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Italeri 1/72 McDonnell F-4C/F-4D/F-4J Phantom II Aces


rossm

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Good good. I love the Phantom but can't afford multiple Hasegawa kits. modern Italeri decals are usually excellent too.

 

If I remember correctly the ex-Esci kit has a bare cockpit. Has anyone got any experience of using aftermarket to spruce it up? What fits?

 

Will

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1 hour ago, Killingholme said:

Good good. I love the Phantom but can't afford multiple Hasegawa kits. modern Italeri decals are usually excellent too.

 

If I remember correctly the ex-Esci kit has a bare cockpit. Has anyone got any experience of using aftermarket to spruce it up? What fits?

 

Will

 

I have some experience with the Fujimi J79 Phantom kits, that really have the same cockpit of the Esci ones (the parts can be swapped between the two kits). On one I used a resin copy of the Fujimi Spey Phantom cockpit and this can be made to fit quite easily. A resin pit meant for that kit should fit.. of course there's the matter that the two variants may have sligthly different instruments and other smaller details.

I also used an Eduard PE set designed for the Hasegawa kit on another one and this set needs some work for one main reason: the Esci cockpit is not only bare but also sits too low in the fuselage. This means that any PE panel meant for other more correct kits will be in the wrong position. The rear cockpit in particular needs to be lifted to a higher level, so that the instrument panel correctly fills the space in front of the pilot. On my model I used plasticard to lift the rear consolles and to build a base for the instrument panels, it required some work but the final effect was actually very good. The seats are also best replaced, IIRC Quickboost has some nice Mk.7s. Earlier aircrafts however used the Mk.5, can't remember who makes this seat. Of course using a seat designed for a different kit may require some packing at the bottom to bring the seat to the correct height.

 

Quick comment on the price: Hannants is generally at the top end of the price scale compared to other shops, so I guess that the same kit may be found for less elsewhere. Personally though I'd consider £15 the most I'd spend for such a kit, kit that while nice is not among the best anymore. £19 is the kind of money I generally pay for second hand Hasegawa kits at model shows and as much as I actually like the Esci kit, I'd choose the Japanese one anytime. Of course with a second hand kit there's the risk of having useless decals while those on a new kit are generally better

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On 26/12/2016 at 2:23 AM, Giorgio N said:

 

Quick comment on the price: Hannants is generally at the top end of the price scale compared to other shops, so I guess that the same kit may be found for less elsewhere. Personally though I'd consider £15 the most I'd spend for such a kit, kit that while nice is not among the best anymore. £19 is the kind of money I generally pay for second hand Hasegawa kits at model shows and as much as I actually like the Esci kit, I'd choose the Japanese one anytime. Of course with a second hand kit there's the risk of having useless decals while those on a new kit are generally better

 

Italeri shop lists it at €20

Considering that the Revell reissue of the Monogram F-4J (which is better detailed although it has raised panel lines) is currently available from the Revell web store at €15 , the Italeri rebox is a bit pricey.

As for Hasegawa F-4s, outside of model shows the F-4Js are practically impossible to find...:whistle:

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  • 4 months later...

And you can't really make a good F-4J from the kit, since the cockpit is a USAF one (of sorts).  Also, you can only make an early F-4D, as the kit doesn't include the F-4D under radome sensor.  Still, a decent kit.

 

Tom

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Two vertical pieces of sheet blanking off the  (non existant in the J) rear pit side consoles should help to some extent. The cockpit in general is just bare canvas, and the Esci instrument decals - well let's call them pathetic. Also, I don't think the Esci has separate inserts for the cat strap hooks.

Edited by tempestfan
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43 minutes ago, tmeyer said:

And you can't really make a good F-4J from the kit, since the cockpit is a USAF one (of sorts).  Also, you can only make an early F-4D, as the kit doesn't include the F-4D under radome sensor.  Still, a decent kit.

 

Tom

 

It does include it, used it on my build. 

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but yes, I meant the kit doesn't include the D style IR sensor.

 

Tom

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 28/12/2016 at 9:34 AM, Antoine said:

I remember an old 1/72 Phantom kit with the base of the canopy being way too large in a way that it was immediately noticeable by someone comfortable with the aircraft.

Wasn't it the Esci kit?

 

Very belated reply: Yes it was.

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hi there

 

Well after hearing that I'll cast a resin master for Phantom F-4D so let set the record how many copies do you need my friends????

Only in wonderful 1/72 scale of course!!!

 

Add name and location only to me get an idea

 

Best modeling 

 

Armando

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  • 2 years later...

Resurrecting this as I was hoping someone may provide an answer to what might have the better moulding. The original Esci F-4C/J  or this ‘new’ Italeri F-4 C/D J ack off all trades. The same basis for the kit I presume.

Edited by phat trev
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16 hours ago, phat trev said:

Resurrecting this as I was hoping someone may provide an answer to what might have the better moulding. The original Esci F-4C/J  or this ‘new’ Italeri F-4 C/D J ack off all trades. The same basis for the kit I presume.

 

Can't comment first hand on the mould quality of the Italeri release, as I've only seen this in pictures. From these the kit looks pretty good but I've got the feeling that my original Esci kits were slightly better.

What I can say for sure is that the moulds in the boxes labelled AMT Ertl were not as good and I would personally avoid them.

 

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16 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

 

Can't comment first hand on the mould quality of the Italeri release, as I've only seen this in pictures. From these the kit looks pretty good but I've got the feeling that my original Esci kits were slightly better.

What I can say for sure is that the moulds in the boxes labelled AMT Ertl were not as good and I would personally avoid them.

 

Let me say that the biggest value of these kit is the decal sheet

 

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