Search the Community

Another super You tube suggestion some fab toom footage ....with Eddie Shoestring and that guy out of Colditz

Well there seemed to be something missing from the line up of this very impressive and very diverse GB, there's no Phantom's!! Can't have that in an Interceptors GB now can we, especially as she was first introduced into service as an interceptor for the US Navy. I won't be building a US Navy one though as I shall be building an F-4E. My choice is to build a USAF one from the 57th FIS based in Iceland in the ADC grey scheme. On to the kit itself. I shall be building the Hasegawa 1/48 kit which whilst not the newest or best around is still a good kit and I actually have one (okay maybe more than one!) in the stash so decision made. Here are a the obligatory box and contents shots proving that she hasn't been started; I have some extras in the stash so will have a look to see what I can or want to use on this build, I think I have some resin seats at least. So there you have it, this will be my entry. Thanks for looking in, I hope to be able to make a start very soon. Craig.

Hi Build in parallele to the Cessna O2 Skymaster, it finished too. The details level is very impressive for the scale. Thanks to the photoetched (for the seat belt and the landing gear cylinder trapdoor) and the hundred decals marks. The kit is a little complicate to build but give you a beautifull plane of this early jet age. Other pics at this address FH-1 Phantom

This is where I re-enlist for a second tour, with the Academy 1/72 F-4J Phantom - same kit as Enzo. I had this kit earmarked for Aces, but that's not getting to the bunfight. This kit was an Amazon purchase in 2015, for £22.95. An unusual kit in that it can be built snapfit, without cement, AND with stickers as well as decals. Aimed at the toy market - lets see about the model market then. Decals for Showtime 100, the US Navy's only Ace crew - Lieutenant Randall H. Cunningham (pilot) Lieutenant William P. Driscoll (RIO) This aircraft, this F-4J callsign Showtime 100, brought their third, fourth and fifth kills during a mission on 10 May 1972. The aircraft was shot down by a SAM, Cunningham and Driscoll reaching the sea before ejecting, and subsequent rescue. All disected in graphic detail on History Channels Dogfights (S1:E12) pilot episode, very exciting stuff. And a look at the parts, they're superb quality.

Look at this beauty! A bit more expensive than I'd usually pay with postage, but I couldn't resist as it was still a bargain for 1/48 Hasegawa! Looks like a great kit, can't wait to start. I'll be doing her as a Euro I camo 52nd TFW jet from around 1987. Has anyone made this kit and got any advice?

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.

looking forward to this GB, hopefully I can finish this one, my track record is getting worse. This little lady is winging its way to me 🤗 Perhaps the phantom will be a popular choice in this GB? I think it will be an exciting chance to try some tricky metallic work at the rear and I love the Phantom in SEA schemes. I’ll enliven it with just a touch of AM mainly this.... and a montex canopy mask 😷 Hope it fits in my display cabinet The phantom is a big beast in 1/48!

Phantom FG.1 Cockpit Set (for Airfix Kit) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby The new tool from Airfix is very welcome, Here from CMK we get a complete new cockpit for the FG.1. There is the main cockpit tub, front and back sets, instruments consoles, and side consoles; as well as the cockpit interior sides. PE setbelts and firing handles are supplied for the ejection seats. Also supplied are the front coaming and a film for the instrument panel/. The instructions dont mention much surgery is needed for the kit but im sure some will be needed. Lastly there is new part for the underside to attach the nose wheel leg as this is moulded into the bottom of the kit cockpit. Review sample courtesy of

My take on the Airfix 1/72 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom (493) Since contracting Covid-19 earlier this year, I am finding modelling can be bit of a trial sometimes. To help combat this, I decided that my contribution to a current ATF GB was going to be the 1971 boxing of the Airfix Phantom. It was supposed to be completely OOB, with no aftermarket stuff, no weathering, no scribing and a hairy stick finish. However, I had to use aftermarket decals and decided the IAF scheme needed an airbrush. The scheme and armament fit might not be totally accurate but I don't mind as it gave me some enjoyment. Dave

Hallo, this is my latest Jet built during Lockdown times. The old kit is still worth to build! Added some parts like Aires nozzle and PE parts in the cockpit. Also added complete rivets wich is hard to see. Decals were from Airdoc and colours came from AK Real colours wich appears quite dark, so that I light them up a little bit. Please enjoy the pic’s! Cheers Andy

Do any of the boxes of the FGR.2 or F-4M match the quality of the FGR.1 with the art flying by the oil rig?

