Eagle Fly Free

Historical Background

In 1967, the Soviet Union unveiled the MiG-25 at the Demodedovo airfield near Moscow. Although the truth was not known at the time, the Foxbat appeared similar to the ongoing F-X fighter design studies by the USAF: an aircraft with high speed and a large wing offering high manuverability. It spread concern in the Department of Defense that the United States is being outclassed. The F-X programme was continued but with improvements to counter the MiG-25. The USAF HQ and the Tactical Air Command called for a multi-purpose aircraft, like the F-4 Phantom while TAC commander, General Gabriel P. Disosway and USAF Chief Of Staff General Bruce K. Holloway preferred an air superiority fighter. During the same period, the US Navy had ended its VFAX programme and accepted a Grumman Aircraft proposal for a smaller,  and more maneuverable design known as the VFX (which entered service as the F-14 Tomcat). As the USAF feared that the VFX programme be forced upon them, the USAF top brass ended their infighting in May 1968 and decided that the F-X is going to be an air superiority fighter.

In September 1968, a Request For Proposals was released. It called for a single-seat fighter having a maximum take-off weight of 40,000 pounds for the air-to-air role with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a thrust to weight ratio of nearly 1:1 at mission weight. It was to have a twin-engine configuration as it was believed this would respond more rapidly to throttle changes. However, details of the avionics were largely undefined. Four companies - General Dynamics, Fairchild Republic, North American Rockwell and McDonnell Douglas - submitted their proposal of which only GD was not awarded with a contract for the definition phase in December 1968. On 23 December 1969, McDonnell Douglas was chosen as the winner. It's design resembled the F-14 by having twin tails but with fixed wing platform. The large, thin wing, resembling a cropped delta shape, confers excellent maneuverability through low wing loading while the high thrust to weight ratio allow tight turns without losing airspeed. The wide fuselage also provided an effective lifting surface. As the requirement called for a single-seat aircraft, the flight and weapons control systems are designed so that the single crewmember can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat. The cockpit is also mounted high on the forward fuselage with a large, unobstructed canopy to increase visiblity and 360 degree field of view.

Originally, the F-15 (later changed to F-15A) and TF-15 (later F-15B) trainer variant were powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney F100 afterburning turbofans. The main sensor is a Hughes An/APG-63 all-weather multi-mode radar with a basic range of 160 km. Built-in armament was originally proposed to be a Ford-Philco 25mm GAU-7 cannon but development problems caused it to be dropped and replaced with the tried-and-tested M61 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon. Missile armament comprised of AIM-7 Sparrow BVR missile and AIM-9 Sidewinder close-range weapons. In 1978, the improved single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D versions entered production. The 'C' and 'D' models were fitted with the Production Eagle Package 2000 which included an additional 2,000 lb of internal fuel, provision for external conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and increased maximum take-off weight to 68,000 lb, strengthened landing gears and a new digital computer. In 1983, the F-15 Multistage Product Improvement Program (MSIP) was initiated. Improvements include an upgraded central computer, a Programmable Armament Control Set, allowing for advanced versions of the Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles and also the (then) incoming AIM-120 AMRAAM and an expanded Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems that provide improvements to the ALR-56C Radar Warning Receiver and ALQ-135 countermeasures set. The APG-63 radar was upgraded while the final 43 F-15Cs built were equipped with the newer APG-70 radar.

The first airframe, a TF-15, was delivered in November 1974 whilst the famous 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Triple Nickel' received the first single seat F-15 in January 1976. Israel became the first export customer for the Eagle when they received an initial batch of 25 airframes in 1977. An Israeli AF Eagle also scored the first kill for the type on 27 June 1979, a Syrian AF MiG-21. Between 1979 through 1981 Israeli Eagles claimed 15 Syrian MiGs (thirteen MiG-21s and two MiG-25s). A further 41 Syrian aircraft were claimed during the 1982 Lebanon War (23 MiG-21s, 17 MiG-23s and a single SA.342L Gazelle). On 5 June 1984, two Iranian F-4 Phantoms were shot down in a skirmish with Royal Saudi AF F-15Cs. USAF F-15s were deployed to the Gulf region in August 1990 to participate in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In combat against the Iraqi AF, air-superiority F-15Cs claimed 34 Iraqi aircraft shot down (five MiG-29s, two MiG-25s, eight MiG-23s, two MiG-21s, two Su-25s, four Su-22s, one Su-7, six Mirage F1s, one Il-76, one PC-9 and two Mi-8s). RSAF F-15s claimed two Mirage F1s shot down. In 1994, two US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were mistakenly shot down by Eagles enforcing the no-fly zone in Northern Iraq during Operation Northern Watch while four Yugoslav MiG-29s were shot down during Operation Allied Force in Kosovo during 1999. In all, Eagles have scored an impressive air-to-air kill : loss ratio of 104 to 0, with roughly half achieved by Isareli Air Force pilots.

