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1/72 - McDD (R)F-4C/D/J/E/EJ Phantom II by Finemolds - (R)F-4C/D/E/EJ & J released - new boxings F4D & E in March 2024


Homebee

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On 31/08/2021 at 14:59, baldwin8 said:

Okay, I'm rolling the dice on this one by the image they posted, more F-4 releases.

 

Based on the silhouettes, and the ~4 month lead time to get whatever is planned out in 2021* (given how well covered the new tooling for the F-4C/D/J releases has been), I am expecting the scale modelling equivalent of:

 

241124531_376073804015759_70909569077105

 

Only with a 1:72 Phantom as the immediate backdrop, and one young lady in 1:35 scale.

Probably one young lady with an F-4E or F-4EJ boxing, and a different one for an F-4EJkai boxing.

 

The more modern subject equivalent of these previous Fine Molds releases:

https://www.hlj.com/1-35-scale-rekiso-otome-history-dress-1-35-aoi-with-1-72-zero-fighter-type-22-fnmhc7

https://www.hlj.com/1-35-scale-rekiso-otome-history-dress-1-35-rosa-w-1-72-bf109-f-4-trop-fnmhc8

 

I hope I'm wrong, and we do get a slatted wing Phantom this year; not too long to wait to find out.

 

  Jonathan.

 

* Google translate has the first line of the Facebook post as "Our new products scheduled to be released in the fall-winter 2021". But under Japanese standards, it wouldn't surprise me if Winter 2021 includes Q1 2022.

 

 

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Always liked VMFA-333 from their Nimitz cruise after l saw an article in Airfix magazine a long time ago.

 

Regards

Robert

Edited by Robert
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On 8/24/2021 at 3:31 PM, 71chally said:

They were showing slightly cheaper than that on Plaza last night, but all showing sold out already.

I've got a F-4J winging its way from Plaza Japan at their reduced price of JPY3,229 (£21.26 + shipping). Not really interested in these particular  markings; planning to do an F-4J from VF-74 on the USS America or possibly an RAF F-4J (UK) from 74 Squadron... maybe I'll get another and do both! A Vietnam war warrior on Yankee Station in the 1970s and a Cold War warrior on QRA in the 1980's: there's a kinda symmetry there. 

 

If I was really clever I could do 155529 / ZE359 which served in both squadrons and is now at Duxford :hmmm:

 

Rich

 

spacer.png

 

Edited by RichG
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On 9/1/2021 at 7:36 PM, Andrés S. said:

 

 

I think I see in the figure below the nose of an E or F.
But being the Revell kits so good, and especially cheap compared to Fine Molds except perhaps comparing the cockpit, is it advisable to buy the Fine Molds F?
For my taste the exterior detail of the Revell kit of the RF-4E (easily convertible into RF-4C) and F-4F is so nice that I think I would not buy the F.M.

 

Andrés S.

 

Depends on what you want from your kits: the Revell kits are nicely moulded, decently detailed and easy to find for good money. They are also inaccurate in several areas, the canopy in particular is "squashed" in shape.

The FM kits are sure more expensive but the level of detail is way superior to what Revell offers. Shapes looks better but I've yet to receive mine, I'll comment on this after having the kit in my hands. In general I would agree that the Revell kit is cheap and sure will be fine for many, but for those who want a higher quality kit it may not be enough

I should also say that the term cheap should be seen in perspective... when my FM F-4C will arrive it will be more expensive than the Revell one but depending on how VAT will be treated by the shop and my local custom office it may end up buying only 20% more expensive than buying a Revell kit from an online shop. Or may end up being much more expensive... in any case I know that there are some details that in the Revell kit would push me to buy aftermarket parts while on the FM kit I believe I can easily get the same details without any additional purchase. It will likely be a case of horses for courses

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2 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

[the Revell kits] are also inaccurate in several areas, the canopy in particular is "squashed" in shape.

One of the other most glaring shortcomings is the shape of the intakes - very large and squared off. To me there is absolutely no comparison between the Finemolds beauty and the poor Revell attempt. Too bad Revell blew it in so many areas since the engineering and fit are noteworthy.

 

 

Gene K

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23 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

 

Depends on what you want from your kits: the Revell kits are nicely moulded, decently detailed and easy to find for good money. They are also inaccurate in several areas, the canopy in particular is "squashed" in shape.

The FM kits are sure more expensive but the level of detail is way superior to what Revell offers. Shapes looks better but I've yet to receive mine, I'll comment on this after having the kit in my hands. In general I would agree that the Revell kit is cheap and sure will be fine for many, but for those who want a higher quality kit it may not be enough

I should also say that the term cheap should be seen in perspective... when my FM F-4C will arrive it will be more expensive than the Revell one but depending on how VAT will be treated by the shop and my local custom office it may end up buying only 20% more expensive than buying a Revell kit from an online shop. Or may end up being much more expensive... in any case I know that there are some details that in the Revell kit would push me to buy aftermarket parts while on the FM kit I believe I can easily get the same details without any additional purchase. It will likely be a case of horses for courses

 


Yes, it all depends on what one wants from the kits. In my case, the surface detail will be clean, sharp and fine as well as adequate. Regarding the adjustment of the pieces, then logically the best possible.

