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Monogram 1/48 F-15 Eagle "Starscream" - SCRAPPED

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  • Member since
    January 2016
Monogram 1/48 F-15 Eagle "Starscream" - SCRAPPED
Posted by suomi39 on Thursday, February 16, 2023 7:51 PM

Hey there FSM crew. Been away a while, but finally got done with a basement remodel in which I built what I hope will be a dream workbench for model building and other projects. To break it in this winter I figured I'd do a quick build: this old Monogram F-15 kit that I've had, unbuilt, since I was a kid. Box and sprue shots time.

A little sun faded. No F-15 variant indicated, but given the kit's age and the layout of the bird I believe it to be an F-15A, B, or C. 

Classic Revellogram raised panel lines, wide sprue gates, and plenty of flash to clean up. 

Instructions are clear and seem like large-print format after building Airfix and BanDai.

Speaking of stuff I did as a kid: I loved Transformers. The 1984-86 toy commercial/cartoon. Still do, I guess. So for fun I've decided to paint this F-15 up as if it were everyone's favorite Seeker, the power-hungry but naive Starscream. 

In case anyone is unfamiliar: 

I plan to aim for his look in the original animation, but due to silly inconsistencies and errors in the TV show animation, I'm going to use stills from the 1986 movie to act as my final reference photos. 

I'm hoping for a fun departure from the drab traditional military colors, while still applying some weathering and shading techniques to make it look like a real piece of metal.

Since I'll be painting the canopy with a thick clear orange, I whipped the cockpit up quick and shot it with flat black. 

No great loss here, as the details and fit are pretty poor. 

Went on to major assembly. Doing this guy as gear-up so I can mount him vertically on the wall, so between that and the shortcut-cockpit, it went together pretty fast. An afternoon. 

This kit is not designed to be build gear-up, so the gear doors don't fit very well. To fix or not to fix?

Speaking of poor fit, I've come to expect poor fit after building that Revellogram F/A-18 a couple years ago, but I wasn't expecting it to be THIS bad.

The way I'm planning to mount this, none of the above will show, unless I take it down to handle it, so I'm not sure how much I'm going to worry about it. 

I think the biggest challenge here will be determining the "line" of realism I won't cross. Do I want it to look like a real F-15 painted to look like Starscream, or do I want to go for the G1 cartoon look and leave it clean and bright? Some soul searching to do on that. 

Thanks for keeping the lights on around here while some of us take a year or two off at a time. Cool

fox
  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Narvon, Pa.
Posted by fox on Thursday, February 16, 2023 8:46 PM

Welcome back! Look forward to seeing this build.

Stay Safe.

Jim Captain

 Main WIP: 

   On the Bench: Artesania Latina  (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II

I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.

  • Member since
    August 2013
  • From: Michigan
Posted by Straycat1911 on Sunday, February 26, 2023 7:27 PM

With the early style ESCAPAC seat and the tires, it is definitely an "A" model. 

  • Member since
    December 2022
  • From: Canada
Posted by Tcoat on Monday, February 27, 2023 6:17 AM

Oh this is a fun little project. I have one of these kits that somebody gave me and as it is not my interest I was just going to throw it together some day but this is cool. My son-in-law is a big Transformers fan so I may just do it up like this. I will sand off all detail though to make it a bit more cartoonish. 

Can't wait to see the finished product!

  • Member since
    January 2016
Posted by suomi39 on Friday, May 3, 2024 11:46 AM

Just a short update after a long wait. After a bunch of filler, a guide coat of primer showed plenty of filling still needed.

After sanding, the raised panel lines had taken such a beating that I decided to just sand 'em all smooth, and then re-scribe later to try and match the panel lines from the animation. Back to filling...

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Friday, May 3, 2024 11:55 AM

I also recieved that kit from a co-worker's husband, so I'll be watching with interest!

I was wondering what to do with the kit and came upon the idea to convert it into a JASDF F-15J Kai featured in one of the "Patlabor" movies.

Yeah the fit of that kit is not too hot in certain areas.  My kit has a stubborn warp that causes the molded in stabilizers to angle down.  You got a WAY better fit of the forward fuselage to main fuselage - just a gap.  When I test fit my kit, there was a serious step in there as well.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    January 2016
Posted by suomi39 on Thursday, August 15, 2024 1:44 PM

Well, I've decided to take a different direction on this project. The size of that 1/48 Eagle is just too much -- especially if I wanted to have all three of the original Seekers (Starscream's buddies) in a tryptich type display. So.... the Monogram Eagle has been shelved, and these guys are on deck:

A quick look through the instructions suggests a cleaner and maybe even faster build than this big Revellogram, even though the kits are about the same age. I'll start a new thread for the new build!

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