F-15C Eagle, 71st
Fighter Wing, 1st fighter
Sqdn., Langley AFB.
This kit was given
to me some time ago by a local hobbyshop owner who's store was going out of
business. It was packaged as the F-15C 85-0102 "Gulf Spirit"
the triple-killer of the first Gulf War that shot down a MiG 23 and two
SU-20/22s with the 33rd Fighter wing from Eglin AFB in Florida in
January/February of 1991. I really wanted to have a jet from the 1st
Fighter wing out of Langley AFB. But I also wanted to honor this Historic
jet, although I really didn't like the Eglin markings. So I held the kit on my
shelf not knowing what to do with it for quite some time. One night as I was
browsing through pictures on Airliners.net of F-15s I noticed a Lanley bird
with three green kill stars on the port side of the jet. After a little
research I found out the "Gulf Spirit" 85-0102 air frame was
eventually transferred to Langley AFB and flew with "Ironmen" of the
71st Fighter Squadron. That solved my problem of honoring a war hero and getting
the Langley bird I hoped for.
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images below to see larger images
Though I couldn't get good
pix of the cockpit it's mostly scratch build along with the Aces II
ejection seat. The Main landing gear wheels and afterburner/exhausts are
resin copies I made from a Hasegawa kit. The green kill stars, Langley
codes & badges, aircraft numbers, red tail stripes, eagle pilot name
badge just in front of the wind screen and eagle silhouettes inside
the vertical tails are decals I made on my home computer and copied
to decal paper at a local stationary store.
I painted 85-0102
with Model Master acrylics and gloss coated with future for decal prep, wash and
weathering, which was kept to a minimum. The final flat coat is Model Master
Acryl clear flat. I think she turned out pretty well and hope I honored her well
as I try to build all my models in honor of all who serve their countries.
"This is my first post and hope every one likes it, Thanks."
Kurt Warren
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images below to see larger images
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