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Completed before the house move, this is off to the backseat as it depicts his farewell flight. The Hasegawa kit performed beautifully with an Aires and Eduard cockpit upgrade. Painted with Vallejo.

Hi friends , my last completed model. It is a Monogram's model in the Accurate Miniatures box. I am pleased that the model is made, so here's the picture. Enjoy.

This is the Monogram F-4D that, although an older kit (plastic helpfully stamped “1985”) is accurate and with some really nice detail moulded in, especially in the cockpit. The Monogram kit features fine raised detail, and generally goes together well with the exception of the intakes that take a bit of work but nothing ridiculous. Having read that the Monogram decals were a disaster when new (and the intervening 30+ years won’t have helped) I finished my Phantom with HiDecal decals for a Texas ANG machine in the Euro1 scheme, adding some Eduard Brassin AIM-7Es and AIM-9Js, and a SUU-23 from a Hasegawa weapon set. I painted the gun pod in the ADC gray more often associated with the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group F-4Cs to contrast with the Euro1 Scheme, which was only worn by their F-4Ds for a relatively short period. The HiDecal markings worked well, with good colour coverage in the tail flashes. The only problem was that one of the tail codes disintegrated on application so substitutes were found from an old set of Modeldecal post-war RAF 12” codes; the typeface isn’t 100% accurate but a pretty good match. The rest of the airframe markings came from an old Hasegawa sheet.

Hallo again This will be my fourth Phantom in 1/48 scale. The S version. My first one of the US Navy and even my last one. The next will be a RF-4E from the IAF. This a/c will be from VF-151. It will be in grey (4 different tones). To achieve a good effect, I will use a basic black paint, with lightning the panel center. In addition, to get repair panels in different pre-shades. The externals I reduce to the centerline tank only, to show this interesting wing! Here I use (not correct) the left over brasin seat from the USAF. I hope to get it that way that the differences will not be shown. The oxygen gauge at the seat cushion I will cover with the harness. In the kit, the floor is very difficult designed for the uniform plastic ejection seat (the same at all versions!). This understructure I had to remove for the brasin seat. I wanted to use etched parts, but I lose all the 3D effect. Not at all! I will paint it. Well, so let us see, what it will look like. Until next time. Happy modelling

Good day all. It is very unusual for me to post two builds in less than a week. In fact, it never happens, until today. Prior to to my 3 year break, there'd be a good month between posts. The timing of the photography session with my little 'warm up' Vampire post the other day, then finishing and photographing this one means it's ready to post. 😎 History: The last two Phantoms I made were a vintage Hasegawa IDF RF4E, and the wonderfully dodgy Matchbox F4K/M, built back when both they, and me, were nice and new. I think I build better than I did back then so there is something to be said for old age. 😓 This one is the Fujimi Fire Birds offering from 1989. It has been sitting in my stash since the mid 1990s bought secondhand when I toyed with the idea of restarting my modelling hobby. I didn't though, because restarting my hobby had to wait till 2013! 😭 With the release of the Airfix kit and following my recent build warm up, it was decided to finally get this one done. Still a nice kit of course and I don't feel the need to replace the Fujimi FG.1 in my stash with a newer Airfix one. I threw in some Quickboost resin seats, QMT resin wheels and those Master pitot tube sets just for the fun of it. The scheme is from Xtradecal sheet X72295 and represents a 92 Sqn FGR.2 on detachment to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, 1989. I also had a set of Airdoc stencils as well. I'm not sure when I bought them, but WHAT WAS I THINKING!! @##%%@ Phantom stencils! Where did my life go? Didn't I have better things to do? Anyway, here you go, thank you for your time. I feel I was still warming up a little as my current build is definitely going better than this Phantom did. 🤕 Phantom-FGR2_02 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_01 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_03 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_05 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_06 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_07 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_08 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr Phantom-FGR2_09 by Jonathan Macauley, on Flickr

After the FG.1 (link) , Airfix is to release in October 2018 (?) a 1/72nd McDD Phantom FGR.2 kit - ref. A06017 Schemes: 1) XV466 D, No1435 FLT, RAF Mount Pleasant November 1991 2) FGR.2 XV469 H 2 Squadron June 1976 3) FGR.2 Phantom XV408 92 Squadron RAF Germany Sources: https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/new-for-2018/mcdonnell-douglas-fgr2-phantom-1-72.html https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/mcdonnell-douglas-fgr2-phantom-1-72.html V.P.

