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Hi dear folks This is my latest finished model in 1/48 scale entered my Iranian Air Force family. The kit is Eduard Good Evening Da Nang which is actually Academy plastics with some resin upgrades. I assumed the first year of the war with Iraq in 1980’s when these Diesel phantoms were highly involved in deep attacks into enemy territory. Iran was one the first customers of phantom, 32 aircraft were delivered to Iran between 1968 to 1970. Most of them received important upgrades later in 1970’s such as laser-designators (top secret AVQ-9 Zot Box) and laser-guided bombs, as well as advanced RHAWS (Radar Homing and Warning System). Many of these veterans are still in service!! I used MRP and Mr.Hobby colors. Decals come from Hi-decal. M-117s are from Hasegawa weapon set. Hope you all enjoy Cheers Barzin IMG_9827 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9829 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9831 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9835 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9830 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9836 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9837 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9839 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9842 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9845 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9849 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9860 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9862 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9863 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9868 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9870 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9871 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9878 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9880 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9881 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9882 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9883 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9884 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9892 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9897 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9899 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9902 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9904 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9906 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9908 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr IMG_9900 by Freddy Pilot, on Flickr

Although I don't build aircraft often, this is a kit that's been in my stash for a few years now, which I've just completed - my build of the Academy 1/48 F-4 Phantom, painted with Tamiya paints and weathered with oils and Tamiya weathering pigments.

In 1980, Eglin AFB was an Air Force Systems Command base. The host unit was the Air Force Development Test Center with its flying activities under the 3246th Test Wing. Tenant units with flying operations were the Tactical Air Warfare Center (TAWC) and the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing, both were Tactical Air Command units. TAWC fight operations were accomplished by the 53rd Fighter Weapons Wing and the 4485th Test and Evaluation Squadron. The USAF Armament Museum is also located at Eglin AFB. A-10A 73-1668, 3246TW A-10A 79-0166, 4485TES F-4C 64-0817, 3246TW F-4C 64-0875, 3246TW RF-4C 63-7742, 3246TW F-4D 65-0698, 3246TW F-4D 66-8699, 3246TW F-4E 66-0295, 4485TES F-4E 66-0308, 4485TES F-4E 67-0265, 3246TW F-15A 77-0064, 4485TES F-15B 77-0161, 3246TW F-16A 79-0328, 4485TES F-16A 80-0551, 4485TES F-111E 68-0058, 3246TW T-38A 61-0874, 3246TW T-38A 70-1571, 3246TW T-38A 70-1557, 3246TW Some Armament Museum aircraft... P-51D 44-13571 (Cavalier Mustang 68-15796) P-47N 44-89320 F-101B 56-0250 CIM-10A 55-22010 BQM-34C Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester

Hellenic Airforce F-4E Phantom II (AUP)