I've just started a build of a F-4 Phantom II to be done in the all blue scheme as worn by XT899 of 19 Squadron in 1991 (?) My questions are about what it carried underneath Firstly, I'm a numpty when it comes to various missiles etc carried by jets. I can recognise an AIM-9 Sidewinder type but an AIM 7 from an AIM-120 AMRAAM, uh, no On to the 19 squadron Phantom. Most photos show it with an auxiliary fuel tank (aka a 'drop' tank) under each wing. I presume these would be mounted on the outer wing hard points, as 1. some photos show it with a pylon (blue painted) on the inner side of the tank. On this pylon, some photos show what looks like the front of 1 or 2 Sidewinders, mounted side-by-side, but some photos show more of the length of these 'missiles' and they appear not to have any fins, so what might they be? 1a. is the pylon a TER with just the sides being used? A photo of XT899 from overhead shows it with Sidewinders on this pylon (a white one), two side-by-side, but no tanks on the outer stations. The rounds appear to be live ones. Although this pylon is white it seems to be the same type as the one painted blue 2. Some side on photos seem to show it having a larger auxiliary tank under the belly. Would this be correct? or am I just seeing the other wing mounted tank? 3. What would it have carried in the under fuselage missile recesses? 3a. If it carried missiles what type would they have been? 3b. if it carried any missiles would they have been live or inert? All help and advice appreciated

Second completed lockdown build and this one i'm pretty happy with. A nice kit which went together alright although there were a few fit issues with the top of the air intakes. Unfortunately the primer gave it a horrible grainy texture which is accentuated by the light in these pictures but it looks alright in person. I'm not sure if Black Mike ever actually carried armament, let along black drop tanks, after being repainted, but I just thought it looked good.

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 is my attempt at the ESCI RAF F-4J(UK) of 74 Sqn, RAF Wattisham circa 1984. Completed as ZE355 / S with the original grey fin before the squadron was repainted with black fins. Built OOB apart from a few different aftermarket decals as the ones that came with the kit were awful.

McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 1:72 Airfix A true cold war icon, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was conceived as an all-weather, long-range fighter bomber for the US Navy. It flew for the first time in 1958 and, over fifty years later, it is still in service with modern air forces such as that of Greece. More than five thousand Phantoms have been built, making it one of the most successful post-war fighter aircraft. The F-4K, known in Royal Navy/RAF service as the FG.1, was developed from the F-4J, itself a development of the original F-4B used by the US Marines Corps and US Navy. The FG.1 was heavily Anglicised, with Rolls Royce Spey engines, a redesigned rear fuselage to accommodate the larger engines, and British avionics. The Phantom served successfully with The Royal Navy and RAF from the late 1960s, finally passed out of service in 1992. As you might expect of an aircraft that was so widely used over such a long period of time, a huge range of Phantom kits are available in all of the major scales. British Phantoms in this scale are somewhat thinner on the ground, however, with the ancient offering from Hasegawa/FROG, the slightly less ancient but still not very good kit from Matchbox, and the quite old but actually rather good Fujimi kit. Thanks to Airfix, there is finally a new kid on the block. Inside the red top-opening box are seven frames of grey plastic and a single clear frame. The mouldings are clean and crisp with plenty of detail, but the panel lines are something of a throwback to Airfix's earlier efforts, being both broader and deeper than those of the Fujimi kit, which is some thirty years older. Assembly begins with the cockpit. Each of the Martin Baker ejector seats are nicely detailed, with the seat chassis and headbox moulded separately to the cushion and harness. The tub, instrument panels and side consoles are nicely detailed, although decals, rather than moulded details, are used to represent the controls. Before the cockpit can be sandwiched between the fuselage halves, there are small fillets that have to be added at the rear of the fuselage. There are different parts to use depending on whether you want to finish your model in wheels up or down configuration. The engine air intakes also have to be assembled at this stage and fitted inside the fuselage halves. Once complete, the fuselage halves can be joined together and the part for the fuselage spine fitted in place. The engine turbine faces and the internal parts of the jet exhausts can be fitted from the underside of the fuselage before the central portion of the fuselage, which is moulded with the inner wing halves. The internal structures of the undercarriage bays are added prior to fitting this part in place. With the fuselage and inner wing largely complete, construction turns to the rest of the flying surfaces. The upper parts of the inner wing just fit to the lower wing and but up against the fuselage. The tail planes can then be added and the separately moulded rudder fitted into place. The flaps/ailerons and slats are all moulded separately to the wing, which poses some intriguing possibilities for finishing your model. Turning the now largely complete model over, the undercarriage is quite nicely detailed. despite the fairly large number of superfluous parts, you have to cut away the torque scissor link on one side of the nose gear leg in order to depict the leg in non-extended position. A range of ordnance is provided, including four Skyflash missiles, four dummy Skyflash missiles (I've never seen dummy missiles included with a kit), four Sidewinders, drop tanks and the centre line gun pod. The in-flight refuelling probe can be finished in open or closed position and a choice of canopies are included so you can finished yours open or closed. In one last flourish, you can finish your model with the radome folded to one side. The radar unit can then be added, with the radar scanner itself exposed or tucked into the folded part of the radome. You will have to carefully cut the radome away to build the model in this configuration, but the results should be well worth it. Two options are provided on the decal sheet: XV582 'Black Mike' of No. 111 Squadron, Royal Air Force, September 1989; and XV573 of No. 43 Squadron, RAF Leuchars, 1974. The first aircraft is, of course, finished in overall black, while the second is finished in Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green over Light Aircraft Grey. The decals themselves look thin and glossy and a staggering quantity of stencils are included. Conclusion Airfix's Phantom caused no small amount of excitement when it was first announced, but when the kit finally arrived the reception was somewhat muted. Although accurate in scale and outline, the panel lines are suprisingly deep and some small details such as the engine air intake bleed air vents being depicted by decals rather than moulded detail. Nonetheless, it's still good to have another UK Phantom to choose from, and I'm sure it will build up into a pleasing replica of the real thing. Review sample courtesy of

