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NEW Academy Strike Eagle to F-15I?


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Accuracy quibbles aside - does the new revised Strike Eagles from Academy have the bits needed to do an Israeli F-15I OOB? It used to be the turkey feather afterburner cans, GPS dome and the doddad atop the fin in place of the ECM fairing on USAF Eagles.

Now that I am employed again I look forward to a SLAM Eagle just to get the SLAM-ERs for my weapons stash. I go to war with my neighbors next month...the planning is in an advanced stage. Operation Overrossa...the silence of the dandelions!

Matt

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Accuracy quibbles aside - does the new revised Strike Eagles from Academy have the bits needed to do an Israeli F-15I OOB? It used to be the turkey feather afterburner cans, GPS dome and the doddad atop the fin in place of the ECM fairing on USAF Eagles.

Now that I am employed again I look forward to a SLAM Eagle just to get the SLAM-ERs for my weapons stash. I go to war with my neighbors next month...the planning is in an advanced stage. Operation Overrossa...the silence of the dandelions!

Matt

That would be great, if you can do the Israeli F-15I OOB from that kit, if so I'll do one.

Since we're on the subject of Academy Eagles, what paints do i need for the USAF F-15E?

Interior

Exterior

Landing gear etc

Dont get me wrong, but Academy kits are really great quality and especially great value for money, but i just dont like the fact they dont refer to any brand of paint and just say grey (what grey? theres 100s of shades of grey)

Just Ive been putting off my F-15E, A-10A, MIG-23 and MIG-27 Academy kits just because of this reason.

Where can I find out what paints I need for these?

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That would be great, if you can do the Israeli F-15I OOB from that kit, if so I'll do one.

Since we're on the subject of Academy Eagles, what paints do i need for the USAF F-15E?

Interior

Exterior

Landing gear etc

Interior - dark gull grey

exterior - gunship grey

landing gear and wells - white

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Damn! You get the Salm Eagle bits as well as the AIM-9Ms/AIM-120Bs, Penetrator JDAMS, Sniper, and GBU-12s!!!?!!!??

So lemme get this straight as far as loadout goes.

4x AIM-120C

4x AIM-9X

2x AIM-9M

2x AIM-120B

2x GBU-31 (BLU-109)

2x GBU-31 (Mk-84)

2x GBU-12

6x GBU-38

2x AGM-84 SLAM-ER

+ Two F-110 burner cans/nozzles

We have the Kinetic F-16 equivalent for the F-15E now!

Shame they only give weapons data/stencils for the new weapons. Will Academy sell me an extra Slam-Eagle sheet?

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Dont get me wrong, but Academy kits are really great quality and especially great value for money, but i just dont like the fact they dont refer to any brand of paint and just say grey (what grey? theres 100s of shades of grey)

Where can I find out what paints I need for these?

Nothing personal, but we hear this all the time, and I don't understand why everyone gets hung up on kit instruction color call outs, there are 10 companies producing the same A/C and there are 8 different color call outs.

The USAF has some very specific colors they use, cockpits have been painted Gull Grey for decades and it's an established color, same goes with gear wells and gear (with the exception of the A-10) they're gloss white.

Now as far as paint brands, that is a different story, Humbrol and Tamiya have some questionable color names, but there are a few on-line FS paint color equivalent charts for those who use the other brands.

So ditch the kit color charts and reference the real thing.

Curt

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The SLAM Eagle kit doesn't include P&W exhausts of any kind, only GE exhausts. It does however have the GPS dome molded on the upper fuselage, and has the slim boom for the top of both tails.

To make an F-15I, you would at least need to add feathered P&W exhausts.

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Dont get me wrong, but Academy kits are really great quality and especially great value for money, but i just dont like the fact they dont refer to any brand of paint and just say grey (what grey? theres 100s of shades of grey)

Dunno about 1/48 or older releases. But the recent F/A-18C in 1/72 call out Gunze paint numbers as well as FS numbers and the F-16CJ calls out Gunze, Lifecolor, Humbrol and Model Master paints, can you complain!?. And like Netz mentioned, it's not like the F-15E/I/K use some obscure shade of gray that no one knows about, and paint charts/tables are readily available on the internet.

Edited by Inquisitor
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HERE I COME AND SAY

WHICH KIT DO YOU THINK IS BETTER, ACADEMY'S E OR REVELL'S E?

*flees*

Unquestionably Revell's is more accurate and is devoid of the few shape issues the Acad fuselage has.

