There
were posts about conversion of F-15SG and after-market accessories for it. I
have been building 1/144 scale kits for some time and I thought it would be
great to do one in this scale. As stocks of 1/144 kits are limited here I had to
do with the Academy kit. The conversion kit here is mainly scratch-built using
styrene rods/tubes. As for the canopy, I had to shape it out with acrylic rod.
I
did some research on the specifics of various sensors and weapons deployed by
the F-15SG. The thumbnails depicted the modifications done i.e. the
antenna/sensors, CFT and the pylons and the extended tail fairing. I had to
scratch-built the AIM120s and AIM9Xes employed on the SG too ( the original
missile from the box were AIM7s for the F-15A). From the research, I came across
numerous pictures of F-15SG stationed at Mountain Home Air Base Idaho under 428th
FS “Buccaneer”. I decided to built 2 models; one of RSAF 149SQN (tail
number 8322) and the other of 428th FS “Buccaneer” (tail number
AF0007). I dispensed with scratch building the drop tanks and the gamut of
weapons on the kit as I want it neat. I had a custom built base for both kits.
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I wanted the two kits in the flying position, thus I cut out the cockpit and added in the Pilot and WSO (the original kit comes with the cockpit sealed).
I scratch-built the instrument panel and the ejection seats based on images found.
There are no after-market decals for this scale that I know of. Hence I made them out from plain decal sheet.
I scaled down the decals as accurately as possible to fit the kit. I must admit that the RSAF roundel is a little too big after application and setting.
As for
painting, I use basic white and black acrylics to create the right shade of the
gunship gray to match the decals created. The original gunship gray from Tamiya
or Mr Hobby is a tad too dark for such scale. The kits were coated with clear
satin before the decals were applied for better adhesion. A light wash was
applied on the panel lines after which a final flat coat was applied. Overall, I
was glad I took up the challenge to do a conversion in this scale. While there
could be room for improvement, I was pretty happy with the finish. This scale
afforded me the much needed space to display them.
S K Loh
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