Wolfpack Design has plans for McDD RF-4C & RF-4E Reconnaissance Phantom II conversion sets for the Tamiya 1/32th F-4 Phantom kit. Various sets with decals in project: - ref. ? - RF-4C Phantom II "USAF" - ref. ? - RF-4C Phantom II "ROKAF" (included LOROP Pod) - ref. ? - RF-4E Phantom II "JASDF" (included AN/ALQ-131(V) ECM pod) - ref. ? - RF-4E Phantom II 'NATO' Source: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2894375140655672&id=554818677944675 V.P.

Hi all. This one has been sitting on the shelf for a while, so with other bits and pieces drying for other kits, I got back into painting it. It's the 1/72 Hasegawa F-4EJ Phantom with Hawkeye decals to be dressed as a 1 squadron jet. This one one will be on a stick, hence the gear up. The tan had been applied quite some time ago so on Saturday night I pencilled in the camo scheme using a Faber Castell water colour pencil and then applied the light green. Sunday was the darker green’s turn. The paint has been applied freehand and this is the second model I’ve tried it on. I’m really happy with the result considering it’s a 72nd scale model. I used a Harder and Steenbeck with a 0.15mm needle and about 12-15 psi on the pressure gauge; enough to get a fine line but not so low to cause the paint to spatter. The colours used were Gunze H420 RLM80 Olive Green, Gunze H303 FS34102 Green and Gunze 310 FS30219 Brown. The underside is Gunze 338 Grey. The metal panels around the exhaust are done in Alclad, specifically Stainless Steel dusted with dark aluminium and then a very thin mix of translucent blue on some of the panels. All of it was then sealed in with Mr Color Clear. The decals are from Hawkeye which look good but are printed on a single piece of carrier film. The roundels also have the white backing decals which I’m not a fan of. I had a rat through the decal spares and found a sheet of Australian roundels from the Peter Russel era of Aussie Decals. I tested a roundel on the upper wing and although it took a while to de-stick from the carrier paper it reacted very well to Microsol. You can see the result in the picture of it. The glue residue is visible in the pic but it will be wiped away. I’ve since painted the red fuselage warning band for the compressor blades. I enjoy the painting stage the most and this one has been a lot of fun. I think I’ll need to investigate the three tone Vietnam era camo subjects a bit further. Weathering soon!!! Cheers, Mick

Hey everyone In conjunction with my Gladiator build and hot on the heals of my 1/48 Eduard Spitfire (with a bit of resin thrown in) I will make a start on this... I have wanted to build a Phantom since I came back to modelling 10 years ago. Its aggressive lines are awesome and painted as an RAF bird I think they look particularly cool. I have a little AM in the way of quick boost Martin Baker Mk.7's and some resin rear view mirrors for the canopy's. I'll make a start on her a little later on today. Cheers Iain

Phantom FG1 XV586 was delivered to the Fleet Air Arm in June 1969, serving with 892 NAS aboard Ark Royal until its transfer to the RAF in December 1978. It flew with the famous 'Fighting Cocks' throughout its RAF service, being repainted in light grey in March 1986 following repairs after the nosewheel collapsed. Built mostly oob, although I used Hypersonic slotted tailplanes from 48ers.com and Xtradecals for the 43 Sqn checks and tail badge. Also massive thanks to @iainpeden for donating the serial numbers! I like this Revell kit, it makes a nice Phantom. I'll probably attempt another grey one at some point, possibly an XT serialled 29 Sqn jet. It's tempting to have about ten! All comments welcome ...

