F-15E Strike Eagle - 1:72 Hasegawa

[Paul A H]

F-15E Strike Eagle

1:72 Hasegawa

The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is a dedicated ground attack aircraft derived from the F-15 Eagle air-superiority fighter. The original F-15 has its origins in a 1960s U.S. Air Force requirement for a new fighter aircraft to replace the F-4 Phantom II. Although the F-4 was a versatile, combat proven aircraft, it was perceived to suffer from some shortcomings as a fighter in terms of its close aerial combat abilities.

The resulting aircraft was a significant improvement over those which it replaced. Its powerful Pratt and Whitney engines gave it a high thrust-to-weight ratio which, combined with its large cantilever wing, gave the F-15 superb manoeuvrability. The aircrafts designers took full advantage of the modern avionics available to them as well. The F-15 was equipped with advanced look-down shoot-down radar and computerised flight control systems, allowing a lone pilot to fly and fight the aircraft without becoming overloaded.

In contrast to the original F-15, the F-15E began life as a private venture by McDonnell Douglas. The Missouri based firm envisaged the aircraft as a replacement for the F-111 Aardvark. By the late 1970s the U.S. Air Force had caught onto the idea and in 1984 the F-15E was officially chosen as the replacement for the F-111, fending off competition from the innovative General Dynamics F-16XL. The first F-15Es reached operational status in 1989. Almost 25 years later the aircraft is still in service, and development continues following McDonnell Douglass merger with Boeing.

The Strike Eagle is primarily designed to undertake long-range strike missions against tactical targets. It is capable of carrying up to 23,000lbs of external fuel and ordnance and can exceed Mach 2.5. During a highly successful combat career, the F-15E has seen action in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Odyssey Dawn to name but four. The aircraft is also in service with the air forces of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and South Korea.

Despite its place at the top table of modern combat aircraft, decent and accurate kits of the F-15E in 1:72 scale havent exactly been ten a penny. Most have been based on kits of the F-15C/D, with extra parts to make an E. This approach hasnt been entirely satisfactory as the fighter and strike versions of the twin seat aircraft have many subtle differences. One of the chief gripes has been the incorrect configuration of weapons pylons found on some kits, including the previous Hasegawa incarnation. Now Hasegawa have had another bash and followed up on their recently updated 1:48 scale Strike Eagle with a 1:72 scale version.

The kit is presented in a glossy, top-opening box which is crammed with parts 192 in total. The lid is adorned with a high quality illustration of a Strike Eagle in flight, accompanied by a bright red box proclaiming the inclusion of a display stand. More about this later. The plastic parts are typical of a modern Hasegawa kit. The mouldings are crisp and clean and feature extremely fine, engraved surface detail. The surface of the plastic is smooth and glossy.

Construction starts with the cockpit. Unlike some other Hasegawa kits, this one is richly detailed. The ACES-II ejection seats are made up of four parts and look pretty good for injection moulded items. The cockpit tub itself has side consoles moulded in place, so all you have to add are the instrument panels, bulkheads and control columns. Instruments and controls are represented by precise, raised details, although Hasegawa have included decals as well if you prefer to use them. The instrument panels are one of the differences between this edition and previous versions of Hasegawas F-15 kit, and are correct for the F-15E.

The main fuselage is split horizontally, whilst the nose is split vertically. The cockpit tub must be affixed to the top of the well-detailed nose gear bay, after which the nose section can be buttoned up. All that has to be fitted to the inside of the rear fuselage are the engine turbine faces. These are a nice touch as they will help to prevent the dreaded see-through effect.

The rearmost extremities of the fuselage, which protrude either side of the engines, must be cut away and replaced with new parts specific to the Strike Eagle. Once the front and rear fuselage assemblies have been joined, the wings, horizontal and vertical stabilisers can be added. The tail planes are each made up or a single part, whereas the wings are made up upper and lower halves.

Hasegawa have gone to town in trying to capture the complex exhaust nozzles of the Strike Eagle. Each is made up of no fewer than 22 parts, 20 of which are for the exhaust petals themselves. I think its safe to say that Hasegawa have achieved the utmost level of detail that is possible with injection moulded plastic.

As mentioned above, this kit is based on the existing (modern) Hasegawa F-15 kit, with the addition of extra parts to make an F-15E. Thankfully the prominent Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs), which are such a characteristic feature of the Strike Eagle, have been captured accurately. Even better, Hasegawa have included an accurate set of weapon pylons, which I believe is a first for an F-15E in this scale.

The main gear bays feature a respectable level of structural detail. The undercarriage itself is nicely represented, and all of the wheels are moulded separately to the landing gear legs. None of the wheels are weighted.

The canopy is thin and beautifully clear and can be finished in the open or closed position. The prominent air brake can also be posed in the open position. This kit also features Hasegawas new clear in-flight stand. This ingenious device fits into the tailpipes of the F-15, allowing you to present the model on the stand without having to cut a big hole in the bottom. You can even finish your model with the landing gear down and still mount it on the stand, saving you precious shelf space for more models.

A decent set of ordnance is included, including targeting and navigation pods in the shape of an AN/AAQ-33 Sniper advanced targeting pod, an AN-AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pod and an AN-AAQ-28 LITENING targeting pod. Hasegawa have done this by including sprue A from their Aircraft Weapons IX set, so youll have a few extras for the spares box. Other ordnance includes a full load of Mk.20 Rockeye cluster bombs and a pair of 610 gallon drop tanks. If you want to add Sidewinders to your model, however, youll need to provide them yourself.

The decal sheet caters for two aircraft:

• F-15E, U.S. Air Force, 366^th WG, 391^st FS, 2001; and
• F-15E, U.S. Air Force, 4^th FW, 366^th FS Rocketeers

The decal sheet is nicely presented. Colours are clear and bold, and everything is perfectly in register.

Conclusion

Modellers frustrated by the lack of a decent, accurate F-15E Strike Eagle in 1:72 scale can finally acquire a high-quality kit of their chosen subject. The overall shape is good, as is the level of moulded detail. A reasonable collection of ordnance is included too. It may not be the cheapest way to build a Strike Eagle, but its certainly the best, and by quite some margin too. Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

[dhtmo]

Nice review, nice kit. Do you think that stand will come with the New Eurofighter Typhoon??

Sure i saw similar somewhere....

Cheers

Dave

[Paul A H]

Thanks Dave, and yes, I believe the new Typhoon kit will be sold with the same kind of stand included. It looks like a really good piece of design, so maybe Hasegawa will make it available seperately one day.

[dhtmo]

Damnit. That'll be another to my wishlist. Cheers Paul

[HOUSTON]

Paul.

Excellent review ..nice to read a quite comprehensive review and in MY preferred scale.{ only because I do not have space } .

Clear photos too, thank you.

Wish list is getting fuller by the minute.

[goose]

Is this kit available in uk ?

[Julien]

Not this one I think.

Hannants have the older kit, and a new re-boxing to be released at some time.

[badger]

Just had this arrive from hobbylink Japan for £12! £5 postage but I had a few other bits as well.

Looks a stunner!

[chuck314d]

I think that I will purchase one. Thanks to this review.

[PhantomBigStu]

I've currently working one one thanks to this review, though mine didn't come with the stand disappointingly

[Paul A H]

That's good to know Not about the stand though, that sucks I wonder if they'll make them available separately?

[PhantomBigStu]

hmm anyone else found the CFT's don't fit well at the back?