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F-15C Eagle ‘57th Fighter Intercept Squadron’ 1:72 Hasegawa Limited Edition The F-15 has earned its place in aviation history for its air combat ability. Proven in action with the Israeli Air force against Syrian counter parts and US Air force against Iraqi and Yugoslav fighters, it’s record of over 80 kills without loss in air-to-air combat demonstrates the lessons learned over Vietnam were taken on board by McDonnell Douglas in full. Despite being of a previous generation dating back to the 1970’s, it still a formidable fighter today along side newer 21st century aircraft. The twin fin, twin engine design not only gives incredible thrust-to-weight ratio and combat manoeuvrability, but high ability to survive damage as demonstrated by one aircraft that returned to base and landed with just one wing after a training sortie! With a maximum speed of mach 2.5 and a climb rate of 30,000ft in just 60 seconds, it still makes it a great card to have in your Top Trumps hand some 40 years on! The kit I recently reviewed the F-15C kit so rather than write another review of repetitive nature on the same kit, I’ll refer you to the link : HERE As seems to be the trend with Hasegawa, no weapons are included in the set. The instructions recommend the purchase of Hasegawa Weapons set V. What is included in this version is an extra sprue that holds the conformal fuel tanks that run along the side of the intakes below the wings. These are simply single piece additional parts to the original kit. This sprue is taken from the F-15E kit (Sprue 'F') which also includes two Lantirn pods to add to your spares box. The decals For commercial reasons, Hasegawa’s business model has many ‘limited edition’ releases of the same kit packaged with different decals and let’s face it, this rather suits modellers too! This release includes decals for aircraft of the 57th FIS. Two options are included, however one of them is included in the previous kit that I reviewed as linked above. It would of been nice to see two entirely unique options to differentiate this kit in its entirety. The 57th acquired its new F-15C’s in 1985 operating in Iceland. In 1993, the squadron was re-designated 57th fighter Squadron until it was deactivated in 1995. The two 57th FIS schemes are: Aircraft 80-0033 – USAF Iceland 1987 Aircraft 80-0052 – USAF Iceland 1992 Not the fault of Hasegawa, more the USAF, the decal sheet is rather bland such was the livery options typical on Eagle squadrons. Aircraft markings are rather monotone. The detail in the decals is however far from inferior. The squadron emblems for example are about 7mm across containing 4 colours and incredibly precise. Register and sharpness is superb. Included on the sheet are 110 individual decals including the two schemes, cockpit panel decals, formation lights and a huge selection of stencils to keep you out of mischief! Conclusion It would of been good to have two unique decal options to differentiate this kit from the previous one I reviewed and I believe that for the premium price Hasegawa kits sell for, they should include weapons, but them issues aside, this really is a beautiful kit and I praise the business model of ‘Limited Edition’ releases. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors forUK distributors for