Hi all. With the Spitfire complete, I've changed scale, era and propulsion method and have gone to the recent 1/72 Airfix FGR.2 Phantom with a few extras. It'll be built with kit decals of the white tailed aircraft while it was working out of RAF Mount Pleasant. I'll replace the kit lumps that are supposed to represent Sidewinders with the much nicer versions from Eduard. I love Adam Toobey's artwork. I've got a bit done on it already however I've hit a bit of an 'ugh' moment. The cockpit is fine out of the box as the cockpit will be closed however the intakes are annoying and fiddly. The left and right halves of each intake are okay, it's the outside fuselage shoulder piece that is frustrating. The ejector pin marks have been filled with talc and CA. You might be able to see in the image where I've removed some material to help it fit. It needs a little more but frustrating to do nonetheless. Has anyone else had problems with the fit in this area? The fiddly fit of the intake shoulder The lower wing section also has part of the forward lower fuselage which has an awkward seam that needs to be to cleaned up. This will have to be done after the intakes are installed. Sadly there's no swapping assembly steps here. I'm unsure if I'll get a resin replacement set for the burner exhausts as the sprue attachment points are smack bang in the middle of some nice rib detail.... Cheers, Mick

Clink on the link below to view more photographs http://ptearsenal.blogspot.com/2020/01/f-4n-vf-111-sundowners-172.html?m=0

I'm going to attempt to make the second of the three of these in my stash as an FG1. The only major issue is those slotted tailplanes, but I'll worry about those later. It might be a case of cutting into them, or just leaving them and pretend slats aren't a thing on FG1s! However, I'll do my best on the rest of it, including these extra decals I bought especially a while ago (before I came on here and learned of those damned slats!). So she'll be camo, and my usual everything hanging out and down or open, regardless of the realities of hydraulics, etc, just because I think they look cooler like that. The box, familiar to millions: Extra decals! I'll need to add the red/blue roundel over the red/white/blue as I'm doing her to represent the early 80s colours. Furniture assembled and painted. Added my usual masking tape straps. I'd forgotten that Revell didn't include cockpit decals. Ok for some of you on here with your fancy painting skills, but I need decals! Did my best with a black biro anyway.

FH-1 Phantom 'Marines First Jet' (72335) 1:72 Special Hobby The FD later FH-1 Phantom from McDonnell has always suffered from the fact its older brother the F4H-1 (later F-4) Phantom II has stolen most of the limelight associated with the "Phantom" name. Originally designed and first flown during WWII the aircraft was straight winged. The Phantom was the first Jet to land on a US Aircraft Carrier, and the first jet to be used by the US Marine Corps. Only 62 were made but the design lead into the follow on aircraft from McDonnell the F2H Banshee. These aircraft would position McDonnell as an important supplier to eh US Military. McDonnell must have thought a lot of the Phantom to bring the name back for the F-4. The Kit This is a rebox of their new tool kit from 2017 with decals for the USMC. The kit arrives on three sprues of grey plastic, a clear spure, a small PE fret and a sheet of decals. Construction starts in the cockpit. The seat and instrument panel are made up with the panel as decal. PE belts are included for the seat. The cockpit floor also form the top of the front wheel well. The well sides are added along with the front and rear cockpit bulkheads. The cockpit can then be placed in the fuselage, the instructions recommend putting 3 grams of weight in the nose. Next up the engines and there trunking are built up. There are fan fronts and exhausts are added. Construction then moves to the wings. The main wheel wells must be built up ad added into the lower wing along with the intake trunking. The upper wings can then be added. The leading edge parts of the intake are then added. This is a nice touch so you don't have to clean up a seam in the intake area. The front landing gear is built up and added to the front along with the gear doors. This is then followed by the main units and their doors. The belly tank is then fitted along with the arrestor hook. To finish off the tail planes are added along with the engine exhausts and finally the canopy. Markings There appear to be printed in house but look good and should pose no issues. You get 4 marking options with any colour you want as long as its Gloss Sea Blue! the markings, including extensive stencils are mainly white. Bu No, 111788 7-LC - USMC VMF-122, MCAS Cherry Point 1947-49 Bu No. 111794 I-BC - USMC VMF-122, MCAS Cherry Point 1947-49 Lt Col M.E Earl C/O BU No. 111761 2-LC - USMC VMF-122, MCAS Cherry Point 1959 - T/SGT RM Lurie BU No. 111793 3-BC - USMC VMF-122, MCAS Cherry Point 1947 Conclusion It is great to see this over looked early jet now being injection moulded in 1/72. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Here is my 1/72 Phantom FGR.2 XV423 "D", 23. Squadron RAF, RAF Stanley, Falkland Islands 1983/84. Old Fujimi kit made "out of the box", except resin ejection seats (Pavla) and Sidewinders (Eduard). Decals are based on Print Scale`s 72-285 set. Thanks for watching! 😊