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REVELL-MONOGRAM 1:48 F-15C EAGLE
Reviewer: Sheldon
Rampersad (rec.models.scale)
- Deluxe Kit #:6627
Kit Review
submitted:
April
2000
Aircraft:
The F-15 Eagle has long been a mainstay of America’s armed forces.
Capable of speeds in excess of mach 2 the Eagle is powered by two General
Electric F-100 engines that give it a greater than 1:1 trust to weight ratio.
The Eagle is a multipurpose aircraft, yet it is designed specifically as a
fighter interceptor. Its lift-generating fuselage makes it a formidable
dogfighter as well. The ’15 is armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder
missiles and a 20mm Vulcan cannon. This formidable fighter s to be replaced as
the USAF fighter interceptor by the new F-22 Raptor.
The Kit:
The kit is a deluxe kit with an AH-64A Apache attack helicopter, paints
and a tube of glue. I started construction in the cockpit. The consoles were
painted black and the dials dry brushed with white. The construction steps are
pretty straightforward. The nose gear assembly was assembled next. This was
attached to the base of the cockpit assembly. This completed section was then
glued to the right hand fuselage and the two fuselage halves glued together; I
used a couple rubber bands to hold them together.
Construction:
The exhaust pipes can be displayed open or closed. I was going for a bird
on the ground so I assembled the pipes in the engine off position. This required
part 65 (exhaust nozzle) to be placed in side part 64 (the exhaust fins) and
this attached to the exhaust (part 17). The kit has the option to build the kit
with the canopy open or close and the radome open or closed to display the power
radar. After the aft fuselage halves were assembled (top and bottom pieces) the
intake ramps were added. Due to the absence of turbines like the F-14 kits some
fading with some dark grey paint was done to the back of the ramp for effect.
The inboard intake panels were then put into place. You will have to hold the
intake top down until the glue dries since there is a noticeable gap between the
top of the panel and the top of the intake.
Then came the disaster. When trying to attach the aft fuselage to the forward fuselage assemblies it as discovered that they don’t line up. There are 2 tabs to assist in this but you have to force the parts into place. It was while doing this dry fit that one of the tabs broke! The tabs are on the aft part of the fuselage, one on the upper and the other on the lower. The lower one broke. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem. Just butt join the two. Not this time, the fuselage halves didn’t line up and there would be about a 3mm protrusion. So I gently heated the lower aft section using a candle and gently bent the area into shape. I lined up the top tab and then bent the fuselage into place. I used super glue to quickly bond the parts.
The upper wing halves were then attached. There is a small space between the fuselage and the wing. This is easily fixed with a little filler. The bottom wing halves were kind of tricky to fit without any spaces but it can be done. The tail fins went on next. Then I painted the aircraft in the standard low-viz greys that almost every Eagle was painted in. The colours were light ghost grey and medium grey. The instructions don’t show this, but this ’15 is one that flew out of Kadena AFB attached to the 44th TFS and research shows that those birds did indeed wear this colour scheme. Research material for this colour scheme is available on any Eagle picture you come across on the net.
Decals & Finishing:
I applied the decals next. There are 90 of them. These gives the kit
great detail with all the stencilling. The decals went on with no problems at
all. I applied the decals at this stage to have an easier time of it, without
pylons and drop tanks in the way. The payload went on next. This consisted of 4
sidewinders and 4 sparrow. A drop tank went on to the centreline position. I
attached drops on the wing pylons also. To do this I had to add braces to the
pylons, just underneath the sidewinders. The radar antenna was painted a tan colour
and the actual radar was painted grey with black “boxes” and wires. The
speed brake was displayed in the open position and so were the radome and the
step down with the canopy open. The aircraft is a bit of a tail sitter so you
might want to add some weight in the nose. I recommend behind the radar. There
is enough space forward of the cockpit tub and the back of the radar and it
won’t be noticeable in anyway.
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