I recently bought the TwoBob's decal set for the Missouri Air National Guard F-15's. The decals recommend both F-15A and F-15C kits.

First off, I'm not sure how to determine which to use. I'm guessing I should use F-15C's since that is what they are currently flying.

Second, who has a recommendation for the "best" 1/48 F-15C kit? Expense isn't an issue.

Thanks for your time.

If money is not an issue I'd go with Hasegawa,or Tamiya. Both make good kits though a bit spendy. But fact of the matter depending on how much time and effort you want to put into the project any kit can be made to look good.
Good luck and have fun!

Hey Brent, how's it going...hope the holiday were great. As Greg said get the Hasegawa or Tamiya kit. Again depending and the level of detail you’re looking to spend as there are some aftermarket sets that my be of an interest like Eduard PE, resin turkey feather-less exhaust nozzles and resin cockpit. You could dress up the kits cockpit using plastic rod and wire and get a set of resin bang seats.

I have the Tamiya F-15C which is not bad. It has engraved and raised panel lines while the nosecone is not quite the same diameter at the fuselage. I’m going to have to sand before it get glued on.

If you have a question or need some help give me a PM.

Joe

Dang Mother, I just realized I forgot to send you that M35 disk. I'll get that out to you on Monday if you still want it.

Getting ramped up for the holidays caused me to forgot all about sending that to you. I am so sorry for that. That isn't my normal way of doing things.

Overall, Hasegawa makes the best 48th F-15A-D. The Tamiya kit is ok, but the decal cockpit and ill-shaped canopy are some of the main deficiencies. The wing tanks are way too wide and the wheels too fat. Tamiya's F-15A wheel hub is well done, but the tire needs to be redone.

The later Hasegawa F-15s have the best featherless exhaust OOTB, while Tamiya really doesn’t offer the exhaust in that form.

The Monogram kit would be the second best overall, but suffers from a flat, non-blown canopy (Tamiya too) and poorly done exhaust. There are also no provisions for a full run intake in both the Hasegawa and Monogram kits.

I wouldn't even consider the Academy F-15, as the upper fuselage is any but accurate shape wise. It also suffers for more fit problems and a lot of sinks marks.

The Italeri F-15 is actually not too bad, being that's it's a Hasegawa clone of sort. The fuselage is near identical, but typical of Italeri, the cockpit and exhaust are worthless. The wheels need to be tossed as well, but replacing those areas with the proper aftermarket resin would yield a decent Eagle; even better than Academy!

Mike V