I'm reviewing another excellent conversion set today, the 1/48 conversion set for the Revell F-15E kit(the best in it's class in 1/48) to convert it to the F-15K Slam Eagle operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force. The most obvious differences between the baseline and the Korean derivative, the F-15K Slam Eagle are the 2 General Electric F110-GE-129 29,400 lbf (131 kN) thrust engines power the F-15K, representing an increase from that of the baseline F-15E and the addition of various antenna and chaff/flare dispensers near the tips of the fuselage ends. The F-15K can launch many advanced weapons such as AGM-84K SLAM-ER ATA and AGM-84H Harpoon

The conversion comes in a beautiful black sturdy box with a very nice photograph of a Slam Eagle on the front.

On opening the box, you will see a total of 3 ziplock bags, the first being the massive A3 sized instruction sheet, in full colour on one side. On the other side, are 2 side profiles of a Slam Eagle. Very nice touch indeed. Also in the box is a dry transfer sheet done by Hobby Decal, for the Slam Eagle. Hobby Decal are a Korean company that specialises in dry transfers for military subjects and their dry transfers were given superb reviews. They've also very thoughtfully included a small clear decal sheet so you can actually dry transfer onto decals first, then use the typical waterslide decal method to apply the stencils. However, I'd suggest a coat of gloss clear over the decal after transfering the stencils over. Also, dry transfers work well with flat surfaces, from what little experience I have with them, while decals work best on glossy surfaces, despite what I read in some forums, so always remember to lay down a smooth glossy surface onto your painted model if using the waterslide decals


One side of the instruction sheet, with the very nice profile art of the Slam Eagle.


The very detailed and comprehensive instructions for placement of dry transfers/decals as well as the resin components that make up the Slam Eagle. The dry transfers are not shown as I didn't want to risk damaging them by scanning.

The main ziplock bag, which contains the GE engines, 2 intake pods (forgot what they're called exactly), chaff/flare dispensers, new instrument panels and various antennae. I've since placed the more fragile parts into another ziplock bag to separate them as I'm concerned that the bigger parts might "crush" the thinner, more fragile parts.

Another ziplock bag held the various missile launchers.

The third and final ziplock bag contained the CFT pylons, with sway braces too! That explains why they're also placed inside an acetate blister pack, for added protection. I would've preferred if the smaller, more fragile parts like antenna and sway braces be made from etched brass but I guess that would definitely drive the cost up further. Well, if it breaks, I think I can quite easily replicate those sway braces with the excellent brass sheets I bought from M-Workshop.

Overall, casting is superb and the conversion is pretty straightforward. The application of the dry transfers, however, might be a little tough but hopefully, there're some spares to practise with.

Apparently, the reason for the dry transfers is because the Slam Eagle has lots of stencils and if one were to apply all of them, there would be alot of small areas with lots of carrier film, giving it a rather bumpy surface.

A quick summary of what's included in this set are:
* F110-GE-129 engine nozzle included
* Tiger-eye Pod & LANTIRN Pod
* LAU-128/ADU-552 pylon & new CFT pylons
* New blade type antennas & GPS equipped
* Added Chaff/flare dispensers & ECM Antennas
* Hobbydecal 1/48 F-15K Decal & A3 color printing manual

I got this at a reduced price of approximately S$50, during a sale at a local hobby store. It's worth it at that price, but retail, it might prove prohibitive. Then again resin aftermarket sets often cost more than the kit itself.