BlackThor 06

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Regarding your question, are you referring to the exposed gun muzzles protruding from the aircraft's nose? If that is the case, then the HB kit includes two of those parts. BT6

OT...beautiful box art! BT6

I built the Revell F/A-18E last year; it didn't require nose weight at all. BT6

The Academy F-111C and F-15C MSIP are rehashes, both have retooled parts and new sprues with quality molding and new decals printed by Cartograf; definitely far improved over their earlier releases. IMHO if it's within your price range, they are worth acquiring. These aren't mere reboxes with just new decals, like other manufacturers. AFAIK the Italeri E-2 is a reboxed Kinetic kit. BT6

I was looking at that possibility. Was this ever done before? My concern is would the contours match. Please let me know. BT6

I think its time for me to get another set of Aires' F-14A pit. Now you just inspired me to kitbash Academy's and Italeri's Cats. Thank you sir! BT6

I' m sorry, I meant sanding on the resin bits itself. Obviously, some trimming and cutting on the kit parts are mandatory, though its most intriguing that sanding the resin parts are not needed. I may try this in near future. Thanks! :lol:

Interesting news, since the pit is the weakest part of the Italeri kit. So youre saying there is no sanding involved whatosever? BT6

I noticed that, too. Apparently Academy is continually upgrading their toolings for their 1/48 F-15 series; they would then use their new molds in their older boxings. For those who were eager to get the F-15K SLAM and F-15E "Operation Iraqi Freedom" kits when they were first released, they would notice that the subsequent molds of the very same products were updated after Academy's release of the F-15I Ra'am and F-15C MSIP. Updated common parts include the IPs for the F-15K, E and C, vertical stabs with the scab plates, and possibly the LAU-129 launchers. Simply put, if one would purchase a

If Stephen Coonts' book Flight Of The Intruder (set in the Vietnam war era) was accurate in a technical point of view, CMDR Camparelli recommended to mix decoy flares with the chaff loads for the A-6 Intruders; IIRC to counter a possible upgraded SA-2 threat; the Americans feared the NVA may have added IR seekers to the radar-homing SA-2 SAM. BT6

This pretty much sums it up: HB 1/48 A7-B Review :) BT6

Sorry to hear about your experience. Try to gently wet sand the 'melted Future' affected areas with 4000-8000 grit polishing cloths. Reminds me of my own trials and disasters when I tried to go back to aircraft modeling after several successful armor builds; matter of fact I built the very same kit you're doing. IMHO, the negative outlook you have for the Academy kit is partially from being new to modeling - I recall swearing at the dismal fit while building the same model. I finally was able to churn out respectable planes after 2-3 failures. BT6

Judging from the images posted, that's the older tooling prior to the retooled F-15K and F-15E OIF releases. :) BT6

This page from Boeing used to work in my web browser but no longer loads correctly for some reason... F/A-18E Virtual Pit Tour Dunno if it would be helpful to you. ;) BT6

Sounds good, Mr. Chung...but what about shipping and handling costs? Do I have to pay for such? BT6