[ page 11 ]
F-15 Eagle Plastic scale model in 1/72 scale
... continued from page 10....
Another few 1/72 Hasegawa F-15 two seater trainer F-15DJ kits were made. Hasegawa releases regularly their F-15 kits with new spectacular decals.
See for the general assembly page 5 here...
Hasegawa F-15DJ kit #02379 has decals for JASDF in a very nice scheme for a blue/white agressor trainer jet of the Japanese Fighter training group. The kit decals are really spectacular and well researched. You get the blue/white patterns as decals which saves a lot of masking work.
The kit was rather straight out of the box and as done with the prevously made Hasegawa kits.
Some JASDF F-15's had no rear tail hook fairing, probably to save weight. As seen in the instructions STEP 5 the tail hook fairing A3 has been modified on this F-15DJ. It needs sawing off.
As usual, some sanding and putty may be needed.
After basic assembly, some sanding was needed and a bit putty. It depends a bit on how old the moulded kit is, sometimes some puttying and sanding is needed at the wing halves to fuselage junctions. To check for any flaws and irregular surfaces, the model got an airbrushed base grey using Revell aqua 75 "Steingrau". It all seemed OK to get the colour scheme.
The colour scheme first needs the standard JASDF ghost grey grey patterns. So airbrushed were first Fed.Std FS36375 with Gunze Sangyo H308 acryllic. Then followed the pattern of FS36320 with Gunze Sangyo H307 "loosely" with some paper masks hand held over the surfaces. Some areas got a lighter sheen.
Before decalling, some pre-weathering done. I used now a technique with Abteilung X oil. Before setting this, it is essential to airbrush on the model a few layers of gloss varnish. I used my preferred Johnson Future/ Pledge acrylic. After the layers have dried, apply with a brush the oil on the recessed panel lines.
Let dry for say an hour. Than wipe of with an old T-shirt from the areas, some oil wash will remain the panel recesses giving a weathered effect. Let dry for 24 hours as the oil needs to dry.
Next step is decalling. The Hasegawa kit decals are excellent.
The tails were not yet set and separately decalled.
On the fuselage sides are also blue/white patterns.
Note that the surface to get a decal is kept horizontal if possible.
It takes some 3 hours to set all the decals! After decalling completed, the smaller bits like landing gears and so on were installed. These had been airbrushed earlier while still in their sprues.
The exhausts are without "turkey feathers" and no tail hook fairing.
The model for the agressor trainer only got the wing fuel tanks and pylons. The canopy frames were painted and a few mirrors and hooks set made from scrap. The kit seats were used and had gotten a few straps made with tape. Small bits were painted like anti-collision lights, ECM knobs and pitots.
A final semi-gloss varnish coat was airbrushed, shield off the transparencies.
Time breakdown:
3 hours basic assembly, 1 hour puttying and sanding, 2 hours ghost grey scheme airbrushing, weathering 1 hour, decalling 3 hours, adding details 2 hours and final finishing 3 hours: so a total of 15 hours.
The result is a really smart looking JASDF F-15DJ blue/white Agressor trainer.
in a scenery at Komatsu....
... visit Hyakuri.....
Hasegawa 1/72 F-15DJ kit #02399 was made and it has decals for JASDF in a very nice scheme for the black agressor 40th anniversary. The jet is flown by the JASDF Fighter Training Group in year 2021, probably from Komatsu?
The kit decals are really nice and comprise larger decals consisting of many small stencils. This will reduce decalling time.
The kit needs a small modification as the tail hook fairing was removed on this F-15DJ. All this is clearly indicated in STEP 5 and STEP 14 in the Hasegawa instructions.
The agressor 40th anniversary colour scheme shows on a few areas the standard JASDF ghost grey grey patterns, particularly on the upper intakes and the lower areas. So airbrushed were first Fed.Std FS36375 with Gunze Sangyo H308 acryllic. Then followed the pattern of FS36320 with Gunze Sangyo H307 "loosely" on some intake areas.
The remainder of the agressor paint scheme is black. This was airbrushed after masking with Gunze Sangyo Mr.Hobby H33 black.
Decalling was done as per kit.
The remainder of finishing was done similar to earlier made kits...
.. flying over Niigata...
Another few JASDF F-15DJ agressor trainer jets are now in the collection.
Even more JASDF F-15J kits are to be made in the future including kits from Platz and Finemolds.
Back to 1/72 plastic scale models.......
(c) Copyright "designer"/ All rights reserved. Your comments are welcomed by webmaster
Created this page July 18, 2025