The F-15 was further developed into the multirole F-15E version. The curtailing of the production of the F-22 Raptor mean that the F-15 would still be around for some time. The production line of the Eagle is scheduled to end in 2019 and the bulk of the air superiority F-15Cs are expected to remain until the mid-2020s.

The Kit

As I have remarked elsewhere, Hasegawa is the 'king of re-boxings', especially of their own kits. The F-15, being one of the most popular airplanes was reboxed so many times that I have trouble tracing their lineage. The kit used for this build is the 2005 reboxing of kit E13. This kit replaced the early 1980s-vintage, less detailed kit No. C6 (and its own re-boxings). Parts are divided among 7 sprues plus one clear sprue. Details are typically Hasegawa being sharp with petite panel lines. The cockpit is quite well-detailed although, as usually happened, the ejection seat was not really up to par. There are no weapons included (as usual!) Decals are provided for three aircraft, all nicknamed 'Gulf Spirit'. The first two are for aircraft 80-0002 and 80-0018 while the third was the more famous of the 'Gulf Spirits', aircraft 85-0102 in which its pilots scored three victories during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Construction

Almost invariably, building starts with the pilot's office. I discarded the kit's seat and installed Neomega's excellent resin replacement in its place. The interior is then painted Gunze Sangyo H317. According to instructions, the avionics bay behind the cockpit should be painted metallic blue-green, a colour which I don't have at this time. However, after making queries on the ARC Forum boards, I found out that 85-0102 is a MSIP aircraft and the bay is painted white. The bay is duly painted so. While Hasegawa suggested that the raised instrument and switch details be removed if one wants to use the decals, I left them alone as they add that 3D effect (even though the decals did not really match the raised details). The nose assembly was then put together. Although not suggested (and with hindsight, I think unnecessary), I placed a piece of fishing weight inside the nose, just to be safe. The main fuselage was next. It consists of an upper and a lower half with separate intakes.

The intake trunking although very basic, at least had the engine compressor face which blocked a see-through down the fuselage. Careful assembly helps to reduce the dreaded seam lines on the intake ramps and also between the upper and lower fuselage halves. The wing assembly also consisted of upper and lower halves; the upper half is the larger than the bottom. There were no fit problems but there was a bit when fitting the wings to the fuselage. The fin and tail planes however went on without a problem. The exhaust nozzles are of the coorect featherless type but to improve details, the petals were separated into five parts and again, careful assembly is needed to ensure the symmetry. Plus, the actuator rods are pretty tiny, making assembly rather fiddly. The exhuasts were left aside at this time to facilitate painting. The large airbrake cemented in the closed position while the rest of the parts would also be left off until after painting.

Painting and Decalling

Hasegawa provided three marking options of the planes which have the 'Gulf Spirit' nose art, all of which served with the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida. The first two options are for airframe 85-002 and 85-005 in 2003 with the darker paint scheme. The third one is the more famous airframe 85-102 during Operation Desert Storm in 36320/36375 scheme. I chose this latter option as it doesn't involve any paint mixing, the markings are also more colourful plus the history of the plane itself. Hasegawa's instructions however erred by using the paint mixes for the first two markings for this option. Kit is painted using Gunze Sangyo acrylics. Once dry, the decals were applied, a rather boring and long work as there were quite a number of stencil decals to be applied. Once done, the decals were secured with Mr Mark Softer.

As a side note, Airframe 85-102 was marked for 33rd CO, Col. Rick Parsons who during Desert Storm, managed to shot down an Iraqi Su-22. However 85-102 was also used by other pilots to shot down two other Iraqi planes, hence the three victory symbols on the nose. Also, rather than the Persian Gulf, the nose art actually refers to the Gulf of Mexico, on which coast Eglin AFB, home of the 33rd TFW is located. However the connection between the art and Persian Gulf is an apt one considering the role the 33rd played during Desert Storm, being credited with 16 air-to-air victories.


Finishing

With aircraft models, the final run started with the landing gears, allowing the model to stand on its own hence allowing things under the wings to be put in place. The exhausts were then cemented to the model, followed by the gear doors and the underwing stores. As there are no weapons provided by the kit, I used missiles in Hasegawa's Weapons Set V. I decided to use the AIM-120 AMRAAM on the outside rails to reflect the weapons configuration used by the Eagles towards the end of Desert Storm which later become the current air-to-air weapons configuration. The kit launcher rails were also replaced with LAU-129A/A rails from the same Weapons Set. All the external tanks were used as Eagles in the Gulf sported this configuration, including Gulf Spirit itself. Panel lines were then enhanced using a 2B pencil. Afterwards, Tamiya Gloss Clear was used to protect the paint and decals. The canopy and the pitot probes were finally cemented and I called it a wrap.

Conclusion

One of the most satisfying build I have ever attempted, with hardly a drop of putty needed while the markings for Col. Parson's 'Gulf Spirit' is the icing on the cake. Now, will anyone PLEEEEAAASE kit a decent F-15E in 1/72? (Update : Hasegawa have since released a new-tool F-15E in 2012, while Great Wall Hobby is coming out with their 'E' this year (2017))