F-15SH Super Hen, the USAF's new Wild Weasel

[oortiz10]

In 1994, the USAF awarded a contract to McDonnell Douglas to explore the feasibility of adapting the F-15C to the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role--the so-called Wild Weasel mission that was at the time performed by the aging two-seat F-4G Phantom II. As part of the program, it is proposed that eight F-15C aircraft be converted to fire the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile. Additional avionics for the SEAD role would be also provided in distinctive fairings. In 1996, an F-15C was tested with an extra outboard pylon capable of carrying the AGM-88 HARM missile. However, the Air Force was skeptical about the feasibility of a modified F-15C for the Wild Weasel mission, preferring a two-seat aircraft for this role. The aircraft that the USAF really wanted for the Wild Weasel role was a modified two-seat F-15E, but it was considered much too expensive an option in the current military drawdown environment.

The USAF soon (and quickly) changed its mind when world events made it clear that a dedicated SEAD platform was needed in the US arsenal.

The result was the F-15SH Wild Weasel. Based on the F-15E airframe, the –SH was the ultimate SEAD weapon. Its unofficial nickname Super Hen evolved from the –E’s Mud Hen nickname and its own –SH designation, but the crews that flew it soon tagged it with a different moniker. As a tip of the hat to the “originators†of the SEAD mission that flew F-105s in Vietnam, the –SH crews began to call their jets Thud Hens.

This is what I wanna build:

I ran across that picture somewhere and it’s been floating around on my hard drive for a long time. I’ve never been a really big fan of the single-seat Eagle, but I’ve always liked the look of the two-seater. When I first saw this picture, I was immediately intrigued. I instantly thought it would make a cool WIF build.

Here we are with the WIF GB.

I picked up Revell’s 1/48 F-15E for >50% off, so I thought I’d use it as the base for my build. The jet will be seriously loaded up. I’m planning on adding a few lumps-and-bumps and a couple of angles-and-dangles. One thing I could use some input on is its camo.

A quick straw-poll: Which of the following do you think my F-15SH should wear?

Standard F-15E overall Gunship Grey?

Standard SEA camo? (Green/Green/Tan over Grey)

USAF Night Ops? ( SEA Green/Green/Tan over Black w/ Black vert tails)

Hill One Greys?

Euro I? (Green/Green/Gray wraparound)

A different wraparound? (e.g. Hill AFB “wraparound†F-105 Thunderchiefs)

Your own suggestion?

Anyway, thanks for looking. I’ll be back soon with some progress pics.

Cheers!

-O

PS: I ran across this interesting forum thread that had this picture of a SEAD F-15 testbed with an interesting fairing.

Edited May 31, 2009 by oortiz10

[sotoolslinger]

USAF Night ops gotta love that black bottom

[ChernayaAkula]

Cool idea!

Camouflage is a really hard decision, as all of those schemes would look great on a Mudhen. Euro 1 would be my favourite. The Strike Eagle looked awesome in those colours in trials.

Edited January 7, 2009 by ChernayaAkula

[illithid00]

Sounds like a great project. I'd say go for the Hill scheme, like was on the F-4Gs.

[oortiz10]

OK gang,

I’ve begun working on my Thud Hen. For the past week or so I’ve been slowly plugging along. I’m splitting time between this WIF and two Tomcats for the Tomcat 2.0 GB.

I started with the cockpit and intake trunks, but a problem with my camera’s memory card limited me to just a couple of pics. I started with the trunks, sanding off the ejector marks and gluing ‘em up.

While they dried, I started with the cockpit.

Unfortunately these were the only two pics of the initial progress that were salvageable from the card. Still, I trucked on…

I got to the point where the cockpit and forward fuse were pretty much done.

I’m not great with detailing, and since my builds are usually done with the canopy closed, I figured I wouldn’t lose a lot of sleep over the cockpit details.

While that assembly set up, I turned my attention to some of the WIF details. I originally wanted to use an under-nose fairing that looked more like the one in the photo I posted in my first submission. Maybe something from a F-4G. Problem is my stash is small, and my spares box is even smaller. I had to settle for something else. I decided I’d chop up and use a HARM that I had left over from the McAir GB.

I chopped it up and used some of it for the forward part of the fairing…

...and some for a portion of the fairing that continues over the NLG door.

The fairing will continue past the NLG and back past the intakes. For now, I’ve only completed the forward part of the fairing. Here’s what it looks like with the NLG door set in the closed position.

