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1/48 Revell F-15E Strike Eagle


Calum

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Time to add a Strike Eagle to the cabinet.

 

The Revell F-15E has a reputation as one of Revell's best tooled kits in 1/48 scale despite it's age. I have built the newer Revel Eurofighter and Ventura in the past but the soft plastic and inconsistent detail didn't impress me. IMHO they got better reviews than they deserved because they were very cheap compared to comparable kits.. As usual in life you get what you pay for.

 

I've got some resin seats from  Quickboost and a set of intake/exhaust blanks and probe from two mikes along with Wolfpacks OEF/OIF update set. Decals will be from Speedhunter. Weapons fit to be decided.
 

F-15_E-01.jpg



First impressions are that the moulds look like they are ageing.. Flash aplenty.....
 

F-15_E-02.jpg

 

The canopy from the kit is attached to the sprue with only 1 attachment point. All tghe of the clear part is supposed to be clear...Unfortunately their doesn't appear to be a way to remove it without leaving a nick that will be visible.... I used a fine razor saw but still have a nick to deal with.

F-15_E-03.jpg

So far.. not living up to the hype... (except for the price)
 

Edited by Calum
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20 minutes ago, whiskey said:

Is that a newer boxing Calum? I'm curious if it would be better to just pick up one of closer releases to the original.

Hi Zach,

 

This one is the Revell USA boxing. The markings on the kit ( stamped  ink under the wings and engraved on the one of the stabilisers) say it was moulded in China. 

 

I have had this kit in the stash for 3 years.  I did have one of the Revell Germany (ROG) boxing's but replaced it with this one as this box was smaller and more robust than the ROG boxing, hence easier to store.

 

It would be interesting to know if the ROG boxings suffer from as much flash as this one, perhaps they have better QA (although I'd doubt it) 

 

But to return to your original question, I guess one of the older kits should have less flash.. the flaw with the canopy is due to the design so not much can be done with that.

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ROG doesn't have as much flash. At least the one I have on the bench now. But my canopy have some kind of soot moulded in it . Plus the windshield has thickness difference around the attachement point so it does have different distortion around.

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I've got a couple of the RoG versions of this kit in the stash and there is nowhere near the same amount of flash as there was on the Revell USA boxing shown above and the one that I also previously owned. IIRC the Revell USA boxing also omits most of the ordnance found in the RoG boxings. I am also sure the original Revell boxing was produced in South Korea although it is definitely the same kit so maybe they moved production to China and this is where the cruder moulding has occurred ?. I was fortunate enough to get a set of Cutting Edge intake trunks for one kit since I understand this is one area that requires some attention. If there are any fit issues, they probably wont be any worse than those I have experienced with a Great Wall Hobby F-15B/D Eagle (although not so bad as to prevent me going ahead and purchasing their new F-15E Strike Eagle). On the positive side, I have seen some really stunning models finished using the RoG/Revell USA kit, in some cases without much aftermarket.     

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4 hours ago, Tiger331 said:

I've got a couple of the RoG versions of this kit in the stash and there is nowhere near the same amount of flash as there was on the Revell USA boxing shown above and the one that I also previously owned. IIRC the Revell USA boxing also omits most of the ordnance found in the RoG boxings.  

The ROG version doesn't have any bombs either.. , just the AIM-9's.  There has been a version from Revell USA (IIRC) in the past that added bombs. I don't recall a ROG version with bombs.

 

That said the weapons were only dumb bombs (MK 82's) So not really much use. I prefer aftermarket weapons anyway.

4 hours ago, Tiger331 said:

 I am also sure the original Revell boxing was produced in South Korea although it is definitely the same kit so maybe they moved production to China and this is where the cruder moulding has occurred ?.

 

Yeah I think you're correct in that it was first moulded in South Korea. Mine has a stamp saying it was done in China now. 

 

Quote

I was fortunate enough to get a set of Cutting Edge intake trunks for one kit since I understand this is one area that requires some attention. If there are any fit issues, they probably wont be any worse than those I have experienced with a Great Wall Hobby F-15B/D Eagle (although not so bad as to prevent me going ahead and purchasing their new F-15E Strike Eagle). On the positive side, I have seen some really stunning models finished using the RoG/Revell USA kit, in some cases without much aftermarket.   

  Yeah the intakes need a fair bit of cleanup.. hence the blanks. The kit also has blanks for the intake. On the plus side the engines are really nice

Edited by Calum
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6 hours ago, whiskey said:

The seam isn't the problem. That is easy to rid of. It the nicks on the bottom edge of the canopy from the sprue gates that is the issue. 

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1 hour ago, Calum said:

The ROG version doesn't have any bombs either.. , just the AIM-9's.  There has been a version from Revell USA (IIRC) in the past that added bombs. I don't recall a ROG version with bombs.

 

That said the weapons were only dumb bombs (MK 82's) So not really much use. I prefer aftermarket weapons anyway.

Yeah I think you're correct in that it was first moulded in South Korea. Mine has a stamp saying it was done in China now. 

 

  Yeah the intakes need a fair bit of cleanup.. hence the blanks. The kit also has blanks for the intake. On the plus side the engines are really nice

 

The RoG Boxings I have (RV4891) have four GBU-10 and 2 x GBU-15 LGBs, together with 2 x AMRAAMs, a Data Link pod and the aforementioned drop tanks and AIM-9s. According to a German modelling website, these were also included in the original RoG issue (RV4550) and a US Revell-Monogram 'Pro Modeller' issue as well. Like you, I prefer aftermarket ordnance anyway so its not really a deal breaker for me.

