jrpowell3 Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Has anyone built it? If so, what were your thoughts on construction and accuracy? I know that the engine bulges are over-pronounced, but what else? Wanting to know if this is an acceptable substitute to the Revell F-15E. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) 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 March 9, 2018 by strikeeagle801 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) 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 March 9, 2018 by strikeeagle801 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 By non-extended cft stubs, you mean the port and starboard side weapons mounts that were replaced with shorter ones because the originals were cracking? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 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? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 (edited) 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 March 10, 2018 by jrpowell3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 Are the short cft stub pylons included in the box, too? Or do I need to find resin ones? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 11, 2018 Author Share Posted March 11, 2018 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 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? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Not that I know of. That is my plan when I get there. I have dry-fit the CFT's to the GWH fuselage, and they seem to be close enough to work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BoeingDriver Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I built the GWH F-15I into an "E". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 39 minutes ago, BoeingDriver said: I built the GWH F-15I into an "E". I already bought the GWH F-15K, but what needs to change from the F-15I to make it an F-15E? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BoeingDriver Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrpowell3 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 3 hours ago, BoeingDriver said: Nothing. GWH doesn’t have the correct MLG wheels though. Also, the rear CB panel & aft bay behind the rear seat are absent. I thought the instrument panels were different. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BoeingDriver Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 50 minutes ago, jrpowell3 said: I thought the instrument panels were different. No. Trust me on that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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