Introduction

JASDF F-15J interior & exterior from Platz, item M72-35, is a 1/72 photo-etch super-detail set for their 1/72 F-15J Eagle models.

Some parts are pre-painted.

Pre-Flight

Packed in a small plastic bag with a still card backing, JASDF F-15J Interior & Exterior consists of a thin metal photo-etched (P/E) fret, a small film sheet, and instructions. The P/E is etched by Eduard. The metal is not brass or copper. Aluminum or a steel?

The parts are numbered up to 25 and yet due to multiple pieces of a component, I counted 42 P/E pieces. There are also four (4) film pieces.

Etching is crisp and sharp. Parts are held to the fret with small attachments.

These pieces enhance the following components:

6-piece instrument panel and HUD
5-piece seat harness
2 x intake top screen
3-piece airbrake interior
4 x miscellaneous exterior parts (inc. AMRAAM mounts?)
20 x blade antennas (ILS, IFF, etc.) and bases
2 x pitot tube

Detail

Surface detail is high. Platz shows two configurations for the lower antennas.

Poor old F-15 still has a very analog cockpit and Platz replicated the dials of the flight and engine instruments.

Structural members are etched into the speedbrake interior parts.

Platz pre-painted the instrument panel and several of the other components. However, many pieces are bare metal.

Instructions

A simple folded sheet presents nine (9) steps for applying these pieces. The artwork is clear.

Illustrated with blue or black-and-white line art, Platz also filled in parts with colors. Color coding of items is used. It appears that red items are plastic parts that need to be modified to accept the P/E parts.

Unfortunately, the vast majority is printed in Japanese. Happily, the part numbers are Arabic. A set of six (6) symbols help guide the modeler for optional feature, cutting, trimming, etc.

Conclusion

JASDF F-15J Interior & Exterior features etching that is crisp and sharp, very detailed, with some pre-painting. The instructions are clearly illustrated and despite the Japanese text, should present no problem for the modeler. I appreciate that two versions of the avionics suite is offered.

Except for the instrument panel with its minute and fine instrument faces, I do not know why some parts are pre-painted and some are not. Perhaps they have a color unique to the component?

Platz created a beautiful and very detailed set that should greatly enhance the accuracy and authenticity of a 1/72 F-15J, and other Eagle variants. I recommend it.

Thanks to Platz for providing this set for review. Please mention to Platz and retailers that you saw this set here - on Aeroscale.