F-15E Dual Role Fighter aka Strike Eagle

[PeterB]

Back in 1990 when I was made redundant for the first time I had a bit of spare cash so bought a few kits including this.

 

 

 It has been in my stash ever since though apparently at some time I opened one of the bags and painted the 22 Rockeyes in OD - the yellow stripes will no doubt be a pain but at least it has them - the original version must have just pre-dated their weapons sets I guess which is good as I would have had to buy four of set II which would have cost at least as much as the ruddy kit, though having said they do not provide any air to air missiles and refer to the weapons sets for them - strange!

 

The kit dates back to 1984 and was a modified release of Hasegawa's original F-15A or maybe their later C, but in 1988 they changed the parts and that is the boxing I have. I built the C I bought at the same time a couple of years back and it still has the early style of exhaust nozzles with the outer casing, but this has been modified to the later "exposed" type which look like they could be a bit of a fiddle to build - as Tim is building the very same kit I will be interested to see how he gets along with them! I expect this will be an OOB job, but I have said that many times before then changed my mind!.

 

Pete

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by PeterB

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Im sure someone has Sidewinders and Sparrows going spare in their stash if you don't. 

[PeterB]

The last few weeks have been a bit complicated here in the B family madhouse, but I have now made a start. The cockpit and nose section are now complete but I have not bothered with construction pics as you have by now seen it all before.

So far so good if a bit out of focus. This kit is presumably based on the prototype/early production versions and probably is not all that accurate anyway, and although I could probably update it, it would take time and money and frankly I am not in the mood. I will build it pretty much OOB using the kit decals for 45 TTW training squadron, assuming they do not disintegrate! I will add a few Sidewinders from my stock, but will probably stick with the kit bombs. As discussed in Tim's build of the same kit, these may or may not be Rockeyes - the D&S book on Gulf War weapons says that the F-15E did use them but they were probably painted white. As mine are green already I may stick with that. To be honest I am not sure exactly why but I am not feeling all that enthusiastic about this kit at the moment but with luck my Mojo will decide to come out of hibernation before too long - maybe I am having a touch of what I seem to remember Heather describes as her "Black Dog", or maybe it is just old age catching up with me at last!😄

 

Pete

Edited November 20, 2023 by PeterB

[Wings unlevel]

I remember looking on admiringly at this kit when I was in high school back in the day, that box art is gorgeous but the price tag at the time put it out of reach!
 

Mojo can be illusion and ethereal, good luck with finding yours, it would be great to see this with the box art scheme in the gallery!

[theplasticsurgeon]

Here's the conclusion I came to with my build:

So is it an improvement on what came before? Much as I looked forward to this build with eager anticipation, I really think the finicky details took the edge off that enjoyment.

And just for you Pete - best of luck finding it. . . 

[PeterB]

The last couple of months have been a bit strange. As I mentioned in January most of this year's GB that I was interested in were in the first 6 or 7 months so since I finished my sole entry in the Revell/Monogram Classic I have been been in a sort of "Limbo" I guess. After building virtually continuously for around 3 years I decided to take a bit of a break, but have found it hard to get back into this kit. I usually have at least 2 kits on the go and sometimes as many as 5, which means that I can switch between them when waiting for paint/glue or decals to dry, but just building one seems to have hit my motivation. However I have come up with a cunning plan and started working through my large stash of military vehicle kits at the same time - this particular problem should go away by the end of October when I get back into multiple builds with the Ju 88 family GB and the Armoured Car one when I hope to build a minimum of 7 more or less simultaneously!

 

Anyway. I have fitted out the upper and lower rear fuselage halves.

 And glued them together before adding the nose section, the top "bulge" and the airbrake.

The top and bottom went together rather better than I expected, but the same cannot be said for the other sections which are going to need a bit of filler. The airbrake was not only warped but also far too thick so needed filing down a lot. Even then it still sits a bit proud but may not be too bad after a little more work. The layout of kits of modern jets can be problematic it seems in terms of joints and I don't know which is worse - the "old fashioned" style of centreline joint or the upper/lower ones like this - I have never tried a Tamiya kit of something like this other than the much smaller Skyray so I wonder how they go about it? This one is not perfect but far from being the worst I have ever built!

 

 

So - onwards and upwards I hope. Now, where did I put that T-26, IS-2M and KV-85?😄

 

Pete

Edited November 20, 2023 by PeterB

[PeterB]

Well, I suppose I was expecting this after seeing Tim's build of the identical kit - the fit of the wings was iffy and that of the CFT was terrible.

After a bit of cursing and clamping I got there in the end but it will take a bit more filling and sanding before I am reasonably happy with it (if ever). 

 

Pete

[Johnson]

I felt much the same way as you Pete in the early stages of my Hasagawa build (F-15C, a bit simpler - no CFTs!), I lacked enthusiasm despite having looked forward to building the kit for years. Looking at the various 1/72 Hasagawa builds in this GB, we all seem to be having similar issues, less than perfect fit in many areas and filling and sanding required. Now I've got the construction finished (photos tomorrow) I feel a whole lot better about it, such an impressive plane! Mojo restored somewhat. Hopefully you will get the same lift when you get to that stage.

[PeterB]

As you may have gathered I can't drum up any enthusiasm for this build at the moment - partly due to the kit itself and partly a few minor health problems in the family. I will therefore leave it for the moment and maybe finish it off in the KUTA.

 

Good luck to the rest of you.

 

Pete

Edited October 24, 2022 by PeterB

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

5 hours ago, PeterB said:

As you may have gathered I can't drum up any enthusiasm for this build at the moment - partly due to the kit itself and partly a few minor health problems in the family. I will therefore leave it for the moment and maybe finish it off in the KUTA.

 

Good luck to the rest of you.

 

Pete

Sad to hear but truly understandable Pete, I hope things sort themselves out soon for you. 

[Wings unlevel]

Family first 👍