The actual jet will be built with the gear down, but so far this is as far as I’ve gotten with the beginning of the fairing and the NLG door.

Since I got this kit so cheap, I thought I’d use it as a test bed for a couple of things.

Once the intake trunks had cured, I tried the latex paint trick to get smooth suckers. The first “pouring†worked OK, but it didn’t completely cover. After the first coat dried, I tried pouring a second. Uh…that didn’t work so well. The second coat didn’t flow as well as the first and dried with really thick runs. So, I had to remove the paint and try again. The second attempt worked much better. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good shot of the interior of the intakes, so this exterior shot will have to do.

(“Staining†resulted from stripping of the first latex attempt.) I used Tamiya tape to mask the demarcation line BEFORE I installed the trunks into the fuse. Then I just stuffed a couple of foam squares into the openings to complete the masking.

After the fuse halves had dried and set, I attached the nose assembly.

I’m really impressed with this kit! The fuse halves didn’t need any filler, and it looks as though the nose assembly/fuse seam won’t need much (if any).

Anyway, that’s it for now. More to follow!

Feel free to drop your two cents in the bucket...

Cheers,

-O

PS: I'm still taking suggestions on a camo scheme!

[Aggressor Supporter]

I like this.

[Mist]

This is so cool, I love Iron Hand birds. Great idea to update the Eagle this way

[JasonW]

Looking great so far..... :)

[TaiidanTomcat]

Excellent show of resourcefulness

[C-130CrewChief]

I would suggest a Ferris sheme. I'm going to do one on my Strike Eagle I'm also thinkig of painting it up with SEA cammo and high vis markings like an F-111. I wish I had submitted it to this GB. The fit on this kit is outstanding for sure. This is the third I have built and it seems so easy. The cockpit is a dream too.

Curt

[oortiz10]

...The fit on this kit is outstanding for sure....it seems so easy...

That's an understatement!

This really isn't a huge update, just a quick show of progress and a testament to Curt's testimony.

The fuse is together and the wings are on.

The left wing shows a little sanding, but that's not because of the kit's fit. That's the result of some of my ham-fisted modeling.

Here's a quick shot just to show how good the fit is. This is the area between the wing and stabilator. The upper and lower fuse halves join here. It's painted in a quick coat of silver to check the seam.

Assuming I don't screw up the paint, I may just turn out a decent looking model!

Feel free to drop your two cents into the bucket...

Cheers,

-O

[illithid00]

That's amazing. I love the use of the HARM for the nose fairing. It really adds some interest to the Eagle. Any ideas on what paint scheme you'll have it in? I think it would look great in the F-4G Hill II scheme, but that's just me. Can't wait to see it done!

[Andre]

Great idea, great work! My vote'd go for the Euro 1 scheme.

Cheers,

Andre

[oortiz10]

Thanks for the input guys. I still haven't decided what scheme it's going to be covered in. This build's progressing faster that I thought. It's practically falling together! I guess I better start giving its scheme some thought. I appreciate the input, so keep it coming!

Thanks for looking!

-O

[giles]

A quick straw-poll: Which of the following do you think my F-15SH should wear?

Standard F-15E overall Gunship Grey?

Standard SEA camo? (Green/Green/Tan over Grey)

USAF Night Ops? ( SEA Green/Green/Tan over Black w/ Black vert tails)

Hill One Greys?

Euro I? (Green/Green/Gray wraparound)

A different wraparound? (e.g. Hill AFB “wraparound†F-105 Thunderchiefs)

Your own suggestion?

I think Night Ops with SEA Olive/Green/Tan over Black underneath w/ Black vertical tails looks cool, but may not be that practical for daytime weaseling...

The Euro I scheme with Green/Green/Gray wraparound looks good on an F-15

Alternatively, may be a digitalised or splintered gray on gray wraparound.

Make sure you add a fake canopy underneath to further confuse the bad guys .

Giles

[jack52]

Hey Omar,

i'm watching you ...

regards, Hans

[Aggressor Supporter]

I can't watch him like you () but I sure would like to know if there is any progress on this one.