But I'll still take either new Acad boxing in a heartbeat over Revell's Echo.

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Unquestionably Revell's is more accurate and is devoid of the few shape issues the Acad fuselage has.

But I'll still take either new Acad boxing in a heartbeat over Revell's Echo.

Howcome sv?

What has the Academy kit that would draw you too it instead? The weapons sprues?

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Howcome sv?

What has the Academy kit that would draw you too it instead? The weapons sprues?

Yeah, the weapons and...[looks around shiftily] the boxart. :woot.gif: Seriously, I'm the kind of guy that likes the kits with alot of options and extras. just the way I work. the Academy kit isn't so horrible IMO and like my earlier post explained, with all the weapons it includes the OIF boxing is the Kinetic F-16 equivalent of the F-15E. (All Acad needs to do is include a couple GBU-15s and a GBU-28).

Don't get me wrong, the Revell kit is fantastic, I built one and it's wonderful. I just prefer the Academy boxings-oh, forgot, the Acad comes with variable intakes.

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Unquestionably Revell's is more accurate and is devoid of the few shape issues the Acad fuselage has.

But I'll still take either new Acad boxing in a heartbeat over Revell's Echo.

The Academy kit is fine if you don't give a damn about building a half-decent, half-accurate representation of the Strike Eagle...and if you are not worried about that, more power to you, that's what the Academy and Hasegawa "strike eagles" (read, Delta with half-@$$ed attempts at CFT's) are for. However, if you are serious about an accurate Strike Eagle, you HAVE to go with Revell. Even it needs some updating (see my pinned thread in this section) but it's a heck of a lot closer than anything else out there.

Aaron

ps. As for the OP question, yes, if the Academy kit comes with feathered PW exhausts, you are somewhat close to an F-15I OOB. Just remember that the India has -229 engines, so you need the CFT scoops. Indias also have a longer centerline pylon than the Echo, as well as an all-black NVG-compatible cockpit. Also, Indias don't have the provisions to have the outside wing pylons installed. Only USAF birds do, and they are NEVER actually used. I heard there are some pylons still floating around USAF bases "just in case" but they are not used.

Edited by strikeeagle801
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Damn! You get the Salm Eagle bits as well as the AIM-9Ms/AIM-120Bs, Penetrator JDAMS, Sniper, and GBU-12s!!!?!!!??

So lemme get this straight as far as loadout goes.

4x AIM-120C

4x AIM-9X

2x AIM-9M

2x AIM-120B

2x GBU-31 (BLU-109)

2x GBU-31 (Mk-84)

2x GBU-12

6x GBU-38

2x AGM-84 SLAM-ER

+ Two F-110 burner cans/nozzles

We have the Kinetic F-16 equivalent for the F-15E now!

Shame they only give weapons data/stencils for the new weapons. Will Academy sell me an extra Slam-Eagle sheet?

There are only 4 total AMRAAMs, and only decals for the 120C--so if the shape is the same, you may have 120Bs, but no decals. Still, total of 4 of these missiles. No legacy Sidewinders, only 4 AIM-9Xs. Two total GBU-31s, not 2 of each. No GBU-12s. Unless my box is defective.

HERE I COME AND SAY

WHICH KIT DO YOU THINK IS BETTER, ACADEMY'S E OR REVELL'S E?

*flees*

Revell all the way. It is extremely accurate and falls together. I've built my share of Tamiyas and Hasegawas over the years, and the Revell Mudhen went together as good or better than any. (No, not all T's and H's are the best in fit, but too many are to bring up that argument.) The Revell only lacks in a few areas--like fixed stabs, fixed ailerons, missing half the main gear wells, and launch rails. The control surfaces are easily cut and moved. The wells can be ignored or cut away and scratch built since you can't see much there with the doors shut. And Shawn Hull makes excellent rails. There's also the issue with the older style front weapons pylon, but is not inaccurate for many Strike Eagles, and can be satisfactorily fixed with a sanding stick. And one of the best cockpits out of the box, needing only bang seats for some people.