F-4 Phantom Undercarriage & Doors Replacement Sets 1:32 Aerocraft Models - For Revell Kit The 1/32 Revell F-4 is a good kit. However it is lacking in a couple of areas. These three new sets have been made by Ali of Aerocraft models. Main Gear Doors These are new main gear doors who's shape has been reworked to improve the look. They are direct replacements for the kit parts. Undercarriage Wheel Doors Set As well as the new main gear doors above there are new nose gear doors and their lights. These are direct replacements for the kit parts and work to improve them. Metal Undercarriage legs In this set you get new replacement cast brass undercarriage legs for the kit. The new parts are slightly shorter than the kit part to correct the stance of the kit and are direct replacements for the kit parts. The quality of the castings are some of the best I have seen and much better that other metal sets. A few bits of the original piping can be added back in if needed to improve the parts. Conclusion It is great to see Ali back in the game and this is certainly an interesting set of items for the Revell Phantom. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

UK Phantom replacement Exhausts, Intake ramps & pylons. 1:72 Aerocraft Models - For Airfix Kit The new 1/72 Airfix UK Phantom was a very welcome kit. However it is lacking in a couple of areas. These three new sets have been made by Ali of Aerocraft models. All three sets come in a double style of packaging which is done to reduce the cost ratio for shipping. This though is a bad move which will encourage the modeller to buy more kits Exhausts The new exhausts are 3D printed and are a direct replacement for the kit parts. Detailed Intake Ramps The new ramps address the issue of the missing vents on the top and bottom of the intake ramps. Also included in the set are new inserts for the rear fuselage by the exhausts. A small amount of kit surgery will e needed for this set. Unarmed Inner & Outer Pylons In this set you get new unarmed inner and outer pylons for the Phantom. The inner pylons can have the sidewinder rails mounted or not. The outer pylon was used on some occasions when the tanks were not fitted. The mounting plates at the top of the pylons are included as well. The new parts are direct replacements for the kit parts. Conclusion It is great to see Ali back in the game and this is certainly an interesting set of items 1/72 with the new Airfix Phantom out there. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

FH-1 Phantom 'US Navy' (72332) 1:72 Special Hobby The FD later FH-1 Phantom from McDonnell has always suffered from the fact its older brother the F4H-1 (later F-4) Phantom II has stolen most of the limelight associated with the "Phantom" name. Originally designed and first flown during WWII the aircraft was straight winged. The Phantom was the first Jet to land on a US Aircraft Carrier, and the first jet to be used by the US Marine Corps. Only 62 were made but the design lead into the follow on aircraft from McDonnell the F2H Banshee. These aircraft would position McDonnell as an important supplier to eh US Military. McDonnell must have thought a lot of the Phantom to bring the name back for the F-4. The Kit This is a new toolkit from Special Hobby. The kit arrives on three sprues of grey plastic, a clear spure, a small PE fret and a sheet of decals. Construction starts in the cockpit. The seat and instrument panel are made up with the panel as decal. PE belts are included for the seat. The cockpit floor also form the top of the front wheel well. The well sides are added along with the front and rear cockpit bulkheads. The cockpit can then be placed in the fuselage, the instructions recommend putting 3 grams of weight in the nose. Next up the engines and there trunking are built up. There are fan fronts and exhausts are added. Construction then moves to the wings. The main wheel wells must be built up ad added into the lower wing along with the intake trunking. The upper wings can then be added. The leading edge parts of the intake are then added. This is a nice touch so you don't have to clean up a seam in the intake area. The front landing gear is built up and added to the front along with the gear doors. This is then followed by the main units and their doors. The belly tank is then fitted along with the arrestor hook. To finish off the tail planes are added along with the engine exhausts and finally the canopy. Markings There are printed by Cartograf so there will be no issues there. You get 3 marking options with any colour you want as long as its Gloss Sea Blue! the markings, including extensive stencils are mainly white. R 112 - Bu 111778 VF-17A, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CV-42, March 1949 R 122 - Bu 111785 VF-17A, USS Saipan, May 1948 R 101 - Bu 111799 VF-17A, USS Coral Sea, May 1948 Conclusion It is great to see this over looked early jet now being injection moulded in 1/72. Highly recommended. Wheels If you want a liitle something else for you Phantom then through their CMK Line there is a set of resin replacement wheels available. Review sample courtesy of

Hi, a couple of days ago I released my first new "Made in Japan" product. I corrected the shape error on the aft fuselage on the otherwise great Zoukei Mura short nose Phantoms. There's a huge controversy among modellers whether or not the shape error matters, is visible, should be discussed bla bla bla.... The fact is, the error is there, I can see it, in particular next to other Phantom models, I want it corrected and I did something about it (rather than just scream booo hisss at the manufacturer...). So here it is - it's a whole new fuselage section so you need to cut the kit fuselage (but near fool-proof cutting guide strips are provided) and do a bit of sanding/blending on the remaining plastic. Again, whether or not you deem this worth the trouble is up to you. I also added some finer detail to the chaff/flare bucket doors. Installed: Detail: Cheers! Jeffrey

Hi Guys Two new sets are available are now available for the Airfix Phantom, but could be used with other manufactures kits as well. Parts layout for Pylons, 12 parts shown but twice that will be supplied, so you will get two of each variation of the inner pylon, and four outer pylons assembled pylon options, 2 each of inner pylon (at top), 2 each of inner pylon (in middle) 4 each of outer pylon (at bottom) New resin exhaust compared to kit part Please visit Aerocraft Models website here http://www.aerocraftmodels.com

Announced (sort of) on their FB page. https://www.facebook.com/Hong-Kong-Models-Co-Ltd-1375731456009809/timeline/ Cheers, Andrew

Dear Brit modellers, This is my 3rd model this year, the awesome F-4J Phantom II by Zoukei Mura. The kit is really awesome, Full of details and all parts fits together without gaps. Aditionally I've purchased several aftermarkets: Pilot & operator crew with ejection seats by Aerobonus Resin Exhaust noozles by Eduard Wheels by Eduard With this model I've tried for the first time to use oil washes to cover the pane lines.

Hi all, Having reached the stage where the first of my East Anglian Phantoms needs painting, I thought I'd have a closer look at the decal sheet which is providing the markings. Given that I have a fair few F-4Cs, Ds and RF-4Cs, I'll probably use the entire sheet. I was looking at the placement guide for 69-0381 (incorrectly depicted as 65-0381) and noticed that there are no stencil type stars'n'bars bars for it. Looking further, it seems like there are a number of missing decals, as the numbers on the sheet only go up to 85, when the placement guide shows decals numbered up to 93 (at least). Am I missing an addendum sheet, or are all the sheets like this? I thought I'd ask before hassling Hannants! Cheers, Mark.

At Shizuoka Hobby Show 2018 Platz is to release a new tool 1/72nd McDD F-4EJ Phantom II kit - ref. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/modelartinc/posts/1960234187384789 https://www.facebook.com/modelartinc/photos/pcb.1960234187384789/1960233957384812/?type=3&theater V.P.

FG.1 Phantom Update sets, wheels & masks 1:72 Eduard for Airfix Kit The new Airfix Phantom kit is a great kit, however that has not stopped Eduard from wanting to add their own brand of magic to the kit. Update Set (73628) Inside there are two frets, one coloured and one not. The coloured parts are mainly for the cockpit including new instrument panels, sides panels, and various levers. Also supplied are seatbelts and ejection seat handles for both seats , as well as the seat tops and pads. For the rest of the airframe new exhaust rings are provided, along with the main airbrake interiors and the prominent aux intake doors. For the canopies mirrors are provided. If the modeller only wants the the cockpit parts then they are available as a Zoom set. Full Set ZOOM Undercarriage Set (72668) This set really does what it says on the packet it contains a parts for the kits undercarriage. For the nose bay a new interior and door are provided along with parts for the nose leg. For the mains new internals are provided along with new skins for the main gear doors and complete doors for the smaller ones. New links are provided for the legs. In addition to the landing gear parts new vents are provided for the tops & undersides of the main intakes something which is missing on the airfix kit. Wheel Set (672174) As it says on the box this is a complete set of both main and both front wheels for the kit. These are more detailed drop ins for the kit wheels. A set of painting masks is also included. Masks (CX506) Eduard provide masks for both canopies and the wheels. Review samples courtesy of

Basically moving this thread as it were from WIP to here. Replacement intake parts for the 1/72 Airfix Phantom see on website http://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com/

F-4E Phantom II - 111th Sq. "Panter", TuAF, 1st Main Jet Base Eskişehir, 1992 Well known Hasegawa kit, Hi-decal (No. 48-028) with some of kits own decals. Built for a collector.

Hi all Has anyone built this kit, or have any opinions? I'm after a 1/48 RAF Phantom but I don't want to pay about £50 which seems to be the minimum on ebay for them. How does the old Revell one build, is it as bad as the artwork suggests, or can it be built into a reasonable RAF Phantom with just some aftermarket decals? I'm not sure those jetpipes look like Speys! Should this kit be avoided really, I don't want it to look like I've just stuck roundels on an F-4B. Equally, I don't want to spend about £30 on Eduard parts either.

After some advice please people. I’ve got a 1/72 phantom F4-J and wondering if anyone knows the closest colour to the duck egg grey that the early raf f4’s had due to yellow primer then raf grey on top. I normally use humbrol. Trying to build one as 74 squadron markings as the old man worked in them late 80s for him. Any help please would be greatly accepted.

Hi again all, I've dipped in to the slides again and have elected to try and get something half decent from a set of Kodachromes that I shot in 1982 at McConnell AFB. The 161st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, Kansas Air National Guard was based there at the time of my visit. Once again, like my Hulman experience The visit was eventful in that our guide took us out to the KC-135 ramp and I managed to cross the red line, bringing a pair of very keen and eager security police my way. Despite having watched me enter the area without using the correct entry point they wanted to flex a bit of muscle. All was good, though, and we went on our way around the ramp. Well, here are the Phantoms: If I manage to wrestle any more in to submission I'll post them. Martin

I’m after some guidance and advice. I’m looking at building a 74 tiger squadron F4-J phantom. I’m looking at a ESCI 1/72 model or revell at the minute. The part I’m struggling to get are any after market decals of all the small stuff I.e no step, hook points etc for this aircraft. I’ve got the 74 main decals sorted. Just looking to add more detail with smaller ones. Struggling to find anything with xtradecal and modeldecal. Does anyone know of any or where to look further thanks

Hi all. Simple question. Do you have Phantom C/D photos in wraparound Europe1 scheme to share, please? Thanks!

here is My current build, Academy F-4C , Robin Olds USAF markings. Box and parts plus two Eduard sets and Aires resin cockpit. First I started with armarment... ... than some cockpit details, (Aires resin is great) Here some estra paint work need to be done, ..and front wheel bay, still work in progress..

My first attempt at airbushing turned out OK (I think), but I did cheat by picking a Gulf War Jaguar which was filthy, so any screw ups could be hidden under the weathering. I bought a tile from B&Q and painted a yellow line down it. I think as a base for photos it looks OK. Even my hated Gannet looks better on it. This time with the Phantom I’ll attempt a clean build. The plan is to pre-shade the control surfaces then spray it in a three colour grey USMC scheme. Other than that I’ll keep the filth to a minimum with maybe just some staining around the jet pipes and underside of the tail Cockpit done by brush. The instruments look OK in real scale and will be hidden in the airframe with the canopies down. Blown up on a 24” monitor they look horrendous! Whatever. The seats look alright too, but I added masking tape belts. Other than that the build will be OOB. The CoG is somewhere near the main landing gear, but I added weight to the nose just to be sure. Fit is a bit “Italeri”, so some filling and sanding is required. The detail isn’t great, but this is just another test to see if I can do it before risking something that cost twice as much.