopy is a red navigation light. I removed the molded in one and replaced it with a clear lens. Finally I used EZ-line for the antenna. This now completes the MK-1a Spitfire! Now starting on the MK-1a Spitfire that will be modified to the MK-II Spitfire using the 3D Kits conversion parts. For now here are the final photos of the MK-1a. You can see all the photos and details in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-multi-aircraft-commissioned-build/

As they say, “Now for something completely different”. Typically, I build 1/48 scale aircraft. This will be a multi-kit build log of 1/72 scale aircraft. A client needs some aircraft to hang up for display. He sent me five aircraft to build for him. As noted before, these are all 1/72 scale. They will all be built mostly out of the box with the wheels up. One will have a different scheme, one will be a conversion, all will have pilots, and all five will be in this one build log. The aircraft being built and the order in which they will be built are: 1/72 Airfix Spitfire MK 1a – with different scheme decals than what comes with the kit. 1/72 Arifix Spitfire MK 1a – This will be converted to a MK II using 3-D Kits MK II conversion set. 1/72 Eduard MK IXc – This is the Prolifipak version that include photo-etch. Will be adding aftermarket pilot. 1/72 Tamiya P-51D - Will be adding aftermarket pilot. 1/72 Academy F-35A – The paint scheme will be the newer overall dark gray 1/72 Airfix Spitfire MK 1a – Starting off with the cockpit, it was painted with RAF interior green, aluminum seat, and black instrument panel. The instrument panel has the gun sight molded in the gray plastic. I trimmed this off and used a small piece of clear acetate to represent the glass. The panel has a decal for the instruments. The pilot figure has some good details to it except for the seat belts. I cut a thin strip of Tamiya tape and used this to make the seat belts. Once the cockpit was assembled I detailed the cockpit area in the fuselage and installed the cockpit assembly. The propeller was assembled and painted. Getting ready to assemble the fuselage. You can see all the photos and details in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-72-multi-aircraft-commissioned-build/

The Stuka diorama is now finished! I assembled, painted and weathered all eight figures. The figures came out fine considering this is the first time I painted full figures. The aircraft was then mounted to the base along with the accessory vehicles, aircraft panels, and the maintenance ladder. I placed the fuel drums and one jerry can off to the side. I then added the figures. Two high ranking officers were placed standing on the edge of the runway. Two others in uniforms were placed running the power cart with one of them bringing a jerry can. The four others in coveralls were placed with one getting ready to hook up the aircraft power, one grabbing a tool box on the tractor, one moving the aircraft panels, and one on the maintenance ladder working on the upper cooler. With everything in place I am happy with how it turned out. The Airfix kit itself is a nice kit to build. The fit and details were very good. Only wish they would have provided an option to only have a couple of panels off. The kit decals that I used were all very good as well. It did not take an excessive amount of decal solvent to get them to conform to the underlying details. Thanks for following along, Now for the final photos: You can see all the photos and details from the start to finish in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ju-87b-1-stuka/

This week the diorama base for the Stuka is being built up. The base is a 16” diameter, 1/8” thick maple base. I started by painting the base with forest green and dirt tan in patches. Using the Scene-O-Rama accessories the base was sprayed with spray glue and sprinkled with the medium green and dark green “grass”. I then added some “weed clumps” and added some “yellow flower” spots on the weeds. A sheet of thin styrene was then trimmed to fit one edge to be part of the runway. I used medium gravel to trim the edge of the runway and sprinkled a few “rocks” around the base. The area where the aircraft and vehicles sit was then scraped to show bare spots. I then assembled the Kettenkraftrad. I painted it the dark green with leather seats. It was then weathered using black, dark gray, light gray, and mud brown pastel chalk. Once the vehicles and aircraft are mounted on the base I will add bits of grass and dirt to the wheels and tracks. I was looking over the figures and one of them shows a mechanic kneeling holding a tool. With the height of the aircraft engine off the ground I searched the internet and located a few photos of Stuka’s being worked on. They all show a maintenance platform with a sandbag keeping the wheels stable. Using the photos I scaled out the size of the platform. I then used styrene rods to make up the frame and sheet styrene for the steps and platform. I then scaled out the wheels and sandbag. These were then put into Solidworks and finally 3-D printed. The platform was then painted medium gray and weathered. I then built up a couple of jerry cans and fuel drums to add to the display. Next I will be working on all the figures that will be used. You can see all the photos and details from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ju-87b-1-stuka/

Yes it does!