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Bullseye - 1/48 F-15E Strike Eagle from GWH


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Afternoon all,

 

The lockdown in the UK has given me plenty of time at the bench, so here are a few photos of my latest build - an F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron based here in the UK (at RAF Lakenheath). This was the new-ish Great Wall Hobby kit with the following additions:

  • Aires F-15 engine nozzles
  • Meng GBU-31 2000lb JDAM
  • Meng AIM-120C
  • Meng AIM-9M
  • Eduard GBU-38 500lb JDAMs
  • Eduard GBU-39 small diameter bombs on BRU-61 racks
  • Eduard Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod
  • TwoBobs F-15E "Maximum Effort" decals

 

So enough waffling....

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The TwoBobs decals are excellent - I used them first on my F-16 and after that experience I had to get them for this as well. The decal sheet gives you enough to build 4 Strike Eagles (2x Revell & 2x GWH) so when I'm feeling ambitious again, I am all set.

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Obviously someone in the 494th is a Toy Story fan!

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The Strike Eagles can definitely carry an impressive load - one of many disappointments with the GWH kit is that it doesn't include a centreline pylon despite the instructions mentioning one! So I used photos and the wing pylons as a guide and scratchbuilt one for the GBU-31.

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The Eduard GBU-38s are awesome pieces - each one is comprised of 4 parts and the detail is excellent - they even provide masks for painting the complex nose. The decals are also perfect.

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The Aires exhausts are a big improvement over the kit parts and well worth the upgrade although some surgery was required to get them to fit. For the metallic finish I used Mr Paint lacquers which went down well over a gloss black base - the staining and heat discolouration was done with pencils.

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The Eduard GBU-39s and Sniper pod are excellent  - definitely recommended!

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Sooo many decals - even though the TwoBobs decals went down well, I really didn't enjoy having to put down so many of them!

 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and thanks for looking!

 

 

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Just now, reggie78usmc said:

awesome build!. 

How did the kit go together? fit issues? was thinking of this or the newer revell one in 1/48

 

 

Thanks Reggie! Actually I was a little disappointed with the kit. It has some excellent detail - the cockpit, surface detail etc is all top stuff, but some parts are not as good. The exhaust nozzles and trailing edges of the wings/stabilators are really thick (very out of scale) so I had to replace the nozzles with resin ones and thin down the trailing edges.

 

As for fit, this is another area where the kit was a little weird. Again some parts, like the wings, conformal fuel tanks and cockpit went together really well and needed very little clean up, but I don't know if I did something wrong but the two halves of the fuselage just did not align properly at all. The alignment at the back (near the tails) was especially poor and required a lot of filler.

 

I haven't built the Revell kit but given the price difference between the two and the fact that the Revell kit actually comes with the centre pylon, I'd say the Revell kit might be a better one to choose - it's got good reviews as well. Also, the GWH kit decals are way too thick so for me the TwoBobs aftermarket ones were a must!

 

Cheers

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2 minutes ago, theaa2000 said:

 

Thanks Reggie! Actually I was a little disappointed with the kit. It has some excellent detail - the cockpit, surface detail etc is all top stuff, but some parts are not as good. The exhaust nozzles and trailing edges of the wings/stabilators are really thick (very out of scale) so I had to replace the nozzles with resin ones and thin down the trailing edges.

 

As for fit, this is another area where the kit was a little weird. Again some parts, like the wings, conformal fuel tanks and cockpit went together really well and needed very little clean up, but I don't know if I did something wrong but the two halves of the fuselage just did not align properly at all. The alignment at the back (near the tails) was especially poor and required a lot of filler.

 

I haven't built the Revell kit but given the price difference between the two and the fact that the Revell kit actually comes with the centre pylon, I'd say the Revell kit might be a better one to choose - it's got good reviews as well. Also, the GWH kit decals are way too thick so for me the TwoBobs aftermarket ones were a must!

 

Cheers

Thank You for the info! Here in the US, GWH one is twice as much as the Revell one! 

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24 minutes ago, exdraken said:

outstanding!

 

what a diverse bombload!

Thanks! Since the F-15E has so many hardpoints, might as well make use of them all! :) 

11 minutes ago, chris148 said:

Very nice 👍

Cheers

Edited by theaa2000
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5 hours ago, F-4Guy said:

Superb build!

 

1 hour ago, Harry Callahan said:

Superb model

 

38 minutes ago, DAG058 said:

Nice work!

Thanks Gents! Appreciate it!

8 minutes ago, Lightningboy2000 said:

Fabulous Mud Hen! I do like your heat staining effects using pencils!

Really nice!

 

Martin

Thanks Martin! It was my first time using the pencils so I'm pleased with the results.

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