Edited March 24, 2009 by Aggressor Supporter

[oortiz10]

OK guys, no progress pics to post (yet), but there is progress. This project and my two Tomcats for the kitty GB had been on hold since my last update. The wife and I moved and I've been doing some "minor" remodeling to the new place. The bad news is the move put a hold on my model building. The good news is I got a new work station out of it! There was an extra bedroom that we decided to convert into an "office." One side of the room is our "official" work station (you know, the computer and our papers and files and stuff), and the other side is my new hobby table. WOOHOO! I still have to airbrush outside, but hey, it beats having to build in the garage. Work on the house has slowed down enough to the point where I’ve been able to make a little progress on my “Thud Hen.â€

Anyway, you guys don’t really care about that. On to the Super Hen…!

Major assembly’s pretty much done. The fuse is all together and my focus has turned to the subassemblies. I’ve started working on its load-out and have done some preliminary test painting. I finally settled on a paint scheme too. It’s gonna be done up in a “night ops†scheme. A modified Euro 1 over black with black verticals. So far I’ve painted up the verticals. I’m still trying to get the hang of my airbrush, so I’m working on representing the faded and weathered black. Also, I’ve painted up the bare metal area around the engines. Again, trying something new with MM metalizers. Thanks to Hans (jack52), I have some Mk. 82s to hang load up. I’ve been building and cleaning up the various (and many) weapons, adapting some pylons, and cobbling together some decals. Beyond what I’ve listed, not much has gotten done.

If you guys are interested, I can post a couple of pix of the little I’ve actually accomplished. You know, give my fans a little something to hold them over until the next “real†post. (HA!) Actually, that might serve me some good. I could use some input on the way the black’s turning out.

Anyway, thanks for the interest guys!

Cheers,

-O

[oortiz10]

Hey everyone,

OK, I’ve got a few photos to show some progress. It’s not much progress, but progress is progress, right?

Anyway, first, here are a couple of the completed under nose fairing. In the second photo, you can see some scoops I added to the fuse’s nose.

Here’s a close-up of the right hand scoop.

I also added a couple of other scoops here-and-there on the fuse.

Also, since it’s a WIF, I figured I’d do something besides OOB for the nozzles. These are some nozzles from the spares box (F-4 I think) slipped inside of the nozzles I won’t be using from my Tomcat build.

The diameter of the Tomcat’s nozzles and the F-15’s openings are almost perfect. (Close enough for me!)

Finally, an overhead shot of the engine’s bare metal area.

I think the contrast between the two metallic colors is a little stark. I may go back and tone down the darker shade. I dunno, what do you guys think?

Sorry, but I don’t have photos of the vertical stabs yet. I’m trying to get some shots that show the splotchy paint look I’m going for, but it’s hard to get the subtle colors. I’ll keep trying.

Anyway, thanks for looking (and pushing me to continue). Remember, your two cents (comments and such) are always welcome.

Cheers,

-O

[jack52]

bare metal area looks very nice, i wouldn't change it. a bit of weathering, may be some oil stains here 'n there, and it will look perfect.

hans

[oortiz10]

OK gang,

Finally, a little more progress to show. (Little being the operative word.) I got tired of fiddling with all the…uh…fiddly bits, so I decided I’d spray a little paint. All that bare plastic staring back at me from its home in the box was depressing me. I was having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sometimes, a different look is all it takes to keep you motivated on a project. That was the case here.

Like I said in an earlier post, I decided on a scheme of Euro 1 camo over black with black vertical fins. First, I started with paint on the fins then moved to the top camo.

Here the fins are dry-fitted into place:

The first three were shot before the black was sprayed on the underside.

Here are a few after the black underside was sprayed:

Here are a couple with the fins and intakes dry-fitted in place. And the second and third in this group shows the completed under-nose fairing Blue Tacked in place:

And finally, two overall shots:

I still need to gloss and decal before I start to weather, but that’s how it looks for now. Hmm...I'm thinking there's too much grey in the camo. What do you think? Next, I’ll do the radome, the gear and the ordnance.

Anyway, tell me whatcha think. Feel free to drop your two cents in the bucket.

Thanks for looking!

-O

[sv51macross]

she looks great there ooritz! Not too much gray, that scheme screams "SAM Killer' to me!

[limyc]

i think the scheme looks great!

[TaiidanTomcat]

I love that scheme!!! As for the gray I would suggest maybe changing it to gunship or Euro I gray( Euro I being what was used on the 1980's european scheme) But It looks great as is right now, Nice work!

[martin_sam_2000]

looks great to me!!!! This will be a very interesting aircraft when it is done.

Sean