Morning all, Like 99% of those who enjoy building large scale Phantoms, I've been eagerly awaiting a 1/32nd scale RR Spey powered version for as long as I can remember. There is of course the Wild Hare conversion that usually sells for more than my car is worth (on the rare occasion one actually comes up for sale) and rumours are abound that HK were looking at doing one, but I thought life's too short to wait around any longer and it's time to start hacking about at the classic Tamiya F-4J kit. Before I go any further, it's important to say that this is not going to be wholly accurate and the majority of this is being done with the MkI eyeball and approximate measurements. I'm simply not interested in this (or any of my models for that matter!) being accurate to the nearest half-mill, and therefore what you'll see is something that (hopefully) will look like a British Phantom but won't necessarily be the definitive way to go about such a conversion - you'll need to check @Anthony in NZ's rather epic thread for that! I wasn't going to run a WIP for this as I was concerned about burn-out and failure, but I've actually come a lot further in a short space of time that I had initially anticipated, and I think broken the back of this conversion, so thought I'd share my efforts just in case there's someone else out there considering the same thing... I thought I'd begin somewhere nice and simple, so tackled the belly of the beast and the inlet doors on the underside. The UK Phantoms have these further forward than the US examples, so it was a case of cutting out the new doors in their forward position, and filling the old ones with plastic card blanks: These were then filled, re-scribed and given a quick squirt of primer: Step one complete! The next step was the far trickier intakes. The Speys demanded more air and thus the intakes were significantly wider than the US versions. There is much debate and head-scratching about how exactly the shapes differ, but I've done a bit of digging around and modified mine as I see fit. In 1/32nd scale, my calculations work out that the intakes are roughly 3mm wider at the front than the US examples. Therefore, I sourced some 3mm strip and carefully cut the kit intake sections in half, front to back, adjacent to the grills on the inner edges of the intakes (the pictures will explain this better). Here you can see how much wider the UK version intakes are than the US version - quite a significant gap emerges when test fitted to the unmodified rear sections: To remedy this, the fuselage will of course need widening too, and the shaded area in the picture below shows the section in need of modification: To do this, horizonal cuts are made along the top of the intake trunking, with vertical cuts made to allow the section to be opened up. There is a lower horizontal cut, too, made at the wing root to allow to original kit fixings to mate together for strength whilst allowing the wider intake to slot over the upper wing surface: A wedge of plastic card in then inserted, with the forward-most part being 3mm in width to match the modified intakes: Lots of reinforcement was given to the interior too: I'm going to use FOD guards on mine as life is too short to tackle the notorious intake interiors on this kit, but if you were to have them open a further 'wedge' would be needed to plug the gap seen above. Before I went any further, I wanted to check the modified fuselage would allow the wings to fit - which by luck more than careful calculation they did! The modified intakes were then test-fitted to the modified fuselage: Before they were glued firmly into place and allowed to set for 24 hours: The join wasn't perfect but considering the amount of butchery that went on I was pleasantly surprised. Some Milliput White soon made light work of the affected areas: And after some re-scribing and a shot of primer, things look good! You can see in the picture above I have started work on the back end and opened up the extra doors the Spey versions have on the rear fuselage. I'm going a later version with the pod on the top of the fin, so plans were consulted and a rough shape made for these from plastic card laminates: This still needs an awful lot of refining and surface detail added, but it's a good start. I'm now going to have to concentrate on getting the cockpit done and then I can begin hacking about at the rear end. The Spey exhausts are a fair bit bigger than the US ones, so the hacksaw and filler are at the ready! When done, I'll update this again... All the best, Tom

ref pics

Phlipping Phantom Phinally Phinished!!! Tamiya Kit Aftermarket: Eduard Wheels Eduard Space RBF tags Quinta Belts Paints - SMS and Alclad for the metals over a Alclad mix of 70% grey and 30% black microprimer (less cover up than a straight black). Touch up paint patches with darker and lighter iterations of the base mixes sprayed through a stencil. Weathering - Abteilung oils and lighter fluid over a Mr Hobby gloss coat (thinned 3:1 levelling thinners to gloss with extra retarder added) Matt - Alclad Klear Kote Flat thinned with lacquer/cellulose thinners (really pleased with how well this stuff goes on and how flat it is) Decals: Impact 1:48 VMF(AW)-531/VMFA-531 Grey Ghosts Part . Very thin, had a habit of breaking and the original tail markings wrinkled under the gloss coat made a set of masks with a silhouette cutter and 3 attempts later still not right (the small stars are about as fine as you can get and tricky to not get bleed under) Furball Aero Design 48-077 USMC Phantoms came to the rescue. Different airframe but same markings First time trying focus stacking in Photoshop. Build Log is here

First completion in a while. Tamiya's superlative Phantom kit with FineMolds' Nano-Aviation seatbelts. Painted with Mr Hobby lacquers, panel wash with AK Interactive and Ammo by Mig enamels, and weathering with oils. Hope you enjoy the photos. Feedback is most welcome! Mark

New tool kit from Meng Model - ref. LS-015 - McDonnel Douglas F-4G Phantom II - WildWeasel Source: http://www.meng-model.com/en/contents/59/512.html Box art V.P.

Next in the Zoukei Mura Phantom family (F-4C/D: thread, F-4J/S: thread, F-4E(J)/F/G: thread) are the 1/48th McDD RF-4B/C & E Recce Phantom II expected in 2023 Source: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/92170-zm-unveils-148-rf-4bce-plans/ V.P.

