1/48 Revell F-15E Strike Eagle |
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Gallery
Article by Andrew Ludwig |
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This is the F15E Strike Eagle
from Revell. I built it straight out of the box and believe me, Revell is going to open up the eyes of the Japanese model
makers when they see the quality of this kit and most of all the low price!
The kit cockpit is pretty
decent as well as the Aces II seats. (The resin set as well as the eduard
photo-etch set wasn’t released yet.) My
next one will for sure! The canopy is quite ingenious as the bottom is a
separate piece so shaky painters have no fear! Overall fit was excellent an
construction was a breeze. I used almost no filler.
The kit didn’t come with any
armament for ground strikes, just amraams and sidewinders, so I added some
Hasegawa smartbombs. The entire payload is based on an actual F-15E pilot’s
recollection of what his crew carried on a typical ground strike sortie during
Desert Storm. I found his personal webpage and he e-mailed me the configuration.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The base cost about $8.00 total
to build and finish. Brass rod was inserted into the plane and the acrylic rod
to depict the in-flight look. (A drywall screw holds the acrylic rod from the
bottom). Another note to remember: Use an old drill bit to drill out the acrylic
rod because some of it will end up melting on the bit and its hard to get off as
it cools very quickly. A typical wood saw of any type will easily cut the
acrylic rod so give it a try!
My F-15E is
finished with Model Master Enamels and Metallizer, (I will be
enthusiastically at last trying out some Alclad II on my next project).
One thing I was really impressed with is the kit decals came with all of
the markings and stripes for the amraams and sidewinders. It really adds a
lot of realism to the model when the armament is accurate, and I applaud
Revell and hope that a trend has been started by including exceptional
decals for the armament.
So if you are tired of spending
$45 or more on a good 1/48th Scale kit, fear no more and grab a
Revell F-15E. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed, and we all LOVE
saving some green backs for more resin, photo-etch, and Two Bobs Decals!!!
Andrew Ludwig
IPMS Seattle
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