Academy 1/72 F15C MSIP III

[GilderLegend]

I don't want to diss Academy but I have begun to build the F15C kit. The first problem was the decals for the cockpit which just would not go down without a fight! Eventually got them to sort of conform by slapping on Walters Solvaset and practically stamping them down.
The upper and lower sections of the fuselage don't line up and it's gonna be "putty madness" then the intakes took ages to sand into submission and I wanted to paint the insides white but no chance the inlets would leave you looking at a right mess (ejector marks, dodgy seams) so again putty here I come.
I'm not yet half way through and don't get me started on the engines, they have separate 'actuator rods' and 15 per nozzle with a microscopic 'pip' to help you locate them but they were each too long which meant I had to test fit and then trim to fit every one of them, which took a long time.
I have recently come back to the hobby and have no problem being a "noob" and have spent hours watching kit builds on You Tube and Paul on ISM (many thanks Paul, by watching you gave me the courage to re-start my love affair with modelling) however Academy are not helping......
Therefore can anyone suggest a good starter USAF Jet build from a decent manufacturer, I know the names of most of them but don't know the ones to avoid? So you would be saving me a lot of time and frustration!!!

[Tomcat64]

Unfortunately the issues you've seen seem to crop up regularly with Academy aircraft kits. I built their A-10 a couple of years ago and hit the same problems - decals that were so thick and unwieldy that it felt like I should be using a staple gun to put them down rather than solutions, and kit parts where it seemed the person that created the mould for the right side hadn't met the person doing the left side.

I've not built any other US aircraft recently but do have the 1/48 Tamiya F-14 in the stash which people have raved over in terms of its build quality. Tamiya tends to be a safe bet in terms of buildability all around. I've also heard good things about the Great Wall Hobbies F-15.

Maybe have a browse through the jet aircraft builds section on the forum here and see if there are any kits which fit the bill in there.

[onemac]

Any of the Tamiya F-16's are excellent in all scales. Or why not try the Tamiya F-15C in 1/48th - meant to pretty good and it will give you a good comparison. Google box and build reviews for background info before you buy and youtube is handy as well.

[Christian]

I had the same problem in the past (some years ago) with Zvezda 1/35 kits and their decals. As far as I remember the problem is caused when decals get some moisture in the box out of whatever reason...