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Academy 1/48 F-15E "Seymour Johnson"


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Revell is considerably better than the Academy kit in just about every aspect. The CFT's are better, cockpit is better, afterburner cans/exhausts are better, the list goes on. The two things that the newer Academy kits have over the Revell kit is weapons (the fact that it actually HAS weapons, and they are modern) and decals. The decals are Cartograf-printed, so they are good, and it comes with a decent amount of weapons in it. If you can find a good deal on the Academy kit, get it, and use the weapons and decals on a Revell kit. By the time you found good decals and weapons for the Revell kit, you'd probably be spending the same amount (or more) anyway. 

 

Aaron

 

ps. I TRIED to build the Academy kit years ago, and it ended up in pieces after "contact" with a wall!  

Edited by strikeeagle801
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Thanks for responding. So Revell kit it is!  I already have a Hasegawa weapons kit, so I'm only concerned about the OIF updates to include GPS and the LAU-128 missile launchers....And decals, as the ones provided with the kit are garbage.

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You can look into the GWH kit as was suggested. The D-Corporation F-15K (you can find it on EBay) has the GWH airframe and the weapons from the Academy F-15K kit. It has everything you need to make a modern F-15E, including LAU-128's, the GPS dome molded in, and modern weapons. Just use the non-extended CFT stub pylons and find decals. The GWH kit actually trumps the Revell kit. It is more expensive than the Revell though. 

Edited by strikeeagle801
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No, sorry I didn't explain it well. All six of the stub pylons on the F-15K are longer than the F-15E's. When you see the two side to side, you'll be able to see the difference. I would suggest Google F-15K and you'll probably be able to get some decent pics. 

 

BTW, I'm not sure why exactly they were lengthened. It may be to increase load-bearing capacity on those pylons? 

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1 hour ago, strikeeagle801 said:

No, sorry I didn't explain it well. All six of the stub pylons on the F-15K are longer than the F-15E's. When you see the two side to side, you'll be able to see the difference. I would suggest Google F-15K and you'll probably be able to get some decent pics. 

 

BTW, I'm not sure why exactly they were lengthened. It may be to increase load-bearing capacity on those pylons? 

Otherwise, visually, everything on the F-15K is the same as the F-15E except for the engines? 

Edited by jrpowell3
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Correct. And the South Koreans bought two batches of F-15K. The second batch had F-100-PW-229's like our Echo's do. Both style exhausts are included in the D-Corporation F-15K boxing, however, I tend to like the Revell cans better. One of the few (in my opinion) weak points of the GWH kits. 

 

Aaron 

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Yes. They are both in the box. I think the Revell CFT's are better than the Academy ones...Better shape, and the CFT pylons have locating pins on them to allow a more positive join...The Academy ones (again, also included in the D-Corporation kit) have a butt joint for the stub pylons, which leaves a bit of ambiguity as to where they are placed, and don't make the join as strong. The Revell CFT's are more accurate in shape too. 

 

So, to really get the best F-15E, I think you need all three kits. The GWH provides the basic airframe, the Revell kit provides the CFT's and the exhaust cones, and the Academy kit provides the weapons and decals. Keep in mind, the F-15E is my favorite aircraft, and I realize that others may not be interested in the "perfect 1/48 scale Strike Eagle". The information provided here is just to give you options. You are welcome to set aside whatever you feel like. 

 

Aaron 

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15 minutes ago, strikeeagle801 said:

Yes. They are both in the box. I think the Revell CFT's are better than the Academy ones...Better shape, and the CFT pylons have locating pins on them to allow a more positive join...The Academy ones (again, also included in the D-Corporation kit) have a butt joint for the stub pylons, which leaves a bit of ambiguity as to where they are placed, and don't make the join as strong. The Revell CFT's are more accurate in shape too. 

 

So, to really get the best F-15E, I think you need all three kits. The GWH provides the basic airframe, the Revell kit provides the CFT's and the exhaust cones, and the Academy kit provides the weapons and decals. Keep in mind, the F-15E is my favorite aircraft, and I realize that others may not be interested in the "perfect 1/48 scale Strike Eagle". The information provided here is just to give you options. You are welcome to set aside whatever you feel like. 

 

Aaron 

I figured by your name that was the case.  Everything I've read said that the GWH Eagle is the best and I've been meaning to build it.  This gives me a reason.  I already nabbed one of the D-Corp Slam Eagles off of eBay.

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On 3/10/2018 at 10:19 PM, strikeeagle801 said:

Yes. They are both in the box. I think the Revell CFT's are better than the Academy ones...Better shape, and the CFT pylons have locating pins on them to allow a more positive join...The Academy ones (again, also included in the D-Corporation kit) have a butt joint for the stub pylons, which leaves a bit of ambiguity as to where they are placed, and don't make the join as strong. The Revell CFT's are more accurate in shape too. 

 

So, to really get the best F-15E, I think you need all three kits. The GWH provides the basic airframe, the Revell kit provides the CFT's and the exhaust cones, and the Academy kit provides the weapons and decals. Keep in mind, the F-15E is my favorite aircraft, and I realize that others may not be interested in the "perfect 1/48 scale Strike Eagle". The information provided here is just to give you options. You are welcome to set aside whatever you feel like. 

 

Aaron 

 

 

cool has anyone built this way yet?

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1 hour ago, jrpowell3 said:

I already bought the GWH F-15K, but what needs to change from the F-15I to make it an F-15E?

 

Nothing.  GWH doesn’t have the correct MLG wheels though.  Also, the rear CB panel & aft bay behind the rear seat are absent.

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