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5 minutes ago, Tiger331 said:

 

The RoG Boxings I have (RV4891) have four GBU-10 and 2 x GBU-15 LGBs, together with 2 x AMRAAMs, a Data Link pod and the aforementioned drop tanks and AIM-9s. According to a German modelling website, these were also included in the original RoG issue (RV4550) and a US Revell-Monogram 'Pro Modeller' issue as well. Like you, I prefer aftermarket ordnance anyway so its not really a deal breaker for me.

I think I had the RV4550 boxing originally. I was sure it had no weapons.. maybe I should have kept it :D 

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On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 1:25 AM, Calum said:

The canopy from the kit is attached to the sprue with only 1 attachment point. All tghe of the clear part is supposed to be clear...Unfortunately their doesn't appear to be a way to remove it without leaving a nick that will be visible.... I used a fine razor saw but still have a nick to deal with.

F-15_E-03.jpg

So far.. not living up to the hype... (except for the price)
 

 

I have the same kit, just in the box Christer A posted.

Does your canopy also have a seam line down the centre? I removed mine. First time removing one.
Also... yes I also had that horrible sprue mark on the side of my canopy.

 

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11 hours ago, AdriaN (MLT) said:

 

I have the same kit, just in the box Christer A posted.

Does your canopy also have a seam line down the centre? I removed mine. First time removing one.
Also... yes I also had that horrible sprue mark on the side of my canopy.

 

Yeah it had the seam, That's pretty common for kits of this vintage. I removed it last night. It took about 40 mins with a knife, some sanding sticks and polish.

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23 hours ago, Christer A said:

I've got this little box

467753-11575-31-720.jpg

As Tiger331 said, there are quite a few LGB:s in that one.

Anyway, I'll follow this with great interest Calum. What does the Wolfpack set add?

I haven't seen this boxing before

 

See http://www.wolfpack-d.com/catalog/htm/wp48005.html for the wolfpack set

I don't like their LAU-128/ADU-552 pylons, they look to small and are bowed. I could straighten them but fortunately I have a set from SHULL24 which are much much nicer (I wish he was still producing resin, all his stuff was awesome) Seems pointless not using them as I'll never build another Eagle that will need them.

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5 hours ago, Calum said:

Yeah it had the seam, That's pretty common for kits of this vintage. I removed it last night. It took about 40 mins with a knife, some sanding sticks and polish.

 

This is the WIP to the kit I'm building:
 

 

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7 hours ago, whiskey said:

Could always recast them yourself to have more sets.

Don't have the inclination or skill to be honest

2 hours ago, AdriaN (MLT) said:

 

This is the WIP to the kit I'm building:
 

 

I'll check it out

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I've finished the cockpit. Detail is pretty good considering the vintage . Apart from the base coat all the other details were brush painted with Vallejo acrylics. The Oxygen hose is a guitar string. I could add the ICS cord but I can't be bothered :D 

 

F-15_E-04.jpg

 

I added some weight to nose, although the instructions (and a few other people) told me it doesn't :D

 

F-15_E-05.jpg

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Cracking on with this

This is the aircraft I intend to do from the Speedhunter's decal sheet. Want to load it with 8 GBU-12 LGBs so I have to source those at some stage

 

F-15_E-06.jpg

 

I started with the LAU-128/ADU-552 parts from the Wolfpack set. These aren't the best parts of this set (I'd used them on a Hasegawa Eagle a few years ago so knew what I was in for). They look a little anaemic and the rails are always bowed. This time however I remembered I had a set from Shawn Hull (SHULL24) so dragged them out. Not only are they much more nicely cast they have locating lugs and instructions which allow you get them located correctly. You can see the Wolfpack and SHULL ones in the image below.

F-15_E-07.jpg

 

Once I cleaned of the flash and mating surfaces the nose went together without problems

 

F-15_E-08.jpg

 

F-15_E-09.jpg

 

I've decided to give sprue goo a go as a filler. So far I'm pretty happy with how it performs

F-15_E-10.jpg

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4 hours ago, whiskey said:

Sprue Goo?

Sprue (or my case evergreen) mixed with Tamiya Extra thin
 

I'd never used it as I thought I'd read some posts where it caused issues (sink lines over time etc.. I've always used CA to fill seams.
 

But I'd seen a few videos online and some club mates had mentioned it. Although I'm not one to jump onto the latest fad (e.g I haven't replaced all my paints with Mr Paint ) I decided to give it a go on the F-15E.

 

Wow, what a great filler it is... And super easy to re-scribe. (albeit you have to wait a while to work with it)

 

I used some scrap evergreen, mainly because sprues from different manufacturers are obviously slightly different in composition (i.e Airfix is softer, Hasegawa is harder) Using evergreen means I'm always using the same material when I add to the mix, Plus it being while means it shows up on the model when it's filling a depression .

 

I've found it's simple to apply and really fills the seams, perhaps because it melts into the existing material. it also seems to work first time, not something that I've experienced with CA/Talc/Mr Surfacer or any other filling medium.

 

Unless I see some adverse side affects I reckon this will be my new go to filler.. and it's a great way to use up the dregs in the liquid cement bottle and those off cuts from the evergreen

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Revell’s F-15E is a perfect kit which i’ve builded twice (frankly 1 and a half. Because i lost the canopy and it’s almost impossible to find a replacement)

 

Nice job with the cockpit. 👍. I’m looking forward to further steps. 

 

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More progress

 

The Main fuselage went together reasonably well. The only area that needed a bit of filler was the join on the side of the fuselage  between the trailing edge of the flaps and the horizontal stabilser.

 

Fit of the front and rear fuselage was pretty good. I did add a spreader bar on the front piece though

 

F-15_E-11.jpg

 

F-15_E-12.jpg

 

The conformal fuel tanks also fit well. A little Vallejo putty was used in a few spots 

 

F-15_E-13.jpg

 

 

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