| Some years back,
IsraDecals issued a popular decal sheet on the F-15I
"Ra'am" Eagle in 1/48th
scale (IAF-18). The sheet sold out pretty quickly and
has been difficult to locate without paying some premium
prices on places like E-Bay. To help the modelers out,
IsraDecals has released a new F-15I "Ra'am" Eagle
decals sheet with updated markings for more recent
aircraft.
To further entice modelers to get this new sheet (as
if more reason was needed), the layout of the decal
printing has changed to group the data decals into
larger, easy to place decals that will eliminate many
hours of tiny decal placement on the model. This decal
style for the data markings was first introduced on the
F-4 Phantom data decals last year. Check out the
F-4 Phantom data decal review to get a better
understanding of how the data decal grouping works.
Along with this new 1/48th
scale release (IAF-49), there is also a 1/72nd
scale release (IAF-45). Now the tiny scale modelers can
get in on the act with building an F-15I "Ra'am" Eagle.
And, all the markings, including the smallest data
markings, are present on the 1/72nd
scale sheet so those 1/72nd
scale models will be every bit as detailed as the bigger
1/48th scale models.
The grouped data decals will make it no more difficult
in 1/72nd than it is in
1/48th to apply all
those data markings.
The Decals
The following images lay out the contents of the two
decal packages. Click on the images to see enlarged
versions of them.
1/72nd Scale Decals
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1/48th Scale Decals
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Magnified 1/72 Decals
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The following are further description
on the decal sets.
- The decals are printed by
Cartograf. The registration of the sample decals
I received is perfect.
- The image to the right is a magnified portion of
the 1/72nd scale
sheet. As you can see, even in the smallest scale,
the data writing is still readable.
- Both sheets provide enough markings to make
any F-15I "Ra'am" Eagle in the Israeli AF. As
written in the instructions, the large eagle head
markings were unpopular with the base commander, so
only a handful of aircraft got this distinctive
marking.
- The Instructions booklet is well printed in
heavy paper stock. Besides having clear instructions
for where to place the decals on the model, there
are a number of nice color photographs of the
aircraft from all the units that the decals provide.
- The tiny addendum decal sheet is not a
silk-printed decal. It appears to be some type of
ALPS style printing. It provides the 50 Anniversary
of the Israeli AF marking, but I could find nowhere
in the instructions where it told me where to place
this decal. The back cover of the instructions
mentions that this decal sheet is on one big carrier
film and must be cut manually to separate the
markings and eliminate excess film from the decals.
- As I mentioned at the beginning of this review,
most of the markings are grouped onto large clear
decal films to simplify their application. This
makes it so that instead of 500 tiny decals,
modelers only have to apply 100 larger decals. The
down side to this approach is a higher potential for
large areas of decal silvering under all that clear
film. There is nothing to prevent modelers from
cutting up the larger decals into smaller ones with
less chance of silvering (the approach I will likely
take).
The biggest down-side to these decals is their price.
The IsraDecals web site lists the 1/48th
scale set at $26.00 -- the 1/72nd
scale set is $22.00. This is more money than the F-15
model kits cost in the first place. Don't let the price
scare you off, though. If you love the "Ra'am" Eagle,
these are really great decals that will not disappoint
you.
These are great decals of an aircraft that is unique
to only Israel. Now where did I put that Revell Strike
Eagle kit? I need to build something so I can start
applying all these decals.
One last note, the back cover of the instructions in
both sets announces an upcoming IsraDecals book
on the F-15I "Ra'am" Eagle. That is one book I will be
certain not to miss! |
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