Getting started on this kit (E39) which has been on my shelf for a while. It is a solid kit for an early Strike Eagle, which I plan to finish as a Seymour-Johnson Gulf War jet. Here are some progress photos of the cockpit, fuselage, and wings (ailerons cut and drooped). I also left off the CFT “scoops” and scratched doors as found on jets with the original PW-220 engines.
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All of the bomb racks have been added to the CFTs and the CBU-87s (Eduard) are painted and ready for decals. Wings going on next!
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After attaching the wings, I jumped ahead to the pylons, AIM-9 launch rails, and drop tanks. Lots of mold parting lines and seams to be worked!
I also painted and assembled a set of Reskit wheels, a nice upgrade over the kit parts:
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Coming along nice. Even though we have nicer kits if the Eagle but Hasegawa still can hold it’s weight with extra little care.
I should be masking the windscreen and canopy, but instead I went down the rabbit hole of decals on the Eduard CBUs! These are little stand-alone models within the build. Another shot of Micro-Sol and these will be ready for a clear coat.
With the cockpit/nose assembly and wing pylons attached, it’s starting to look like an F-15. Starting to prime with XF-24 looks too dark to my eye, so I will lighten it up with some neutral gray and see how that looks. I also finished the kit seats with some tape belts (need some yellow on the side handles). They are missing the headrest “horns” and middle pull handles, but for a canopy closed build these will be fine.
