So right up to my neck in it - my first model in 16 years (my last being a very, VERY shoddy 1/72 Lancaster when I was 11), the first (and cheapest) F-4 Phantom I could find on eBay - Revell's 1:48 C/D!
I've opened it up and had a bit of a play around and a test fit - but not much else. I'm a bit terrified to be honest.
I've got some after market ejector seats on their way as the kit ones are a little lacking - this will involve some fun sawing/cutting to get the base of the kit seats, which are moulded onto the cockpit floor, out. As I've joined in a Vietnam group build on another forum, the plan is to do her up as a F-4D of the USAF 389th Fighter Squadron, based in Da Nang in late 1966 - specifically Gunfighter 1, as pictured below;
Luckily, Furball has some nice aftermarket decal sheets for various USAF Phantoms, including the above;
And that's all I've got! I'm still trying to figure out the loadout and such (as there's conflicting stuff on Wikipedia/elsewhere about what kind of loadouts she likely had), but it's enough to be going on with for the time being. Next step is to clean up the cockpit a little, get some paint on it, and drybrushing - with my first kit back I'm certainly not going to be going crazy with the instrument panel, so hopefully some dry brushing and a few spots of colour picked out will be enough to make her look presentable.
Oh, and coincidentally on May 27 2018 it will be the 60th anniversary of the F-4 Phantom - so maybe I'll have her done for her birthday
Thanks for stopping by!