academy F15's Kits 1685 and 1687

[Rodders]

Hi All,
I am trying to move on to improve my rubbish skills. I only usually build 1/72nd scale ww2 aircraft and 1/72nd/1/35th scale tanks.
I have two academy f-15's in the stash(the C kit 1685 and E kit 1687) which i think are quite old. I just wanted to ask peoples views on said kits as when i built academy's 1/72nd Bf109G14 i was told somewhere that academy's decals are not very good at all. If the decals aren't good i would try and order some from hannants to pick up at Telford. But views on the kis as well would be welcome,
thanks,
Rodders.

[theplasticsurgeon]

I built an Academy F-15 Eagle in 2017, admittedly not using many of the kit's decals.

 

My memory of decals from that kit - pick up replacements.

Usually no problem with Academy decals - those were unusable.  I was glad not to be committed to them.

 

And I've got another Academy Eagle in the stash.

 

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

I gave up on #2109 (same time frame/same base kit) a few months back, and those decals were of the rubbish quality. I would suggest aftermarket or spares personally. 

 

[EDIT] - as for the kit, it's not bad for something made in the early 90's (I think?), but the front fuselage section on mine was horribly mismatched and didn't want to spend the time on something that cost me next to nothing to get in the first place. The intakes are a bit tricky too, no positive joining tabs/holes/anything, just a fillet joint. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Evil_Toast_RSA

[spruecutter96]

I think I've read on BM that Academy decals can be right stinkers. Obviously, the sheet's age can be a factor in their usefulness. 

 

Microscale produce a product called "Decal Film" which you paint onto the decals and allow  to dry, then use the markings as you would normally. In theory at least, the decal film should prevent the old decals from falling apart once they hit the water. 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Chris.    

[Hook]

Brushable decal film may prevent decals falling apart, but it won't fix the horrible registration, poor colours and wobbly lines of the Academy F-15 decals.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Giorgio N]

Can't comment on these two kits in particular, but Academy decals of the era can be very bad. I've had sheets that were totally useless, with bad registration, wrong colours and very translucent artworks. I'd probably advise to get aftermarket just in case.

Things improved later and generally recently boxed kits fare much better.

[Hook]

20 hours ago, Rodders said:

If the decals aren't good i would try and order some from hannants to pick up at Telford.

I may have some spare Hasegawa Eagle decals - if those would help, let me know.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Plumbum]

I never had any luck with their decals from that era. The last ones I tried

to use, F-117A, fell off and would not adhere. I had to white glue the instrument

panel on and get after market for the markings. Any Academy kit I bought

since I automatically ordered after market decals.---John

[CT7567]

As others have noted, Academy decals of that era are of dismal quality but fortunately easy to replace for an F-15.  As for the quality of the kits, these were generally regarded as the 2nd best (after Hasegawa) when released in the early-mid 90s, and still hold up rather well (Great Wall has since taken over Hasegawa's top spot, but at a premium price).  Aside from tricky fit/engineering and a few accuracy issues on the Strike Eagle (common to most kits of thst subject in all scales), you should be happy enough with the results by adding aftermarket decals to the kits you have.