Afterburner Decals 1/48 (and 1/32) F-15C/D Aggressor Eagles Decal First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Afterburner Decals has reissued their F-15C/D Eagle Aggressor sheet, but this isn't the same sheet. They've made some interesting changes. Check this out:

F-15C/D Aggressor Eagles - if you're looking for unique and colorful USAF to model, look no further than the 57 FW at Nellis AFB, NV. Since at least the early 1970s, Nellis has been home to the Fighter Weapons School and the opportunity for a new fighter pilot to get his or her first ten combat missions completed in relative safety.

Military planners realized that if a combat pilot could survive their first ten missions, then they have a significantly greater chance of surviving the rest of their combat tour. To give our pilots' that crucial experience, Nellis AFB conducts Red Flag exercises several times per year to give pilots that experience. The Nellis range complex is full of targets and simulated air defenses, but no combat experience would be complete without the aggressors!

Aggressor aircraft are usually comprised of dissimilar aircraft types that are representative of the current threat - in the 1970s, the MiG-21 was the common threat and the F-5E was aggressor aircraft of choice. Today, the common threats include the Flanker and the Fulcrum which are best represented by the F-15 and F-16. To add fidelity to the threat, the aggressor pilots are trained to employ the tactics of various potential adversaries, and the aircraft are painted in similar colors to those worn by those same potential adversaries. In this case, this decal set represents three threats wearing the two-color blue worn by some Su-27 Flankers in the world, whilst the other four threat Eagles are wearing desert camouflage that might be found on perhaps an Iranian or Syrian fighter. (Note: One of each color scheme is represented in 1/32 scale.)

The seven aircraft presented in 1/48 portion of this decal set are:

• F-15C, 80-0010, Blue 10, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing, '65 AGRS'
• F-15C, 80-0018, Blue 18, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing
• F-15C, 80-0024, Blue 24, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing
• F-15C, 82-0028, Blue 28, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing
• F-15D, 85-0129, Blue 29, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing
• F-15D, 85-0131, Blue 31, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing
• F-15D, 80-0058, Blue 58, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing

The two aircraft presented in 1/32 portion of this decal set are:

• F-15C, 80-0010, Blue 10, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing, '65 AGRS'
• F-15C, 80-0024, Blue 24, 65 Aggressor Squadron/57 Wing

As you can see in the decal layout, this set provides a nice array of maintenance stencils in addition to the national markings and distinctive unit markings. In fact, Afterburner Decals provide sufficient markings for two complete aircraft. Two of the above tail/bort numbers are different from the last release, one F-15C and one F-15D. What is also different is the second set of decals on the same sheet for one of two of the F-15C Aggressors in 1/32 scale!

Time to dust off one of those Hasegawa, Academy, Tamiya, or even Monogram 1/48 F-15C kits or even the Tamiya 1/32 F-15C. The choices for the two-seat 1/48 F-15D are Hasegawa or Academy.

This set is definitely recommended for the Eagle lover!

My sincere thanks to Afterburner Decals for this review sample!