F-4D Phantom II, Capt. Steve Ritchie, 555th, Udorn RTAFB, Thailand 1972. Kit: Italeri 1/72 F-4 C/D/J Phantom II Aces (#1373) Scale: 1/72 Paints: Vallejo Model Air, Vallejo Metal Colour Aftermarket: Hasegawa Sidewinders Weathering: Flory Models Wash, Oil paints The old ESCI kit was a positive surprise, rather nice to put together and ended up looking like a Phantom, more or less. Built for Vietnam GB - but missed the deadline. Partial WIP thread can be found here:

Tamiya is to release a new tool 1/48th McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II kit - ref. 61121 Sources: https://www.tamiya.com/japan/featuredreleases_early2021.html#Static https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/61121/index.htm Price is not cool https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TA61121 V.P.

Happy New Year to all my modeler friends! Now the nearly two-month-long project has come to an end. Although is was planned to finish last December, I couldn't due to some issues. I have always wanted the F-4 Phantom in my collection and now that I have finally got one! It's the J version of F-4 from US Navy and the markings are Vf-102 Diamondbacks which you do not see often like the Jolly Rogers or the 3-tone Air Force Versions. The kit is from Academy in 1/48 scale. The quality of the fit and details are acceptable but I wanted a super detailed Phantom in my collection So I decided to add lots of upgrade accessories. These are- Cockpit PE, RBF Tags and Resin wheels from Eduard. F-4J Resin Nozzle from Reskit. Ejection seats and Electronic bay from Aires. Air intake covers from Quickboost. Carrier deck section base from one of the Chinese brands called Phoenix. Plus the missile head covers and pitot tube covers are scratch built. The build is enjoyable with only minor fit issues. Decals are of very high quality and so pleasing to apply as they are printed by Cartograf.

Academy is to release a 1/32nd McDD F-4E Phantom II kit - ref. 13132 Sprues/plastic from Revell. Source: https://www.academy.co.kr/6q/board_news_main.asp?pMenuId=BOARD00002&pCode=12213&pCategory=NEWS2 V.P.

U made this model just for my own pleasure.A great change from the tons of commissions I did this year.I did upgrade the cockpit a bit.Nothing too fancy.Just adding some sidewall details and seatbelts.The model was painted in AK real colors and I used the HDL decal sheet.You can also watch the video of the build on my YT channel on the link bellow. https://youtu.be/Kxqd31zYgRE

Hi Phantom Phanatics two new 1:48 pylon sets are now available from Hypersonic Models and partner shops! Outer pylons, Air Force type, for Zoukei Mura kits, with separate sway brace pins and of course the correct outboard cant: https://www.hypersonicmodels.com/product/f-4-phantom-outer-pylons-air-force And a centreline pylon, designed specifically to fit on/around the moulded on ejector rack on the ZM kit. Separate stabiliser bolts and sway brace pins allow for best fit and maximum flexibility. https://www.hypersonicmodels.com/product/f-4-phantom-centreline-pylon Thank you very much for looking, I hope you will like these new sets Cheers, Jeffrey

Here is my entry for the GB. The ZM F-4C: I intend to build it as Robin Old's mount, 64-0829. However, not in its most common guise from the War, rather how it was finished before retiring to the USAF Museum: Using the Caracal Decal sheet: From looking at the kit, I'm going to swap the seats out for a resin set and use the ZM etch, manufactured by Eduard for the cockpit.

Hello everyone, I have been a long time lurker on this forum but have decided to post my first finished kit since 2016. The kit is Academy's 1/48 F-4B/N "VMFA-531 Gray Ghosts". The Academy kits has great surface details but some construction choices seemed a little overly complex and lead to some fit issues, other than that the kit is great. The seats are resin (I don’t remember the brand, I've had them in my stash for years) with photo etch from Eduard. The model is painted with mainly Vallejo air paints and coated with Humbrol clear and then Tamyia matte spray. Im really happy how the kit turned out considering its been 3-4 years since my last kit and this one is substantially better, there is however still some room for improvement such as the paint coat I don’t think came out well because it was very coarse even after layers of clear, but overall I'm pretty happy how it came out. Any criticism or tips will be much appreciated, thanks y'all!

