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1/72 Academy F15C


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I'm interested in this kit too. I have the previous Academy F-15C kit, but haven't built it yet.

According to this it's a repop:

http://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=251216

Comparing the instructions here:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10257417

and here:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10113146

It looks like the same mould with new aerials, antennas, launch rails and (lack of) tailhook shroud to make it represent the latest light grey F-15's.

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Hi folks,

Having looked at the plastic at the Hendon show, this is a retooled re-release... It's based on the previous F-15C kit but it has been updated to modern MSIP II configuration.

The retooled parts:

- Ejection seat

- Upper fuselage (includes a GPS dome, thought this was just for the Strike Eagle...)

- Horizontal and vertical tail reinforcement plates

The new tool parts:

- IFF antenna above and below the nosecone (has an odd over pronounced 'baseplate')

- Instrument panel coaming (some boxes and a mount for the rifle scope)

- Rounded and 'chiselled' tailboom ECM antenna and all variants of blade antenna

- 'Stinger' arrestor hook with a well detailed blanking plate (100% better than the lazy Hasegawa effort on their 'new' Strike Eagles)

- AIM-9/AIM-120 missile launchers (appears to have the old style adapter pylons though)

- AIM-9X and AIM-120 missiles, plus an extra fuel tank

The new instrument panel with the MFD is just a decal, the sheet is well printed though. Unfortunately, the additional under fuselage countermeasure launchers are not featured, either as plastic or as decals and bay 5 is exactly the same as the original F-15C kit, a bunch of generic boxes!!! From memory that's it, I would certainly say it's worth the money (£14.99 at Hannants) as everything is there to build an MSIP I/II F-15A/C. You can actually use all those Two Bobs, Astra decals, etc without scratch building now!!!

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Thanks chaps excellent posts, Im undecided whether to go for it for stick with the Hasegawa F15C which I have already built.

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... as everything is there to build an MSIP I/II F-15A/C.

MSIP I was a "paper" program, all F-15 MSIP jets were either built or modded to the MSIP II standard, which was simply called "MSIP" (pronounced missip) by pilots and maintainers and in official documentation. Differences between MSIP jets were primarily due to the phased introduction of unrelated items, like chaff/flare dispensers and the new stick grip, and to funding differences between Guard and active duty jets.

Regards,

Murph

Edited by Murph
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Thanks chaps excellent posts, Im undecided whether to go for it for stick with the Hasegawa F15C which I have already built.

No probs. Personally, I really like the Hasegawa Eagles as they do the best job of capturing the lines of the F-15, most notably that of the forward fuselage. Unfortunately, they do need a bit of work to bring them up to date (even though the external MSIP parts have been tooled already...) which is where the Academy kit triumphs in some ways. I'd like to build x3 MSIP F-15A/C's from a superscale decal sheet, the economical option for me would be to use the 'new' Academy kits.

MSIP I was a "paper" program, all F-15 MSIP jets were either built or modded to the MSIP II standard, which was simply called "MSIP" (pronounced missip) by pilots and maintainers and in official documentation. Differences between MSIP jets were primarily due to the phased introduction of unrelated items, like chaff/flare dispensers and the new stick grip, and to funding differences between Guard and active duty jets.

Regards,

Murph

Hi Murph,

Thanks for the info. While I personally call the upgrade programme just 'MSIP', folks tend to want to categorise the program into two black and white parts for whatever reasoning, as is commonly seen in forums and even in print. From a modelling perspective, the reality is that the configurations varied a fair bit in the 'early days', like these 58th TFS F-15C MSIP jets. A lot of folks wouldn't identify these as MSIP jets because they are not in the Mod Eagle scheme, don't have the AIM-9/AIM-120 launchers, 'stinger' arrestor hook tail fairing mod, etc...

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  • 6 years later...
10 hours ago, Robertone139 said:

Want to resurrect this thread.Did the MSIP F-15C receive the AESA radar and the new nose cone?

No. The MSIP upgrades were rolled out starting in the early 1990s (as @Murphnoted above, the airframe changes it included were not 100% uniform in implementation).  This article describes the program in some detail:

F-15 MSIP Program Summary

 

The AESA updates for the F-15C/D and F-15 E fleets are a much later program, the prototype F-15 AESA being installed circa 2007.

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  • 3 months later...

Pushing this thread up again.

The Academy F-15 family, including the new tool F-15E, is the only one providing a full length ijet intake without having to spend a fortune for Platz or GWH.

Hasegawa provides a ridiculous blanking plate with a compressor face just before the ldg gear bays. 

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I have the Academy kit and had made a tentative start on it but then a GWH F-15C MSIP II arrived and its just superb to build, not a millimetre of filler! The Academy kit is back in the box and unlikely to re-surface anytime soon.

 

Eng

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  • 2 months later...

Found this thread while searching for information on the current selection of F-15J kits in 72nd scale. Am I correct in thinking Hasegawa, Platz, and GWH are the only options? If so which is best at representing the type as used by the JASDF aggressor squadrons?

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Hi Col., I think any F-15C kit can be built as an F-15J with the right decals. I know the Hasegawa C and J kits are identical. The main difference that is noticeable on a model is the aerial on top of the left vertical stabilizer - USAF F-15's have a larger one, while everybody else has a thinner one that matches the right hand aerial (the Hasegawa kit comes with three vertical stabilizers as a result).

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13 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Hi Col., I think any F-15C kit can be built as an F-15J with the right decals. I know the Hasegawa C and J kits are identical. The main difference that is noticeable on a model is the aerial on top of the left vertical stabilizer - USAF F-15's have a larger one, while everybody else has a thinner one that matches the right hand aerial (the Hasegawa kit comes with three vertical stabilizers as a result).

Thank you Cookie. Found some cool decals for J and DJ aggressors so now need a couple kits to justify the cost of the sheet ;)

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I can’t comment on its accuracy in terms of fixtures and fittings but I’d have no hesitation in recommending the GWH option, a flawless build, and it sure looks every inch an Eagle.

 

Eng

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9 hours ago, eng said:

I can’t comment on its accuracy in terms of fixtures and fittings but I’d have no hesitation in recommending the GWH option, a flawless build, and it sure looks every inch an Eagle.

Eng

Thank you, that does make a difference, particularly when I can pick up a GWH F-15J for a considerably lower price than the older Hasegawa kit. Now I just need to work out if the GWH E can be used to create a DJ :hmmm:

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The GWH kit also sure includes the radome with the raised lightning protection stripes, that are not present in the old Hasegawa kit, IIRC the Platz kit also includes these.

I believe that both GWH and Platz kits are also more representative of the current configuration of these aircraft

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