1/48 Academy/Minicraft  

McDONNELL DOUGLAS F-15E

“STRIKE EAGLE”

by C. Wayne Sharp

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“Boogie Time!!              “LET’S ROLL!!

PREFACE:

There are now, count them, three models of this American Icon of the McDonnell Douglas F­1 5E. They are all fair and worth the effort of building.  But, everyone
knows that the Monogram/Revell newer version is now the best.  I have not built it yet, but it is on my "to build" list  one of these days as schedule permits. (the Revell Kit can be purchased for about $16.00 at most Walmart stores most of the time). This is my Academy version that was built a few years ago when it was the better of the only two kits at that time. Yes, Hasegawa had one but it was as good as this one at the time (and more expensive to boot). 

 

 

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HISTORY:
The Air Force decided in 1982 they needed a new long range interdiction aircraft. The F-I5C had already proven its capability in the air superiority role for air forces world wide.
 
The development of the dual-role F-15E in 1984 benefited from the agility of the world’s best air-superiority fighter and experience gained with the F-111 family low level fighter/ bombers  that were in service.
An array of new avionics and electronics systems were incorporated into an F-15B airframe which had been modified some 30% to enable a maximum gross takeoff weight of 81,000 lbs. and a 9-g maneuver capability throughout the flight envelope. Conformal fuel tanks boost the range of this newly born air-to-ground aircraft, to 2400 miles while the LANTIRN navigation and terrain-following system allows operation at night and in adverse weather conditions at altitudes as low as 200 feet and at speeds of nearly 600 mph.
The new fighter could now share the cockpit with a weapons system officer (WSO), who was just not to be “ballast in the rear seat”, but an indispensable link in this successful combination, or to quote Lt. Col. Chuck Killberg (test Pilot) at Edwards AFB, Ca., “the pilot rows the boat while the WSO shoots the ducks”. Also, the Air Force rear seater  can “drive” the plane and his naval counterpart (Tomcats drivers etc.) do not.
The F-l5Es outstanding performance in the Gulf war escalates the importance of the long range interdiction type that earned the well-deserved reputation as the “scudbuster” of the war.

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KIT OVERVIEW:

This Academy/ Minicraft kit of the F-15E Strike Eagle, was put on the market in 1990/91 I purchased it and decided to start the construction as one of my Gulf war tributes soon after the war was over. As kits go now, this one is not as state of the art as some of the later hi tech kits but  still was as good as some of the earlier “gawa-miya” stuff. This kit has got some bad press lately about, “not the right shape, does not look like an F-15E, no detail, and not worth building”, etc. etc. Well, there is a better choice now but still, this kit is not a bad choice.   
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By these peoples standards, if they had this kit, they would just throw it away even if they spent their own money?!?!?!? yea, right!

There is a lot of detail in this kit, it has 8 sprues and many finely engraved parts to fiddle with, but the instruction sheet is it's weakness and is simplified to the extent that the experienced modeler would have better luck without some of the steps. This kit may not be for the rookie or novice modeler, but it would be that way for any larger model kit with this many parts, but the only way to learn, is to just dive in and go for it. There wasn't any after market cockpit detail items for this kit (the Blackbox cockpit may fit now) but the supplied cockpit parts (except for the seats) are not too bad and are close to the same quality as the Monogram kit. Verlinden was making  resin Aces II seats at the time, so I got some of those and the cockpit came alive and looked ok. This kit provides intakes of both types (the standard open, when aircraft is static, and the partial closed when engines are started, looking down) nice feature. Of course, the canopy has the seam down the middle like some of the Hasegawa kits, so you have to remove that by sanding the seam off with a sanding stick of medium grit, then sand with 2000 grit automotive type wet sand paper and use some wax rubbing compound (semi-liquid automotive types works best for me, this is the type they use to luster all the nice clear coat finishes on all the new vehicles), to get the final scratches off after painting, dip in Future Floor wax as needed to get it to look right.  You can dip the canopy before you paint, but if there is a screw up with the paint, or extra handling, masking tape, or adding details etc. then it is really hard to correct any flaws with the wax on it.  My advice is to do the “wax” thing last, don’t handle it any more except to install carefully). The kit comes with Sparrows, and Sidewinders. If you want some of the other “loadouts”, then you can choose from  the selections of weapons available from other sources, there are several.

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The engines exhausts are not bad and have no “turkey feathers” as they should be. One of the main “complaints” with this kit, is that the Main landing gear tires are not the bigger tire of the “E” and with the bulged gear doors, those could be replicated if necessary and you would have a heart attack if you didn't correct this item, I did not do it and I liked it just fine (no one else cared either). Also, there were no ALQ-119 ECM radar warning antennas on the rear, I made those very easily with some scrap sprue. I replicated the brake lines with .015K solder. The kit LANTIRN and FLIR , nav pods were not any good, so I replaced them with the very nice, Verlinden set.

 

 

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The kit decals were no good, (for Luke AFB) but the after market was good at that time with a Super Scale sheet having some very nice film that went on without a hitch. There were several selections to do, but, I chose the Squadron Commander’s aircraft of the 336th ” FTS of the 4th ” TFW at Seymore Johnson AFB, North Carolina. At that time, their planes were pristine and fairly new but in any case, all active Air Force planes not in combat are kept pristine for the most part without too many paint glitches. ( before they get that way, they are repainted and kept washed)..
Painting was easy, one color suits all, Gunship Gray, (Model Masters) with the usual white for wheelwells, and the cockpit colors of grays and black and dry brushing and picking out details etc.  Like the reference in Verlinden's “Lock on” Number 22,  I did vary the color with shades of the basic color to keep it from looking like a new toy from Walmart.  Overall, the fit was not too bad, but did require some filler in several places but all kits do if you wish for a contest winning model.

 
AFTER THOUGHTS:

This was a fun project as most of my construction stuff is regardless of the subject and/ or the amount of time it takes to do. But, really, this thing went together very well and faster than a lot of the so-called “better” kits. There is too much bad press on this kit, no ,it will not fall together but it looks as good as most F-15Es. I, maybe, could do a better job with the Revell version, and then I might not, but it would not be the kit’s fault. I enjoy all eras in modeling, old, and new. Some folks only like the “World War Eleven” or just prop stuff, that’s cool, I would like to drive a ‘57 Chevy too, but it is not practical. But there is nothing wrong with the latest and greatest flying machines the world has ever seen bar none. About three years back, a Captain friend of mine who flies the F-15E let me sit in the back seat (no, not flying, just sitting, too old to be stupid now) of the one he was flying at an  air show, it was still very new and it smelled just like a new car. 
He said that it was the easiest plane to fly of anything he ever flown and is the Cadillac of anybody’s line. Besides, a P-51 or German something, looks like a tricycle with training wheels compared to an F- 15/ 16 or current Navy birds when they leave the earth straight up....then it looks like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and comes on like Gang Busters and the ground is still shaking as it disappears a few seconds later... LETS ROLL!! 
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REFERENCES:

1.   Internet, and personal on site photos, friends.
2.   F-15E Strike Eagle, LOCK ON NO.22 Verlinden Productions
3.   Super Scale Decal sheet Number 48-401
 
“APPRECIATE EACH MOMENT, FOR EACH ONE IS A GIFT”
HAPPY MODELING!
 

CWS  

Photos and text © by C. Wayne Sharp