Revell 1/72 F-15A Eagle

REVELL/MATCHBOX 1:72 F-15A EAGLE

Reviewer: Mark B (SMAKR Webmaster) (smakr@bigpond.com)
Kit Built and Review submitted: April 2001

Aircraft:
The F-15 Eagle was developed from the three year F-X advanced air superiority fighter competition, and the Eagle emerged in the form of the F-15A first production variant. This first flew in 1972 and then entered service around 1975. About forty F-15A/B variants were also supplied to Israel where it was used in aggression for the first time and proved itself to be an outstanding air to air combat fighter. The F-15A was largely superseded in the USAF inventory by F-15C's in the air superiority role but was still arguably the best fighter in its first production form.

The Kit:
Released more than twenty five years ago this kit with raised panel lines and molded in a disgusting dark blue plastic was almost enough to put me off getting it out of the box! There are about 60 parts on two large sprues and a very small sprue, plus a two piece canopy. A small amount of flash encumbers the parts and the kit is riddled with unsightly ejector pin marks. Neither of these appear likely to pose any problems in cleaning off although some of the ejector pin marks could have been better placed!! There is a Š1974 stamp on the inside of a wing and this immediately raises suspicions about the kit's accuracy given that at that time there were only prototypes flying around the skies.

While this kit is the original Revell release, the kit has also been reboxed by Matchbox under their co-operation agreement and the boxart for this kit is exactly the same as it appears below. I am not sure if the decals or instruction sheet are the same but I have been advised that moldings are identical!

Matchbox boxing of the same kit under co-operation with Revell

Instructions:
A single A4 sheet folded to make an A5 booklet makes up the instruction sheet with about a dozen assembly steps. These steps are pretty straightforward to follow but there a few ambiguities that need careful attention (especially when placing the interior bits in the cockpit area). The front page shows an optional wheels up or down model the kit supposedly allows for while a four view diagram on the back page provides directions for decal placement and painting. Revell paints are quoted for the individual components and overall aircraft scheme.

Another old Revell F-15 Eagle boxing which apparently uses the same mold

Construction:
Some nasty ejector pin marks/flash have to be cleaned off first - something apparent to just about every step in the construction process hereafter - and while annoying it did not cause any grief.

One good thing about Revell, whether in the past or present, they do provide you with at least a decent semblance of a cockpit. In this kit you get a reasonable ejection seat, an instrument panel, control stick and rudder pedals which you attach to a cockpit tub. The instructions call for a Compass Grey finish but my references suggest a darker, almost sea grey interior. I went with my references and painted the interior accordingly with a Medium Grey finish. Decals are supplied for the main and side instrument panels and considering I had already decided this would not be a highlight in my collection I took the easy way out and applied these. The tub was then attached to the top of the nosewheel bay and installed into the vertically split forward fuselage section, which were glued together and ready to be affixed to the main fuselage later. The 'shelf' behind the ejection seat is attached to the canopy, according to the instructions, and a non-cemented part allows it to move upwards if fixing the canopy in the open position. I ended up affixing it to the sidewalls of the cockpit instead but it is just a bit smaller than the space provided, leaving a gap between it and the back of the seat as well as small gaps on the sides. Even if you have it raised you will have an empty area behind the pilot seat to peer into so you will need to do some work applying a rear armour bulkhead and a shelf. I used putty for the sides and some plasticard to fill up the space behind the seat - better that than an empty bay!!

In the meantime I was also assembling the separate engine provided for in the kit which is somewhat of a novelty and decently detailed. The break down of the fuselage is basically a horizontal split from the intakes to the rear of the aircraft and you get a fan and exhaust for one side of the F-15's engine while the other is a complete Pratt & Whitney engine you can put inside the model or leave out (perhaps on a trolley for a static display?). I almost did this but decided again it was a wheels up model and thus the engine was fully installed. The instructions suggest you can actually install the complete engine, not cemented, after you affix the fuselage halves together. I assume that this is so you can take it out at any time. Naturally an interior dark wash will be needed or investigative eyes will pick out all the bad bits, like being able to see right through the forward intake.

The only problem is that the complete engine it is longer than the other 'engine' attachment points - that is, it extends slightly more aft than the exhaust fan installed on the otherside!! Since the front fan will hardly been seen through the intakes (let alone tell if it is in alignment with the other or not), I moved the complete engine (I had left the nozzle off) a touch forward. I painted the fans aluminium and gave the deep ends of the intake and exhaust areas a black wash. Gun metal/burnt iron was used on the actual exhaust fan itself. The engine nozzles were added on afterwards with good adhesion, and this also ensured that both nozzles were aligned perfectly at the rear of the plane.

The main fuselage halves went together quite well and the wing undersides were affixed to the upper wings (which are molded to the fuselage) but result in a small gap around it's perimeter requiring filling and sanding. About the only thing you need to watch out for is ensuring that your intake walls (especially on the inner side as there are no locating pins here) and rear corners of the plane all mate correctly, and are not apart or off alignment. Pegs and rubber bands were used to good effect to keep these components clamped in the right position. Since this is a wheels up model the gear doors were added to the main wells and also the nosewheel bay in the separate forward fuselage assembly. I had no problems getting these to fit, a slight trim was in order (mainly to clean up small bits of flash) and glue was used to fill any gaps. For the wheels down enthusiasts, unfortunately, all wheel bays are completely devoid of any detail. The tailplanes were added, again fairly easily but with a very small gap eitherside needing filling and of course best to position properly and left to dry. The airbrake goes on top of the fuselage and can be displayed in the open position, with actuating strut, or closed. I affixed it in the closed position, fits very well but yet again small gap needs attention.