Finemolds is to release from August 2020 new tool 1/72nd McDD (R)F-4E/EJ Phantom II kits. Source: http://www.finemolds.co.jp/202006-08NEW.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recap - ref. FP37 - McDD F-4EJ Phantom II - JASDF - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP37.html - ref. FP38 - McDD F-4EJ Phantom II - JASDF - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP38.html - ref. FP40 - McDD F-4EJ Kai Phantom II - JASDF - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP40.html - ref. FP41 - McDD F-4E Phantom II (early) - USAF - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP41.html - ref. FP42 - McDD RF-4EJ Phantom II - JASDF - released https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP42.html - ref. FP43S - McDD F-4J Phantom II - US Navy - VF-114 "Aardvark" - released https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP43S.html - ref. FP46S - McDD F-4C Phantom II - Air National Guard - released https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP46S.html - ref. FP47S - McDD F-4D Phantom II - USAF - The First MiG Ace - released https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP47S.html - ref.72737 - McDD F-4EJ Phantom II - Tactical competition 1982 (306th Sqn) - released https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/72737.html - ref.72738 - McDD F-4EJ Phantom II - Tactical competition 1995 (301th Sqn) - released https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/72738.html - ref. 72743 - McDD F-4J Phantom II - U.S. Navy - “Midway 1978” - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/72743.html - ref. 72747 - McDD F-4CD Phantom II - Night Attacker - released release in March 2024 - https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/72747.html - ref. 72838 - McDD F-4EJ Kai Phantom II - JASDF Last Flight Memorial “Blue” - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/72838.html - ref. 72843 - MccDD F-4J Phantom II - US Marines - VMFAT-101 "Marlins" - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/72843.html - ref. 72846 - McDD F-4C Phantom II - USAF - Wolfpack 1967 - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/72846.html - ref. 72937 - MccDD F-4EJ Kai Phantom II - JASDF Phantom Forever, Thank you 1971-2021 - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/72937.html - ref. 72938 - McDD F-4EJ Kai Phantom II - JASDF Last Flight Memorial “Yellow” - released https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/72938.html - ref. 72941 - McDD F-4E Phantom II - Thunderbirds - released release in March 2024 - https://finemolds.co.jp/FP/72941.html - No ref. Special edition for Gifu Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Connected or not to the Platz project? https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235037980-172-mcdonnell-douglas-f-4ej-phantom-ii-new-tool-by-platz-release-in-2019/ V.P.

Here a 1/48 Phantom f-4e in 32nd TFS markings based at Soesterberg (Camp Nieuw Amsterdam), Netherlands . Resin cockpit and exhaust and mr color paints. It's said the squadron was the only USAF unit authorized to use the Royal crest of another country. Some info on the 32nd, now inactive, if anyone is interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32nd_Air_Operations_Squadron http://wolfhoundsusaf.com/ Have a great day!

The model I've always wanted to do. It's nice, it's old, but I always like the Phantom Italeri. I am pleased with the end result. Here's the picture.

Anyone know which unit this Phantom belonged to ? I know it was an early Gull grey over white phantom that was repainted in theater. That explains the bad paint erosion on the sides. The codes were either painted over or zapped out of the photo by censors ? Help is graciously accepted. Dennis

Hi friends , my last completed model. It is a Monogram's model in the Accurate Miniatures box. I am pleased that the model is made, so here's the picture. Enjoy.

This is the Monogram F-4D that, although an older kit (plastic helpfully stamped “1985”) is accurate and with some really nice detail moulded in, especially in the cockpit. The Monogram kit features fine raised detail, and generally goes together well with the exception of the intakes that take a bit of work but nothing ridiculous. Having read that the Monogram decals were a disaster when new (and the intervening 30+ years won’t have helped) I finished my Phantom with HiDecal decals for a Texas ANG machine in the Euro1 scheme, adding some Eduard Brassin AIM-7Es and AIM-9Js, and a SUU-23 from a Hasegawa weapon set. I painted the gun pod in the ADC gray more often associated with the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group F-4Cs to contrast with the Euro1 Scheme, which was only worn by their F-4Ds for a relatively short period. The HiDecal markings worked well, with good colour coverage in the tail flashes. The only problem was that one of the tail codes disintegrated on application so substitutes were found from an old set of Modeldecal post-war RAF 12” codes; the typeface isn’t 100% accurate but a pretty good match. The rest of the airframe markings came from an old Hasegawa sheet.

I'm currently involved in a duel with a mate of mine involving some VF-84 planes. I'm building the Eduard 1/48 F-4B/N from the 'Millenium Phantom' kit. I stumbled upon an omission in the instruction which I after a long and hard search found the solution to. ' So as to help you avoid the same situation here's a teeny weeny bit of help: The same part is not shown in the instructions for the 'Good Morning, DaNang' boxing either. Cheers Hans J