This is my most
recent build, the Tamiya F-15E Strike Eagle "Bunker Buster".
I won't bore you with a full blown review, but suffice to say that this
kit would be a beautiful build completely out of box. However,
I can never resist buying aftermarket goodies for my kits, and this
one is no exception.
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images below to see larger images
The people at
Cutting Edge
probably could have retired after they received my order, because I
used quite a few of their products for this project. I started
with their F-15E update kit, which includes a GPS antenna and the small
auxiliary air intakes for the "Dash-229" engines. I also used
their seamless intake set and their set of corrected engine nozzles.
I had a pair Cutting Edge AIM-9L Sidewinders leftover in my stash,
so I used those. Additionally, I bought Cutting Edge's AMRAAM's
with the LAU-128 launch rails. I bought 2 sets, as there are
only two launch rails included in the set. In theory, I could have
used the kit's launch rails for the Sidewinders, but I couldn't find any
reference photos with F-15E's using mixed rails, so I bit the bullet and
bought the second set.
The Black Box cockpit set
was used, as well as the Eduard F-15E update set. The BB set
was very nicely cast and fit with a minimal amount of effort. The
Eduard set had very few pieces but included some nice details for the
canopy.
In addition to the Cutting Edge
air-to-air armament, I purchased a set of four Black Box GBU-12 500
Lb Laser Guided bombs. These were somewhat of a disappointment.
The seeker heads were badly cast, and I had to clear out a large amount of
excess resin that was in between the outside ring and the four small
connecting fins. The tail fins lacked sufficient detail, so I added
the elongated bumps on the fins using sheet plastic. I also added the
portion of the bomb's retractable fins that protrude from the outside
edge of the tail fins using long, thin triangular pieces of mylar. This bomb
set was supposed to be for a Navy aircraft, so the shell portion was cast
with a rough surface to simulate the fire retardant that coats the real bombs. This
was sanded smooth so that they looked more like the Air Force version.
The GBU-10's and GBU-28 are
from the kit's armament, and the two 610 gallon "WRM" fuel tanks
were converted from the centerline fuel tank included in the Monogram/Revell
F-4 kits. The weapons loadout is a variation of Loadout #3 for
Operation "Iraqi Freedom" found on www.f-15estrikeeagle.com.
The change I made was the inclusion of the GBU-28 on the centerline rack.
I figured since I spent the extra money on the "Bunker Buster"
version of this kit, I'd better use some of the new armament they supplied!
Hope you enjoy!!
John
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