At this point I added the nosecone on the forward fuselage assembly and for wheels down modellers, you will need to cram in some weight to prevent tail sitting. Test fit the nose so you have it exactly the right way, thankfully the kit includes a couple of alignment tabs so that it can only be affixed one way. It does result in the smallest of 'steps' from nose to cone so I sanded it smooth to ensure it matched the round smoothness from cockpit to nose tip. The forward fuselage assembly is then affixed to the main fuselage and fits well after a test fit and a bit of flash removal. Again though, some gaps result and filling is required to smooth out the join lines. I then sanded the whole model smooth since a lot of areas had received filler and this also got rid of some seam lines.

The dorsal fins were added, they fit well but you need to position them correctly (I piled a couple of paint tins with the top one hanging over - delicately) and leave to dry in the vertical position. Otherwise they will most likely lean over. Two different tailhooks are provided, and I used the one that only basically resembles what it is meant to be, in the closed position.

For stores there is one underwing pylon upon which you can attach 6 cluster bombs and a pair of sidewinders perched on the side, and of course this applies to the other wing. Additionally are four large Sparrow missiles that are attached to the fuselage corner of the aircraft, you add in one large finlet and rear fin yourself which both need some cleaning in order to fit. Removal of some unsightly ejector marks on the pylons are required too. I had painted the pylons fully before applying the painted weaponry, as discussed below, several coats were needed to ensure the dark blue plastic could not be seen underneath.

In the final step I affixed the canopy (closed) into place and construction was complete. There were no real problems encountered although a bit of preparation, filling and sanding made the tasks even easier so the kit fitted very well overall.

Options:
It's an elderly kit, from the days when Revell liked to include a lot options - or gimmicks if you prefer. The canopy comes in two pieces so it can be displayed open with the rear shelf behind the seat moving up from the cockpit a little with it - but obviously a strut is needed. The only thing to point out here if you are going for an open cockpit is that the canopy is attached in Step 2 and you need to go to step 9 to see the actual details about having it open!!

All the undercarriage has been constructed in a way so as to make the wheels moveable if you do not glue them to the hub or axle. The gear of course can be displayed up or down, there is a fairly detailed engine that can be left out of the model or placed inside, it is up to you (I had visions of a diorama - boarding ladder hanging down from open cockpit with brakes etc all open, small truck/trolley behind with the engine mounted on the back and a couple of mechanics bent over looking at it!). The airbrake can be displayed in the open or closed position with actuating strut included and two separate arrestor hooks are provided, one for closed, the other down in the open position. There is also a generous amount of stores that can be placed on underwing pylons and fuselage attachment points.

Painting:
The kit was in a dark blue plastic so I knew this step was going to be a laborious one! The whole kit was covered in a light grey primer first before receiving an overall Humbrol H127 (FS36375) Ghost Grey cote, then a second to ensure that the blue plastic could not be seen at all. Humbrol H128 (FS36320) Compass Grey was used to add a large blotch like camouflage scheme (like the second YF-22 prototype wore). I had already given up on this kit actually representing a real life aircraft so this scheme, although still quite realistic (and probably in actual use), was one I painted myself and it looks fab! Bombs were painted olive green with yellow tips and missiles all painted white with black bands in the appropriate places. A gloss cote was then provided ready for decaling.

Versions & Decals:
Only one version is provided for by the kit and is not identified in the instruction sheet. The aircraft carries overall blue-grey scheme with scarlet and white stripes on the wingtips and nose suggesting it is a prototype, a specially painted or pre-production F-15A aircraft? The instructions provide no clue and I have been through every possible reference subject I have without any luck in tracking this aircraft down. It should not be a prototype as these were given solid day-glo orange patches in these parts and included on other areas such as the intake.

The decals had aged a bit and were a slight tinge of yellow but I was lazy and decided to apply these straight from the kit. The decals went on quite well but the large LA markings on the fin had carrier film that traced around the individual letters (as opposed to one big rectangle film) and made it nigh impossible to slide off the backing sheet and into place. I had to detach the L from the A on one side before I got the hang of it on the other. All the small decals carried a bit of excess carrier film and the USAF insignia did not have any blue on it (which matches a number of early F-15A photos, including the prototypes, in my collection). Register was "okay" and I guess in hindsight if I wanted to be particular I would have gone with an aftermarket decal source. I did also leave the red/white stripes off, I hated them. The decals set well and were easy to apply.

Accuracy:
As you would expect with a kit that came out before the aircraft was not even in service the model does have a number of flaws, which - to Revell's credit - are minor compared to what others have done in the past. The panel lines are incorrect in a number of places and the shape of various parts of the aircraft are wrong - most notably the section between main wing and tailplanes and the exhaust nozzles, including the rear end of the aircraft itself. There is also no gun nozzle on the starboard "shoulder" area as there should be, nor the vent just aft of this either. Some small vents and so forth are missing. I am not sure whether they have taken this kit from a prototype since they have missed some of these more noticeable areas. Otherwise dimension-wise it is very good and it does look every part like an F-15 Eagle. At the back of the display cabinet it is hard to see any of these bad bits!

Overall:
Accuracy complaints aside the kit is a good one, it went together easily and providing the very small amounts of flash and ejector pin marks are removed from the worst places it can be easily built by the novice modeller. I was very pleased with how it came out given that it was a bit of a kit-bash to relieve some Luftwaffe limited run AMS! An easy kit worth the price for anyone who doesn't mind a few small inaccuracies in a kit that is still every much the bit an Eagle. For those who are into a fully accurate and proper F-15A, especially the example produced, then naturally best to get your hands on a Hasegawa kit and this one a miss. I will get another Eagle, but a proper one this time and it won't be this kit.

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Picture Credit: Unknown

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