Tamiya's 1/32 scale
F-15E Strike Eagle

by Przemyslaw Przybulewski

Tamiya's 1/32 scale F-15E Strike Eagle is available online from Squadron.com

This is Tamiya’s 1:32 scale F-15E Strike Eagle.

This was the first model of plane in 1:32 scale that I bought. I saw it, I loved it and I just had to have it.
It is huge, it is mighty and it is beautiful.

Unfortunately model is missing front windscreen. It was bought from second hand and previous owner promised me that he will send me this part later. It was three years ago because model was bought and finished in late 2011.

The model is very well fitted, the only place when I need some putty was the joint between front part of fusalege and a rear part with wing section - just after a cockpit well. This place is covered a little bit by air intake but still is very well visible so sanding and putting and sanding again was needed. Rest of the model is just an example of perfect fit.

As armament I decided to use as many bombs as possible even if they do look rather like toy bombs. Crude, lack of details with awfully thick fins, but since I decided to build it OOB I left the bombs as they were.

Later I bought a resin ejection seat so I replaced the one from the kit with more accurate Aires one.

Display base was made out of raw pine wood wardrobe shelf 18mm thick and 600mm wide and 400mm depth. It was painted with satin redbrown lacquer.

On top of this I cut plasterboard 360x600mm. Later I engraved lines simulating airfield base. No painting was done here, only some pigment to dirt it a little bit.

On the end I made wheel chokes out of balsa wood and also two pallets to somehow fill out empty place on base.

Since it was my first model of plane I didn’t want to experiment to much so I decided to paint according to instructions - trusting that Tamiya included correct painting scheme.

All painted with Tamiya acrylics, even the bare metal was painted with Tamiya paints.

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Thumbnail panels:

Decals for me was the biggest challenge, mostly because of size of the decals, exact placing of them and of course countless number of small “No Step” decals.

As the only effect I made a black oil wash and some oil paint striking.

Maybe model is not the best F-15 but have a lot of advantages like open gun bay, positioning flaps, positioning air intakes, open nose cone and radar, electronic bay section, plenty of armament.

Two main disadvantages are joining of front and rear section and bombs. If this not bother you I highly recommend the model. I was very happy building it and to be honest I’m pretty pleased with the effect.

Images and Text Copyright © 2015 by Przemyslaw Przybulewski
Page Created 12 March, 2015
Last Updated 27 March, 2015

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