Phantome

Just to add a gripe to my previous comment, I still find it unbelievable that Revell has never bothered to squeeze the juice out of its F-4F and put out an E/G since like 95% of the parts are the same. Marketing geniuses they are not. (now someone will comment how Germany is their main market so they only care about the F, because they are marketing geniuses, in fact, all modelling companies are marketing geniuses and they know better than we do; these are the same people who lecture their engineering and research non-geniuses about how they could be dumb enough to have missed that fifth rivet in some underside panel)

Hasegawa all the way... if you can get them. The only ones in their "standard" (i.e. always available) range are the F-4B/N and F-4EJ, the latter which could presumably be used for an early, Vietnam War era F-4E? Haven't checked the parts list but the only main differences might be antenna placements since early F-4Es had the hard wing. I like the Fujimi shape and have built a pair recently. They have a low parts count which makes them relatively easy to build although there are some fit issues and things like the spine will need sanding to eliminate the rather unsightly seam (which also means re-scribing the circular panels and for USAF versions the air refueling panel). Unlike the Hasegawa they also come with basic AA weapons (Sparrows and Sidewinders). I am literally in the process of finishing up an F-4G which includes the ALQ-119 pod and pylon. This would be accurate for aircraft up until the mid 80s when they switched to ALQ-131s or ALQ-184s, notably in use during the Gulf War. Sadly no G-specific weaponry is included, which you will have to source from elsewhere. Two main disappointments with the Fujimi kit: first, as others mentioned, the cockpit with is quite plain, and even lacks a back wall for the pilot area. I presume you may fit the Eduard zoom set on this though? Haven't tried. Secondly, the aircraft features fine engraved panel lines... perhaps too fine. I found them difficult to get an enamel wash going. But in the end though, it looks the part! I have two Hasegawa F-4Gs in the stash, however, and they look so much better. They also lack armament though. They are quite rare on eBay, with only a few popping up each year and typically go for £30-40 which if you think about it, is probably cheaper than if Hasegawa reboxed it! Same for the Es although there are more boxings of this kit which means they pop up a bit more frequently and can occasionally be found on Japanese hobby sites at not too shabby prices. Lastly, if you manage to source some slotted stabilizers, you could turn the Revell F-4F into an E since that's the only main exterior difference. It's not a shabby kit at all, and has even better surface detail than the Hasegawa, although it has some shape issues. You'll also find it quite cheap, with eBay prices of around £10-15. As XV571 said, the prospects of new F-4 kits in 1/72 look bleak, and we'll probably have to wait until the next decade. As it stands, the Hasegawa is still the Phantom King for every variant except the UK Speys (Fujimi own this one). I still wholeheartedly recommend the Fujimi if you can find it at acceptable prices.

It's not you... the Hase F-104 is a rather fussy kit, especially by Hase standards. But you did a good job!

I believe that most if not all the G-1/G-2/G-6/G-14 are the exact same sprues, just different decals for the relevant type and I think different cockpit transparencies for the older or Galland hood. Perhaps the G-6/AS are retooled since these came later, around the same time as the Fs (or after?) but I wouldn't know.

Having built both the G and Fs, I can definitely assert that the Fs were retooled. Not obviously so but fit was much better in the Fs. I did not compare nose outlines but wouldn't be surprised if they worked on that too.

Nobody has mentioned the near shake-n-bake Tamiya Spit VB which despite some minor accuracy issues looks the part IMHO (some will disagree).

Could be that they're just putting it temporarily out of production to rebox it 1/3 more expensive

Ok this one has been finished since a while ago, I just need to bring out the new camera and take some nice pics with proper daylight...

Ok went on a mad painting session. The white paint eliminated some of the blackbasing but no worries, the real thing didn't look that dirtied up anyway. The decals came on nicely. Number 239 did not carry any stencils after painted white so that saved some time. Does look a bit barren though, so hopefully after some washes it'll look better

It certainly does! My last short-run kit was the god-awful Xtrakit Sea Harrier FA.2 which I practically needed therapy for afterward. This is nowhere near that in frustration. Quite a pleasant build so far. I should add though that because I put the instrument panel after gluing the fuselage halves, it was impossible to fit it straight. If I ever ever build another MPM Meteor I will have to find a way to fix it nicely before the fuselages come together, maybe by adding some plasticard tabs. On the plus side, this will not be very noticeable since the cockpit is one-piece.

Just to add to my last point, here's my default paints for BoB era: Sky - Gunze H74 Dark Earth - Gunze H72 Dark Green - Tamiya XF-81 (but Gunze H73 is still acceptable) Interior Gray-Green - Vallejo Model Air 71.305 RLM 65 - Gunze H67 or Tamiya XF-23 (practically identical) RLM 02 - Gunze H70 for exteriors, Vallejo Model Color 70.886 for interiors RLM 71 - Gunze H64

Quick answer: there are better. I recall ages ago using their RAF and Luftwaffe colors and found them too dark which is a recurrent complaint. I only use them now for interiors (they are quite brushable which is good for touchups) and for colors that cannot be found in the Gunze range, like Dark Slate Grey. Despite Model Air being this "accurate" colors range, this is not always the case. For example, RLM 02 is much better in their standard Model Color range; the Model Air version is practically brown and looks hideous. You should still thin both Model Air and Model Color with some generic acrylic thinner (Vallejo's own is quite good I must say, and I use it for many other brands). Model Air requires less thinner but you should still thin it to lessen the paint clogging. If you want to go for for a finer spray, use lacquer thinner, otherwise they are not particularly good for small details like mottling or small freehand camo (especially in 1/72 scale). Overall, I've gradually wound down my stash of Vallejo paints and only have about 15 of which most of them are interior colors or generic colors used for interiors. Otherwise I hate to say it but I find them to be among the most inaccurate acrylic paint ranges in the market.

1) The Zvezda has some strange engineering decisions. My main issue is the rather flimsy separate wingtips but that's just one of many (I've posted extensively on this in various Ready for Inspection threads). The Trumpeter has a more logical engineering, but are more inaccurate. 2) I think the consensus around here is that the Revell Ju 88 is the best out there. Haven't built it myself. 3) Dragon rebox. Trumpeter makes the only modern Fencer.

Okey doke, fit. By short-run standards, it wasn't too bad. There weren't any glaring misalignments. However, the edges on some of the large pieces looked a bit rough when joined together but thankfully the main problem was the underside. The fit between the wing pieces and the fuselage was iffy, as a result of a rather large gap than needs putty (some might even go for some plasticard). The plane is a natural tail-sitter and needs weight. There is room to put some in the nose above the cockpit floor (which extends all the way forward) but I forgot to do this so did it through the cockpit later. More weight can be put between the lower wing and the forward undercarriage bay. I put quite a lot of weight and it *barely* was enough to keep it upright. Note that the instructions don't even mention that it needs weight

Can't miss a group build for the centenary, here's the first of hopefully 2 or 3 builds on the subject. My first choice is the 1/72 MPM Meteor F.3. I have a couple of Dragons in the stash but wanted a "test build" of a white Meteor just to get the hang of it. It will be built in that gorgeous white scheme used briefly in the latter stages of WW2. First impressions: The kit is short run and the obvious caveats apply. Fit appears to be good, surface detail is fantastic (arguably even slightly finer than Dragon) but fit of the small parts is a bit iffy, and the plastic is a bit rough around the edges (literally). Looks like there will be some sanding and filling involved but hopefully not as much as other short-run kits. I am not going to build this kit "to my usual standards"; I just want to have a Meteor on the shelf but that doesn't mean I'm going to rush through it. What this means, basically, is I wont be pedantic with minor issues if these seem to be too time consuming to be worth it. The canopy was painted Vallejo Black-Grey in order to emphasize the control panels and dials in black. Seat was painted leather brown to stand out. There is no clear way of attaching the instrument panel which is annoying; I will do this after the fuselage is finished. The fuselage went together with a bit of a struggle, so I used some pieces of plasticard as strengtheners on the inside to ensure that the fuselage would not snap open accidentally.

Was too lazy to take a pic but found that I had one on my PC: here's my (failed) interpretation of the Su-27SM bright blue camo using Akan's Ukraine digital Flanker paints. As you can see, the dark blue, while too bright is relatively acceptable. The medium blue is way too dark.

I did the Zvezda Su-27SM a while back and had the same conundrum as that was the same color scheme I wanted to do. Here's my thoughts. 1) Yes, get the Revell kit. The Zvezda kit lacks missile stencils which is quite annoying. 2) There's sadly, no equivalent Akan paints for that scheme. The Su-33 paints are not equivalent as they have a very slight "sea green" tint to the them. The Ukrainian digital Flanker paints are also wrong. Although the dark blue looks like a close match, Akan IMHO botched the medium blue: it's WAY too bright. I was quite disappointed (the light blue might be closer but it was sold out when I bought these paints). Trawling through Akan paint sites, I did not seem to find any equivalent to that medium blue. 3) Possible solution: use a generic color. Vallejo Light Sea Blue (Model Air range) looks like a very close match, as does Andrea Blue (Model Color range). As for the dark blue, both the Ukrainian digital Flanker dark blue and the Su-33 dark blue is close enough to my eyes to be acceptable. I am intending to re-do this kit at some point in the near future and will probably take this route. Aside from that... despite the lack of a match, I do strongly encourage you to go ahead with this scheme and build this most excellent kit which fits like a charm!

Trumpeter, please bring us a Flogger as part of your ongoing Russian modern aircraft spree...

I would (personally) not replace them if you already have a number of Fujimis in your stash. They look the part and any accuracy issues are probably minor. Surface detail is better than the Airfix, and Academy too.

Ehem... Tamiya.

Now I regret not having gotten into investment banking as soon as I graduated. I'd have a couple of million in my pocket and I could buy Revell. The dream of owning my own model company!

You mean the Hasegawa that had better surface detail and fit in the 1980s than Airfix in the 2010s?

There's never been and probably never will be a "THE brand to have". All brands have hits, all brands have misses. Ultimately if you want to build the best kit out of any model you'll have to do your homework. Having said that, it's hard to argue that Hasegawa isn't a top tier brand and probably still holds the largest tally of "best kit in X scale" of them all.

I wish they re-released a lot of their old tank kits including the ESCI ones, seems only a handful are currently in production and so many others are just asking exorbitant eBay prices... when they pop up. I've been lucky to bag a few over the past couple of years but would be great if they were more easily available.

Not in Germany, which has a stakeholder rather than a shareholder style system of corporate governance. So let's all keep our fingers crossed that if they do change hands, they do to a company that isn't from the shareholder-obsessed Anglo-Saxon world.