INTRODUCTION

The F-15K Slam Eagle is a multi-role fighter aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). It is an advanced variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter. It can conduct long-range precision strike missions during day or night, in all weather conditions.

The F-15K is equipped with state-of-the-art mission equipment to conduct air-to-ground, air-to-air, and air-to-sea missions.

The ROKAF selected the F-15K Slam Eagle for its Next Generation Fighter Program in April 2002. The aircraft made its first flight in March 2005. The first aircraft was rolled out from the Boeing site in St. Louis the same month.

The AGM-84K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), an evolutionary upgrade to the combat-proven SLAM, is an air-launched, day/night, adverse weather, over-the-horizon, precision strike missile. SLAM-ER achieved IOC in June 2000.

Specifications include: Crew: 2 Length: 19.43m/63.75ft Wingspan: 13.05m/42.80ft Hieght: 5.63m/18.5ft Airspeed: Mach 2.4 Range: 1800km/1100miles plus.

Armaments include: 1 Vulcan 20mm cannon, AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-84 Harpoon, SLAM-ER, JDAM and can load up to 10,500kg/23000pounds of external fuel and ordinance on 19 pylons and bomb racks.

THE KIT

Academy have hit a home run with their new 1/72 ROK AF F-15K "SLAM EAGLE"!

The top opening box has great cover art and clearly mentions that this kit has faithfully reproduced realistic Multi Colored Parts MCP without the need for paint plus an "Intuitive build" without the need to glue. On the side walls there are plenty of reasons to buy this kit including: kit details, paint guides, color call-outs, Cartograf decals and skill level.

Inside the box you're welcomed by multiple sealed bags holding two major sprues each and separate bags for the different decal/sticker sheets along with clear parts and some additional pieces.

Each sprue has it's letter hollowed out making them super easy to find and many (if not all) of the delicate areas are well protected for shipping.

The most impressive aspect of the model is the attention to detail. Panel lines and rivets are superb as are the raised and recessed area. To top it off the Cartograf decals are so sharp that I nearly had an ocular migraine from finding a magnifier strong enough to read the lettering. It was mind blowing how tiny, yet how accurate they are. Both are truly impressive for a 1/72 scale.

The instructions are excellent with easy to follow along color direction and advice. The decals and stencil information is also very clear and a separate sheet is there for the optional stickers. The paint guide and color call-outs are at the back with five different F-15K to chose from. As a bonus you can oft for either the GE or Pratt & Whitney engines.

With a reasonable parts count you get the best of both worlds in terms of ease of build and modeling fun. So much so I simple had to assemble it. If your looking for a "Mojo" builder than this is the one for you! But it doesn't stop there. While the stickers are fine for a beginner modeler Academy have engineered a kit which screams to be painted, weathers and decaled by an experienced builder. Something I'm definitely going to be doing. After pre-shading, wash and dull coat this bird will fly high and at over 10.5 inches is a decent size to work on.

You'll find zero flash, no ejector pin marks on the parts along with minimal burring. Also the connection points on the sprue gates are perfect and require very little clean-up. Everything fit beautifully. It took roughly a few hours of construction and before I knew it... POOF I had a "SLAM EAGLE"! It was tremendous fun.

Now in the spirit of complete honesty, if you're going to build and paint this Academy model the way it should be then you'll need to glue the parts. The pressure fit is totally fine for the quick build (and much better than Bandia's hard plastic (no offence)), but a few parts need a little help and some which are miss-labeled, but not an issue. You'll find a seam line on the canopy that deserves a polish since there are nice details in the cockpit, but it is clear and wonderfully detailed.

CONCLUSION

This kit is outstanding in so many ways. I was constantly shaking my head at the level of detail and the overall presentation Academy have offered. You get two bangs for the buck here. Build it for fun and since you already know the parts fit is brilliant the second go-around will be something to be treasured.

Very special thanks to MRC and Academy for supplying the kit for review and very special thanks to Jim Starkweather for sending this along.

When you order or purchase this kit please mention you saw a review on KitMaker Network and Aeroscale. Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoyed.