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Fujimi FG.1 finished OOB. Kitsworld 3D decals for seats Humbrol and some Xtracolor enamels brush painted Flory washes W&N matt varnish 51 week build; finished in KUTA 2023 GB as link. Group photo of my 4 most recent Rhinos: USAF 1969 F-4E(early) - FineMolds JASDF 2007 F-4EJ - FineMolds USAF 1991 F-4E(late) - Hasegawa RAF 1983 F-4K - Fujimi Thanks for looking, Chris

With the new Airfix kit out and the option of a cat launch pose oob (have a Fujimi kit and lots of resin in the stash for years for this project too...) What is the BM collective's opinion for suitable 1970 to 78 crew figures? Cant have it ready to shoot off the deck with no one on board!

Have today completed three McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantoms in 1/48th scale, I didn't set out to do this originally but it just happened that way. The first is a 1/48th scale Hasegawa kit P17, the Royal Air Force Phantom FG.1 which I discovered contained the extendable nose gear of the original Fleet Air Arm F-4K so I obtained a copy of the ancient Almark Decals sheet A48-1 'McDonnell-Douglas F-4K/RAF Phantom FG.1' and decided to construct VT867 as VL152 operated by FAA 767 Sqn. I love the yellow 'Iron Budgie' on the tail fin and might even have seen one of these in the air at the 1970 Yeovilton Air Day when I was just 12 years old. It turned out like this: The end result does not look too bad however I have had this on the 'shelf of shame' for several years. I admit I am not the most detail conscious of modellers and I managed to put the forward undercarriage bay in the wrong way round. This pushed the entire cockpit module upwards which meant that the seats would not fit and the canopies would not close. I gave up and moved on to other things which was a shame as the air brushing went very well and I was also pleased with the standard of the jet exhausts. The Almark decals were another challenge, I don't know how old they are but compared to photos of the aircraft in service they seem to be very 'heavy' and I gave up when I found I had added an ejection seat triangle to the side of the jet air intake! However, I was still interested in her and I would take her of that shelf, I wanted to get her finished! The breakthrough came when I was working on an old ESCI F-4J, I decided to swap the ejection seats. The Hasegawa seats add much needed presence to the otherwise bare ESCI cockpit while I could cut the ESCI seats down to fit the restricted space in the faulty F-4K. It worked well as seen here: This build also represented another first for me, the addition of an Eduard detail set, FE262 for an FGR Mk.2. I was sort of ok with it until I discovered that some of it didn't fit because of the mistake with the front wheel well (never mind her not being an FGR Mk.2!!) so I gave up on that as well. In fact, at the end, it was worth a try: In the end I forced the issue of the front wheel well by cementing the gear to the front of the well, it isn't accurate but it does still give that unique impression of the Fleet Air Arm Phantom raised up to take off from the Eagle or the Ark Royal. Even after the setbacks I wanted this Phantom to carry a full load of armament. The kit did not include any missiles so I added some AIM-7E Sparrows and AIM-9J Sidewinders from a Hasegawa weapons set, I have no idea how I ended up with AIM-9J Sidewinders on this FAA Phantom, I think they should have been an earlier mark but, hey, they look good! So, mistake after mistake, if you know anything about FAA Phantoms you will probably point and laugh. However, the funny thing is, I am really pleased with the end result and she looks good and she has a guaranteed place in the display cabinet. And one day I am going to make another F-4K Two more Phantoms to come... Michael

Hi all, I can report it as finished. Some progress can be found at http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234965200-phantom-fg1-aka-f-4k-148/ . More pics are at http://www.kpmprosek.cz/v/panteri/mess/PhantomFG1 . Thanks for viewing. M.

This is the Hasegawa P17 1/48 British Phantom FG Mk.1 which I have put together as operated by 767 Sqn Fleet Air Arm. I have made a bit of a hash of the cockpit, I tried Eduard Zoom Photo Etch but didn't really get on with that. Now the cockpit seems to be too high in the aircraft and too far back and I think I messed up the initial build. As a result the pilot's seat rattles around in a large space but just fits under the canopy, the navigator's seat though sits far too high and tips forward. Every couple of months I think about finishing this beauty then it seems too difficult and she goes back on the shelf of shame (a large shelf). These photos show the problem: So what is best to do? All I can think of is to cut the rear seat in two and take a chunk out of it though it will then look like a child's seat in a family car! She will be displayed with the canopies closed because the forward undercarriage oleo will be extended as if on the catapult. TIA Michael