Kit: No. 2617
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Italeri, distributed by Testor Corp., 440 Blackhawk Park Ave., Rockford, IL 61104, 815-962-6654, www.testors.com
Price: $25
Comments: Injection-molded, 165 parts, decals
Pros: Fine recessed detail, good canopy, excellent ejection seat and landing gear, accurately thin missile fins, excellent decals
Cons: Poor cockpit and exhaust detail, fit problems

One might think that the F-15 Eagle has been done to death in the model kit hobby. Is there really room for an all-new 1/48 scale Eagle? Believe it or not, a new F-15C kit in this scale hasn’t emerged in at least a decade, so Italeri has stepped in with an interesting addition.

Certain items on Italeri’s sprues are so well done it takes your breath away. For the most part, the recessed detail is exquisite, and the model has crisp grille vents, excellent wheel-well details, and a great ACES II ejection seat. The landing gear struts and wheels are fine, too. Perhaps most outstanding are the realistically thin fins on the Sidewinder missiles – thinner than any I’ve seen in any scale. The decal sheet is perfectly printed and provides markings for one USAF, one Israeli, and two Air Guard Eagles.

The soaring quality of the moldings is not consistent throughout, however. The “featherless” exhausts don’t reveal much detail, and the instrument panel and consoles are only decals. These omissions make room for aftermarket companies to step in with replacements.

Construction of Italeri’s Eagle breaks down like many F-15 kits. The separate forward fuselage section hints that a two-seater is coming. Optional parts include covers for the intakes, and positionable canopy and speed brake. You also get a separate radome with a simplified radar dish inside. Underwing stores include four Sparrows, four Sidewinders, and a centerline fuel tank.

Italeri’s instructions are easy to follow, but the color recommendations leave doubts. The suggestion for overall white on the missiles is incorrect. Modern American combat missiles are painted FS 36375 light ghost gray, with colored bands to indicate motor and warhead information. The overall ghost camouflage scheme for the Israeli Air Force and Georgia Air Guard Eagles is correct, but the Hawaii Air Guard and Bitburg birds should be in the later “Mod Eagle” colors of FS 36251 (light) and FS 36176 (dark).

Building the kit was straightforward, but the fit of the forward fuselage to the main section was poor, as was the fit of the intakes to the fuselage. The rear section of the cockpit tub walls left large gaps inside the forward fuselage. The main wheel covers that are normally closed don’t fit well, either.

I used the ghost grays from Testor Model Master for the camouflage. After a clear gloss coat, the decals went on beautifully. I didn’t finish the missiles.

The overall dimensions are fine, and the finished model certainly looks like an Eagle. I used Aerofax Datagraph 6, McDonnell Douglas F-15A/B/C/D/E Eagle/Strike Eagle by Dennis R. Jenkins as my primary reference.

I spent 23 hours on my Eagle, fixing only the fit problems this time. If I were to build another, I would replace the weak cockpit interior and exhaust nozzles with aftermarket parts.