CC Lee 1/144 F-15C Eagle

First flown in July 1972 and entering service in 1976, the twin engine F-15 Eagle is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat. As of 2023, the type is in service with various countries, with production of enhanced variants continuing!

CC Lee came sometime in the 90s with their very cheap 1/144 F-15C, a kit which, by examining the sprues, looks to be a direct copy of the 1974 Otaki mold, the latter being reboxed or copied a surprising number of times by many companies through the years. The specific kit looks to be the initial edition and was given as a gift by my small local modeling club to my young sons in Christmas 2023. The kit comes in a small, good quality, top opening box, carrying the same attractive box art of the 1992 Arii edition of this mold.

Upon opening the box, I was greeted with 22 white styrene parts arranged in two equally sized sprues.  Molding is acceptable, not too crisp and with little flash. General shapes of parts look correct, with the exception of an easily shaved-off dorsal filet that is not present in reality. Panel lines are recessed but way off-scale. The front part of the fuselage is split vertically, whereas the rear section, containing the wings and tail planes, is split vertically. There is no cockpit to speak of, just a recession which better be painted black. Landing gear is simplistic with shallow bays and the exhaust nozzles are equally plain. The intakes are practically oversimplified recessions. The canopy is relatively well molded and very thick, the latter being in this case an "advantage", as it will hopefully distort the cockpit's emptiness towards "vagueness".

Instructions, also a copy of the Arii ones, come in the form of a b/w double printed small sheet, with the 4-step simple construction on the one side and the painting guide on the other. One scheme is provided, for a 18 TFS, 12 TFW machine. Decals are not that sharply printed, but they otherwise look in good condition.

Instructions want you to first assemble the front and rear fuselage sections and then join them, followed by the canopy. You are supposed to trap two styrene rods at the front, presumably to avoid tail sitting: I would add some fishing weights instead. Next is attachment of the twin fins and exhaust nozzles, followed by the landing gear and the four Sparrows, ending a very easy build.

This is an elderly, simplistic kit of the iconic Eagle. While general shape is good, detail at key areas varies from toy-ish (landing gear) to nonexistent (cockpit).

That said, there is nothing wrong in spending an afternoon putting together this kit, with the ease of construction deeming it suitable for younger, inexperienced modelers, as they enter the magic world of modeling.

Happy Modeling!

January 2024

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