So which 1:48, F-15E kit to get?

Greg
I just picked up the academy F15E
It beats the Hasegawa hands down, and don't look too hard for the pro modeler,
if it is the Monogram re- boxed(I hate to swear using the M word on line).
The price is very nice too. It also comes with an extensive choice of bang which
includes a bunker buster as well as nice CFT's
http://www.academy.co.kr/en/index.html

Greg

For my money the Monogram/Promodeler is the nicest one I've seen. I haven't seen the Academy one so I can't comment on it, but the Monogram kit is much nicer than the Hasegawa one, which is showing its age. If you're interested I could look and see, I may have an extra Monogram kit that I could let go of, especially if you don't mind what the box looks like.

Later

I just recnetly picked up the Academy F-15 C/D, and it is a really nice looking kit, with plenty of options. Haven't had the chance to look over the Hasegawa kit, though, and have never seen the Pro-Modeller kit, although they have been really good in the past. The Academy is pretty cheap, too. I paid $15 for mine, using a Hobby Lobby 1/2 off coupon.

demono69

I built the Seymore Johnson Hasegawa version years ago, the only complaint I had about it at the time was the canopy and the decals. I really love the ME turkey feathers....

Oggy, thanks for the link, I guess you are talking about kit #2117. Yup it does look nice... how detailed is the interior? I'm planning to keep the cockpit open... how good are the decals? I know from experience that Hasegawa and Tamiya usually have very good decals ... I've never actually built an Academy model but I hear that things in that company are improving in leaps and bounds :-) your opinions?

Eagle, thanks for the offer mate, but good kits are good to keep shelved till you have time to assemble them... thanks for the offer but you'll probobally want to build this sucker in the future :-)

Wow that Academy link is great... check out the SU27UB Flanker C (kit #2140)... sweet kit... includes photo etched parts... sweet!... Maybe I should put that one together... haven't seen in at my local Hobby store... hmmm....

GregL

I don't know about Hasegawa, but Tamiya's decals I don't like. They are TOO THICK!

hou_ge2000, you may be right. I haven't done an aircraft model in over 10 years... back then Tamiya and Hasegawa had very decent decals compared to Monogram or Revell or Academy for that matter... but that was over 10 years ago.... That said most of what I currently build is armour but I rarely use decals for armour - I usually use stencils and airbrush numbers and such onto the armour... ;-)

The question is... how are the Academy decals?

GregL

demono69,

One more question, what is the interior like in the Academy kit? Academy kits used to be horrific for their spartan interiors...

GregL

Greg,

The cockpit is not going to win any awards, but the casting of the pit is crisp, with plenty of detail. The dials and gauges are easily seen, and with a bit of detailing should come out very nice, indeed.

In answer to the decals, they're very good, with clean register. Everything is easily read, which is fairly rare in the 1/48 scale. I have 1/32 decals that aren't that clear.

And yes, the turkey feathers are nice, too.

demono69

Hi, Greg,

IMHO, the Academy kit is nice, worth building if you can get it cheap, but not quite as good as Hasegawa's. The Hasegawa really represents the F-15D. To make it a "proper" E , with the wider wheels and tires, more bulged gear doors and miscellaneous lumps and bumps, you can use the Paragon resin conversion set, which is out of production, hard to find, and somewhat expensive. Of course you can always just build the Hasegawa kit unmodified, paint it Gunship Gray and you will have a beautiful model which very few people would realize wasn't "quite right".

However, since you said you want the best, I'd have to recommend the Monogram Pro-Modeler kit, also released in the U.S. in a Revell box without ordnance, and by Revell of Germany with Tiger Meet decals. It is easily one of the best 1/48th scale jet kits ever...beautifully molded, well engineered, accurate, and great value-for-money. The masters were done by Bill Koster, who is doing the masters for the upcoming Revell/Monogram F-18E Super Hornet. (Can't wait for that one to be released!)

Hunt down the Pro-Modeler kit. I assure you, you won't be disappointed.

Best regards,

Jim Whitley

Well I checked with my local hobby shop and no dice... apparently the Pro-Modeller F-15E is no longer being produced and so does not appear on any of the distributors inventory pages :-(

Now, I can get the regular F-15E from Revell but it does not have the ordinance. So I guess I would have to buy a separate ordinance kit from say Hasegawa... but then there is the problem of proper mounts for the various bombs and missiles. At 1:48 scale all these little details make all the difference in the world...

GregL

I've just bought the Revell Germany F-15E in it is sooooooooo sweeeeeeet. Nicely cast, decent cockpit, decals by Daco, I was going to throw the verlindan and Aires detail sets at it but to be honest it would be a waste of money (unless you realllly have to have the access hatches open). Point number 2 its dead cheap. Only cost 13 quid, bargain

Mark

QUOTE: Originally posted by lgl007 Well I checked with my local hobby shop and no dice... apparently the Pro-Modeller F-15E is no longer being produced and so does not appear on any of the distributors inventory pages :-(

I prefer to deal with my local hobby shops as well, but if they can't get something, I will mail order. Squadron shows it in stock at a great price.

Cheers,

Jim

Oops, forgot to post the link to the kit at squadron.com.
http://members.chello.nl/~s.ferris/

Jim

Oh, man! I really don't have it together today. Posted the wrong link (Although the one I posted in error is pretty neat. Check it out, too)

Here is the one to the Pro-Modeler kit at Squadron: http://squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=RM5965

Sorry 'bout that,

Jim

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this but i would anyway since it has been started. Does anyone know what our japanese friends print their decals nice and detailed BUT overly thick? Is there a way to get around this?

And to answer the question, I would prolly get the Revell one if given the chance. If you can get the Promodeller one, why not?!

~~~MarkY

what is the fascination with revell/monogram? The academy kit is far superior, is cheap AND gives a full weapons complemention including the bunker-buster!!
And you are considering buying the revell- with no ordanace- then buying the hasewaga ordance kit-which in all likely hood will coast more if not the same as the revell and THEN buy or convert the pylons for the bought-in ordance?

Why?
The Academy gives you all you need at a fraction of the price and if the decals are not to your liking, then purchase an aftermarket set.
On a purely economical level, the Academy wins hands down.
Why buy pig when you can have a racehorse?
Still, it is your cash, but as far as i am concerned, monogram ( aka revell) are only good for practising your razor-saw technique or providing you with a good laugh when you need cheering up.
liam

yeehah12001,
I know what you mean by "cheaper" but Academy kits are not cheap here in the US because they have to be imported all the way from Korea. Back in the Philippines, I bought alot of Academy kits that I am glad I did because I would never spend more $$ for them here!

For example, I got a 1/48 F-15C/D there for about $8. When I checked my Hobby Lobby here, they are selling for a whopping $30! now, Don't tell me that is is worth it because i know that the price has been inflated. Maybe they do this so the usually lower quality American kits will have a chance to fare better in the market....
~~~MarkY

Mark,

Granted, the Academy kits may be far cheaper in Korea, where they are manufactured. How much was the Revell or Monogram kits over there? $30 or more? Importing any product anywhere has a tendancy to jack up the price, considering the cost of import tariffs. How do you think that companies in Hong Kong can sell Tamiya and Trumpeter kits so cheap? They don't have to pay all of the taxes, as it's considered a free trade zone, or "Duty Free." I got my Academy kit for $15, but I would have gladly paid the $30 to get, in my opinion, a better quality kit.

demono69

In fairness to ACADEMY KITS the new releases are definitely an improvement to the previous releases. In the Philippines were Modeling is in its young tender age there are afew available kit brands. These are ACADEMY, ITALIERI, DRAGON/DML (moderate price), TAMIYA (slighty higher), HASEGAWA and FUJIMI (afew are available, n if available extremely high priced). To give an idea: ACADEMY 200-500Php/kit, ITALIERI and DRAGON DML 450-700Php/kit. TAMIYA 500-900Php/kit and HASEGAWA and FUJIMI 1400-1800Php/kit.

This means I have been building only Academy, Italieri, Dragon/DML and Tamiya. These are good kit (vouching only the new releases) with the pain of spending to much. This are definitely better than those of KANGNAM.