The Model

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a development of the F-15. The concept of the Strike Eagle was to produce a bomber aircraft which also had fighter capability. The biggest visual differences between the E model and earlier F-15s are the two-seat cockpit and the addition of conformal fuel tanks on the sides of the fuselage.

This F-15E is a reissue of a kit previously sold as part of a multi-kit collection from F-Toys which contained an AV-8 Harrier, An A-10 Thunderbolt II and an F-15E. The kit is designed to have the parts pressed together, with little or no glue needed. As such, there is some filing and sanding required to get an acceptable fit. You get two aircraft in the box, and decals for 3 planes.

Assembly

The assembly is pretty simple. The seats are glued in the cockpit, the instrument panel is inserted, and the cockpit assembly is placed between the forward fuselage halves. I glued the fuselage parts together. This was a mistake.

Pen and Sword has published another tome in David Doyle's Images of War series of books. This most recent volume covers the M65 Atomic Cannon. Should you be unaware of this series of books, David Doyle gathers together an immense number of rare and often times never before published photos on the selected subject. There are well written and informative captions for each and every photo.

For those that may be unfamiliar with the M65 Atomic Cannon there is a vintage film, produced by the U.S. Army, that highlights the cannon and associated vehicles. And if modeling the M65 is in your future this video may even give you a few ideas for displaying this enormous piece of artillery.

Following a brief introductory chapter on the history of large caliber, long ranged artillery, David Doyle's M65 Atomic Cannon is divided into five chapters:

The Aircraft

The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was the only turboprop powered strategic airlifter for the US Air Force. The 50 C-133s in service were built from 1956 to 1960. They were designed to carry large and heavy cargo and were superior to the preceding C-124 Globemaster in that they were faster, easier to load and could carry larger loads. One of the duties of the C-133 was delivery of strategic missiles, the Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman, being faster and safer than over the road. C-133s also delivered Atlas, Titan, and Saturn missiles to the launch pads for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.

When the C-5 came out in 1971, the C-133s were quickly taken off inventory, as most of them had reached their service limits for hours flown.