Special Hobby 1/32 X-15A-2 Finished, Pics on pg. 3

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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Hey gang,

Follow my descent into madness as I build the X-15A-2.

The kit has nice detail thanks to 40+ resin parts and a sheet of PE. And even with all the included detail, there’s plenty more to add. The finished bird will be about 21" long - long enough not to fit in any of my display cabinets, so it’s another top sitter (like my visible B-17).

So, first up, we have the fuselage halves. The kit supplies resin dump tubes, but they’re easily broken. So, on the bottom half, I decided to use brass tubing. A little bit larger than the resin pieces, but infinitely stronger. For scale, that’s a 16" ruler in the middle

Next, a close-up of the Washburn Observatory’s Star Tracker camera system. It’s a complete scratchbuild. After seeing it the book “Hypersonic”, I knew I wanted to add it. The cameras are styrene rod that I hollowed out with the tip of an excato blade.

The ejection seat and pit tub. I cut out the side of the tub in the hopes of adding some wiring detail, but then realized it wouldn’t be visible after the seat was installed. The only scratched parts in this assembly are the hinges for the stabilizer wings on the seat. Just some PE metal cut to shape with rivet details added.

And finally, the landing bay and gear. OOB, there is absolutely no detail in the bay. So, after finding some pictures on prime portal, I added some detail that I thought would be interesting. Some internal bracing structures, the door control piston, some wiring and the insulation sheet. The gear had some decent resin detail, but there are prominent structures on the oleo that were omitted. So, I tried to build them from styrene. The shapes are close, but I think a bit over-sized. But I’m pretty happy with the way they turned out.

Next to come is trying to paint the pit. This is where I really wish Eduard had a color PE set for this. The blue-grey panel with the 300 black buttons is going to be tough. I’ll figure it out, but it won’t be fun to do. I’ll probably base coat in black, spray the top color and then sand the top color from the high points to reveal the black. In theory, this will work. In practice…that’s another story, LOL.

I should have started this thread sooner, but better late than never - right?

Till the next installment.

-Fred

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Looks good so far .I have this one in me stash as well so i will be watchin"

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Nice work so far Fred. Keep us posted.

Regards, Rick

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Thats BIG! I wouldn’t have a spot to put that beastie. For the cockpit, I’m no expert by any means, but would painting the panel the grey color, and drybrush the black over the dials work? I read that part and was wondering how I could get that done, and that is what I came up with…

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Nice work on the X-15. I have always been fascinated by that plane, so I will be watching your build with great interest.

Darwin, O.F. [aln]

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Hi Gigatron,

Very nice scratch building - I can’t wait to see this this with a coat of paint!

Many thanks and keep the posts coming.

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Oh, this is gonna be good! I have toyed with buying one of these myself. Thanks a lot Fred, my wallet may be a bit lighter now! [blndfld]

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Thanks, everyone [H]

Krow, Rick and Darwin - I hope I don’t disappoint you guys :wink:

Owl - my first instinct was to dry brush the black, as well. But the raised area is so shallow, I don’t think dry brsushing world work - at least with my terrible dry brushing skills. I think if I basecoat with black, seal it with future then overspray it with the top coat, I might be able to reverse drybrush for the result I’m looking for. I’m even thinking that if I only wait a few minutes after the top coat application, I might be able to dab the area with a piece of tape and remove only from the high points.

Me too, Eagle…me too. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to pull off tonal variations with a big black jet.

Tsk, tsk Frank. You still have a 262 to finish and then the RDIII GB to run - when will you have the time for an X-15, LOL? Seriously, get it - it’s a pretty damn impressive bird when it’s sitting on your benchtop.

-Fred

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You’re absolutely right Fred! Maybe I’ll hold off, and buy another 190 instead (for now). [6]

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Ok, here we are with this week’s installment.

I finally figured out how to get the IP pianted. Let’s just say I cam up witha new, creative use for masking tape and a sharpie, LOL

The wheels are finally in, after struggling to make them fit.

The camera system has been painted - it actually looks like something, now

And finally, the cockpit is all but finished. I just need to get motivated to add the seatbelts

Enjoy,

Fred

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Very nice stuff Fred! Would you mind sharing your technique with the masking tape and sharpie?

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For you, buddy? Sure thing.

What I did was, in essence, created a stamp. Take a piece of tape and wrap it around something (I used my finger and a fat-handled paintbrush). Make sure it goes sticky-side in (to secure it to whatever you’re using as the tool). Next, scribble all over one surface with the sharpie it it is good and wet with ink. For instance, when I wrapped my finger, I inked up the pad side of my finger (like I was having my prints taken). Then, you roll it across the surface of the PE, leaving ink only on the high points. It’s kind of like a vintage newspaper printer

If there are big gaps in the high points, you may want to use something like a paintbrush handle, pencil or some other solid device as a roller, so that you don’t start hitting the low points .

-Fred

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Good technique ! didnt cost any thing and looks good .What is your general feeling about this kit so far? It is a worthy subject and the one I have looks pretty good ,but as we know things can go south quick sometimes.Will your model have a base for display?

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Thanks, Krow [H]

My only problem with the kit is it’a lack of mounting points and alignment pins. You really don’t know where things are lining up - it’s a case of dry fit, dry fit and dry fit again.

The additional PE and resin is a nice feature and adds some nice detail.

The instructions coulduse some work as they’re not always 100% clear. And from building the kit, I can tell you, that I’d re-order some of the instructions. Some steps shouldn’t be done until later in the construction process and some should be done much earlier.

If you get one, read the instructions all the way through and compare it with your reference material. It’s easy to see where, sometimes, step G should come before step B.

But other than that, the detail is nice. They included a lot of detail I didn’t think they would and it certainly builds into an impresively sized bird. And in 1/32 it leaves a lot of room for scratchbuilding, which I like.

-Fred

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Good advice for sure : I was thinking the order may be like the language where the sentence structure would be in english _ ‘I am building the model’ in a foriegn language would be - ‘Building the model I am’…whaddya think??? I pulled mine from the stash and find film and p/e stuff for the instrument panels why did yours not have these ? Mine is the MPM kit # SH 32031.I will be watching your build with interest.

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Hey Krow, my kit is SH 32022, so different animal all together.

So, for today’s update, we have the wing installed. The left side wing went on just fine. The right wing wouldn’t fit correctly, so I ended up shimming it with some styrene stock. You can also see the two loooong longitudinal seams that start at the weings and run to the rear. Filled them with some thick CA and then finished them off with some GS 500.

Next is the vertical stablizer. In this pic you can see where I re-did the rivets as they were really soft on this section.

And here is the underside of the stabilizer, showing off the dive brakes. I had to paint and weather this section before installation, because otherwise, I’d never be able to get to it.

Enjoy,

Fred

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Gtron -Excellent work so far I hope you know the real test will be the black finish! Or will it be the white finish?

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Thanks, Krow, She’s going dressed in that little black dress. I may try basecoating with different shades in order to change the top color. If that doesn’t work, there’s always post shading.

But, she’s all built, 'cepting for the canopy interior. I built the camera, the two interior spotlights and I’m working on the switch panel. Painting will have to wait a bit until I find some pipe cleaners to clean out the AB.

-Fred

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Gtron cool I’m watchin ,I have a black build next year and will be seriously needing input.If it is not too much trouble please post as many procedural pix as poss on the blackening.

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Last step before she goes in for paint

-Fred