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F-4J Phantom II 'VF-96 Fighting Falcons' 1:72 Hasegawa - Limited Edition If you have not heard of the F-4 phantom where have you been for the past 56 years! The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was conceived as an all-weather, long-range fighter bomber for the US Navy. It has been in service for over fifty years now and is still serving with distinction with air forces around the world, although active users are now becoming fewer. More than five thousand Phantoms were built. The was the last version of the Phantom built for the US Navy and Marine Corps. This was an improved F-4B with an increased emphasis on air-to-air combat. J79-GE-10 engines were installed with an improved thrust to 17844lbf using after burner on each engine. An AN/APG-59 pulse doppler radar was coupled with an AN/AWG-10 fire control system to give a look down/shoot down capability. Due to an increase in weight and more demanding sink rates the J was fitted with sturdier landing gear. Larger wheels were fitted which resulted in wing bulges as seen on other phantom models. Slatted tail planes were also fitted. In all 522 F-4Js were built. The Kit Hasegawa's 1:72 scale series of F-4 Phantoms is well established as amongst the best kits of the type available today. They possess of a good blend of accuracy, detail and fit and enjoy a good reputation as a result. This particular kit is a limited edition. The cockpit is comprised of a tub, complete with side consoles and rudder pedals moulded in place, onto which have to be added the instrument panels, rear bulkhead, control column and seats. The ejection seats are very nicely recreated, being made up of five parts including separate pull handles. The rest of the cockpit is structurally correct, but with the exception of the WSO's starboard sidewall, lacks any raised detail. Decals are provided instead, but this Hasegawa habit is still slightly disappointing. The cockpit tub sits on top of the nose gear bay, which itself fits inside the separately moulded front lower fuselage. The rest of the front fuselage, from just in front of the engine intakes forwards, is separate to the rear fuselage. Whilst I can appreciate that Hasegawa have done this in order to maximise the number of variants they can wring out of the moulds, it does complicate construction and add another seam that must be cleaned up. Once the front fuselage halves have been joined together, the instrument panel coaming and head up display can be added, along with the decking behind the WSO's cockpit. The rear fuselage halves a more straightforward proposition than the front fuselage, as they just need to be removed from the sprue and then joined together. In common with other kits of the Phantom, the lower rear fuselage is moulded in one piece with the lower wing. Before you fix that part in place, however, you must add the engine air intakes. These are well-detailed parts, with each being made up of four separate pieces. The intakes are not of the full length variety, but the solid front wall of the rear fuselage at least prevents you from being able to peer inside the fuselage from the front. The main wing is made up of a single inner lower span, separate port and starboard tops and separate slatted outer wings. You have to drill lots of holes in the lower surface of the wing central in order to add the pylons for the weapons and drop tanks. While we're on the subject of ordnance, only the three drop tanks are provided with the kit. The inner pylons for the sidewinders are present and correct, but neither the AIM-9 Sidewinders nor the AIM-7 Sparrows are included. You'll need to raid the spares box or buy one of Hasegawa's Aircraft Weapons sets in order to fit the aircraft out with a full loading. The tail planes are solid parts, as is the rudder. A separate part is provided for the tip of the vertical tail. The undercarriage is nicely detailed, with separate hubs for the main gear wheels and features such as torque links delicately and accurately picked out. The landing gear doors are detailed on both sides the landing gear bays feature a respectable amount of detail. The canopy is moulded in four parts and can be posed in the open position if desired. If you choose to do this, separate hydraulic arms are provided. Finishing details include various blade antennas, the landing lights and the parachute fairing in the tip of the tail. Decals Decals are provided for two schemes, both CAG aircraft.. CAG Aircraft USS America 1972. CAG Aircraft ISS Constellation 1973. Conclusion Hasegawa's Phantom has a good reputation, and on the basis of what's included in the box, it's easy to see this. The kit is overly complicated by their desire to squeeze as much from the mould as possible, but this is understandable. Overall this is great kit. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

Hi All, This is my Hasegawa F-4J Phantom II. I did originally buy this plane with the intention of doing a F-4S with Ferris Camouflage, but when I realised that the wing slats were totally different I rethought my plan of attack. The F-4 is quite possibly my favourite aircraft, and I remember seeing this particular colour scheme in a book I had as a child. I can't quite recall which brand the decals were, but they were excellent. Everything else on this build is out of the box. Unfortunately I sold this model before moving overseas. I was going to load it up with Mk. 82s but seeing I was selling it I thought I would rather save the TERs for my A-7 project! Thanks for looking. Now to do that F-4S...

After its 1/48th Navy F-4B Phantom - ref. 12232 (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234921465-148th-mcdd-f-4b-phantom-ii-by-academy-released-review-links-furball-decals/) - , Academy is to release in 2013 the Air Force McDD F-4C "Vietnamese War" Phantom II - ref.12294 . This new variant will have wings made from new tooling. Source: http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=260074 V.P.

I have bought an Esci 1:48 Phantom F-4B/J but it doesn't have any instructions or decals; therefore I have the opportunity to do some enhancements with it. I don't normally build in 1:48 so this is a little unknown territory for me. I would be grateful to learn from anyone here as to what after-market parts and decals would be recommended for this kit. At the moment I have not planned any type or theme so am open to suggestions as to what versions/variations can be built using this kit as a basis. Cheers Mike

Sources: http://www.hypersonicmodels.co.uk/product/martin-baker-mk-h5-ejection-seats http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234938607-f-4-phantom-early-seats-preview/ V.P.

Hi guys, I was wandering if anyone had any idea where I could purchase a 1/72nd F-4K in Royal Navy colours. I was thinking of making a diorama of the deck from HMS Ark Royal (R09). I have managed to find Wessex's, Buccaneers, Sea Kings and Fairey Gannet's but struggled to find a suitable F-4. I will put pictures of the completed build up when I have finished it. Thanks

Hello all, Thanks to Bootneck's help to find a manual I could complete this model after it waited half done for over 2 months. As not much of a ship builder it probably isn't the best thing around but I am satisfied with my build. Built OOB and brush painted as all my models. As there wasn't a paint scheme for the aircrafts on board and no decals for them, I just tried to copy what I could see in the picture on the box. Also unfortunately I messed up the big number 65 decal in fromt and had to take it off. Maybe later I'll try to compensate that by masking and painting. Hope you like it. Here we go: Thanks for taking the time to look. Regards.

RF-4C pics taken by Darwin at the SAC Museum