On to Academy. They fixed the shape inaccuracy around the engine humps in the same way that Kinetic fixed the shape of their Viper. Not really. You can tell they did work, but they only did a bit of blending. Also, the panel lines that they rescribed around the fix are very inconsistent on my copy. (I say "on my copy", because on their Raptor kit, there seems to be a lot of variation in the quality of their panel lines from kit to kit.) Otherwise, they did nothing about the fact that the upper fuselage is a D, not an E. You wanna talk about scratchbuilding/correcting the shape of the engine humps? I don't want to thing about it. It has the same problem with the ailerons as the Revell, and wheel wells have the same problem. You do get some decent parts with the Academy, which is why I bought--plus it was only $35 at a recent contest. I'll probably still use Shawn's launch rails, but the kit's are a close second in quality and accuracy. I'll probably use the fuselage, etc., for some scifi scratch built project, or a transformer. And someone will break their canopy and need one, which I'll gladly send off after I've started it. By the way, the details on the AIM-9X's are a bit over scaled--the bands that wrap around are too thick, but this can be sanded down. Not sure about accuracy on the other weapons.

So my answer--at least 5 Revells, and just one academy. And you notice, I never had to get into price to make the choice/comparison. In the states, the Academy kit retails for $44, and can be gotten for mayby $40 online when you factor in shipping ($44 including shipping at Sprue Bros.). The Revell retails for about $30, but Michael's sells it for $27, I think, and has a coupon almost every week for 40-50% off, and dang! Price could be the other way around and I'd still say Revell every time. Yes, the Academy wins when it comes to weapons, but for some, like me, it's only a weapons kit with a model I probably won't build, which means it's an overpriced weapons set.

Mike Todd

Edited by dedalus
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The Academy kit is fine if you don't give a damn about building a half-decent, half-accurate representation of the Strike Eagle...and if you are not worried about that, more power to you, that's what the Academy and Hasegawa "strike eagles" (read, Delta with half-@$$ed attempts at CFT's) are for. However, if you are serious about an accurate Strike Eagle, you HAVE to go with Revell. Even it needs some updating (see my pinned thread in this section) but it's a heck of a lot closer than anything else out there.

Aaron

Yes, if you don't give a gosh darn about half-decent, half accurate representation. Sometimes I don't care, and that's why I have Academy Mig-21's in the stash. So, two major things left, then, are fit and price. Um, Revell and Revell.

Mike Todd

Edited by dedalus
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There are only 4 total AMRAAMs, and only decals for the 120C--so if the shape is the same, you may have 120Bs, but no decals. Still, total of 4 of these missiles. No legacy Sidewinders, only 4 AIM-9Xs. Two total GBU-31s, not 2 of each. No GBU-12s. Unless my box is defective.

Mike Todd

I was referring to the new F-15E OIF boxing in the link below. It comes with both F-15K sprues as well as a new one with two penetrator JDAMs, two GBU-12s, a Sniper, and two each of the AIM-120B and AIM-9M.

Just check Academy's website. You can see the configuration of the new kit's parts.
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Yeah, the weapons and...[looks around shiftily] the boxart. :P Seriously, I'm the kind of guy that likes the kits with alot of options and extras. just the way I work. the Academy kit isn't so horrible IMO and like my earlier post explained, with all the weapons it includes the OIF boxing is the Kinetic F-16 equivalent of the F-15E. (All Acad needs to do is include a couple GBU-15s and a GBU-28).

Don't get me wrong, the Revell kit is fantastic, I built one and it's wonderful. I just prefer the Academy boxings-oh, forgot, the Acad comes with variable intakes.

Hi sv,

That's fair enough mate, each to his own! The Kinetic F-15 eh, oooh your a fire starter :D

Cheers :lol:

Glen

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Thanks for the replies on the F-15I. I have seen the sprue layouts but until I get my mitts on them I have a bit of a hard time seeing the detail all that well (I am getting my first pair of bifocals this week!)

Does it look like this one has the under intake chaff buckets now?

I agree that the Revell Mudhen is the best but to tweak it into a F-15I there was a bit of aftermarket involved and once that is done I might as well buy the Academy kit and have another bird to add to my stash.

I have 1 R/M built, 1 Acad done as a Baz - waiting to find the stupid CFT missile pylons to finish it (aka I have to find a GOOD deal on a Hasegawa bird, maybe at the Nats next month!) and one Acad in the stash awaiting maybe a Saudi set of markings. Now that I have a good source of GBU-12s (aka Kinetic Vipers) maybe I'll add another R/M to the to do pile as a Afganistan operations bird. The one with 9 GBU-12s always sounded neat to me, that is only the bombs from 2 and a third of my 4 Kinetic Vipers!

Happy Modeling and now back to work fro me

Matt

Edited by Matt Roberts
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