Israeli Air Force F-15I Collector's Item Decal Sheets

IsraDecal IAF-18/IAF-19

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Meteor Productions

Reviewed by Kursad Albayraktar

The latest addition to the Israeli Air Force arsenal is the F-15I, based on the F-15E dual-role fighter of the USAF. For modelers, the F-15I is a popular subject since the Israeli camouflage scheme is a very welcome diversion from that of the USAF, which seems to strictly follow the "You can have your F-15E in any color as long as it is Gunship Grey" policy (with apologies to Henry Ford).

IsraDecals released a new decal sheet during the 2001 IPMS UK Nationals at Telford to help modelers build the F-15I in 1/48 and 1/32 scale. This sheet has been prepared for use with the Cutting Edge F-15I conversion sets in both scales, and the instructions mention this specifically. I reviewed the Cutting Edge conversion sets elsewhere-these sets are highly recommended for your F-15I conversion project.

My review sample was the 1/48th scale IAF-18; but the instruction sheet seems to be the same, and the decal sheet contents are also identical. The set is comprised of two decal sheets, one containing extensive stencilling (more on this later), and a smaller one with national insignia, squadron tail art and other stencilling. The decals are printed by Cartograf in perfect register; and they are fairly thin. My test sample reacted very well to MicroSet/MicroSol finishing system.

A very good F-15I decal sheet has been available from Sky's Decals for a while. What makes the IsraDecal sheet very different is the level of detail provided in the stencilling sheet. IsraDecal provides the panel number stencilling for EVERY panel on the fuselage! Applying all these tiny decals will be a very tedious process, but the final result should be outstanding.

Another very important feature of the new IsraDecal sheet is the tail art for aircraft number "267" of the Patishim ("Hammers") Squadron that visited RAF Waddington in July 2001 for an airshow. This aircraft has a large, very distinctive eagle's head artwork painted on the fins. I am sure many modelers have been waiting for these decals to appear ever since photos of this aircraft were published after the airshow. The instructions explain why the color of the artwork is different on two sides of the aircraft, and provides alternative black & tan decals for the artwork for the starboard side.

The instruction sheet is a 16-page booklet in itself, and provides very detailed drawings for applying the hundreds of panel number stencilling, in addition to camouflage scheme drawings with FS numbers, and several detail photos. Since all the stencilling is in a grey color that can be difficult to see on the decal sheet, IsraDecal thoughtfully provides an enlarged sheet to help in tracking the individual decals on the sheet.

The IsraDecal sheet also has the red stripe tail artwork for aircraft number 201 of the Manat flying test unit. However, using the Patishim squadron insignia and the numbers provided, it should be possible to build every F-15I flown in Israeli service.

The quality and the scope of this latest offering from IsraDecal is truly impressive.

Highly recommended to any modeler considering building an F-15I in 1/48 or 1/32 scale.
 

Review Text Copyright © 2001 by Kursad Albayraktar
Images Copyright © 2001 by Meteor Productions
Page Created 11 November, 2001
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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