But there are some characters out there (who know everything but do nothing ...) who worry about things that do not matter the least to me. If the length of a model is 1'003 mm shorter it matters absolutely little to me, the same as if this has an angle of 18º when it should be 17'4º ... There is no man who appreciates such differences just to fatten his ego , or at least they think so.
I'm not saying this for you, obviously.

 

Regarding the FM kit, well, I'll see when mine gets back to me, but I've seen some details of the screws that seem too big to me. And it is that we forget something and it is that the new by the fact of being new is not necessarily better and much less better in all aspects. ESCI put out molds of the first 1/72 Harriers in the early 80's (almost 40 years ago ...) and it seems that they are still the best kits at that scale even though there are more recent ones. Although it is possible that the typical "maestro liendres" judges them in this or that aspect bad, incorrect or simply impossible to pass an exam to their wasted and enormous volume of aeronautical knowledge ...Which I absolutely don't give a damn about.

 

Greetings.

 

Andrés S.

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On 9/1/2021 at 12:36 PM, Andrés S. said:

But being the Revell kits so good, ... .

:giggle: That's a good one! 

 

If you are serious, then no the FM kit would not be worth it for you ... especially since it appears you already have your mind made up. For others who want a great new kit that's more accurate than the "cheaper" Revell kit, FM is definitely the way to go. :thumbsup:

 

Gene K

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It's a question of priorities.  Some people stress the 'model' aspect of model kits, while others stress the 'kit' aspect.  

 

The Revell Phantom is a really nice kit - nice details, builds well - it's just not a very good model (poor accuracy, fidelity).  Hasegawa is a pretty decent model, but at this point, it's not a great kit.  While Fine Molds is a very nice model AND a great kit.

 

Just depends on where your priorities lie.  And there's no point getting sidetracked with an argument as to which is 'better', or insulting people that lean one way or the other.

Edited by ICMF
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Fully agree that in the end each modeller have different priorities and some may be interested in one aspect more than the other. That Revell's kit attracts enough love is testified by the huge number of reissues of this kit over the years, if Revell keep pumping them out it means that people buy them.

Said that, personally I consider this kit a wasted opportunity as some more attention by whoever made the mould could have resulted in something capable of meeting the requirements of both those who want a good kit and those who want a good model. All at a pretty good price (at least in Europe). Of course the FM kit may now make the revell offering obsolete, however it will always be an expensive kit (even more so in Europe).

 

 

On 9/4/2021 at 5:12 PM, Andrés S. said:

 


 

But there are some characters out there (who know everything but do nothing ...) who worry about things that do not matter the least to me. If the length of a model is 1'003 mm shorter it matters absolutely little to me, the same as if this has an angle of 18º when it should be 17'4º ... There is no man who appreciates such differences just to fatten his ego , or at least they think so.
I'm not saying this for you, obviously.

 

 

I don't mind about the 1.003 mm myself, however the problem is that accuracy is not being right to the 0.0001 mm, something that IMHO many modellers miss completely. Accuracy in a model is first and foremost getting the shapes and proportions right. It doesn't matter if company XYZ makes the model perfectly correct in length and span, are the shapes correct ? If the shape of the real thing is a circle, is the same part a circle in the kit or is it a an oval ? If it's a circle that is wrong by a 1% difference, nobody will notice. If it's an oval it will be noticeable. As we're speaking of F-4E/Fs, are the intakes behind the radome correctly blended into the fuselage sides or are they proud of the surface like in the Esci kit ? Again, not a matter of checking the length to the fraction of mm, but something much more noticeable.

In general, if I compare my completed model with pictures, will the proportions be right ? Now maybe many don't look at pictures of a real aircraft while building a model but I do, for example to get the location of the decals right, and this is where many inaccuracies get discovered, some minors and some not so minor. Accuracy is a matter of proportions between parts much more than it is a matter of how precise the length or span is.

Said that I have three Revell kits in the stash and I will build them all anyway, so I am myself happy enough to live with not fully accurate kits. I'll not use them for my favourite subjects though, these will be taken care of through other kits. Now that FM will issue slatted wing F-4Es I'll be very happy, as untile now the only options were either live with Revell's kit shapes or try and find a Hasegawa slatted E

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Just got my FineMolds F-4C direct from Japan; ordered 27-Aug; so that's leas than 2 weeks, Including air freight half way round the world £28 each ( x 3 :whistle:). So that is considerably less than Hobby 2000 which are around £39.99 including p&p or eBay prices for Hasegawa. And for that I get a better kit, with lovely intake trunking, a choice of decals or raised detail in the cockpit, etc. If F-M issue a slatted wing E (and F) I like @Giorgio N will be very happy, and will order a lot... and build them: 

 

 

Happy. 😁

 

Chris

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On 9/2/2021 at 1:43 AM, Homebee said:

F-4J Phantom II - US Marines - VMFAT-101 "Marines" - release September 16th, 2021 

 

 

E-l8jBMVgAQ9H2Z?format=jpg&name=large

 

Making way for the F-4D release later this month ... as well as the Weapons Sets.:penguin:

 

Gene K

 

EDIT:

 

And as a "prompt" - he who hesitates is lost ... as Tweeted by FM:

 

Quote

 Thank you for being sold out! 1/72 US Navy F-4J " Arvarks " [and] 1/72 US Air Force F-4C "Air National Guard (State Air Force)" was both manufacturers stock sold out ... .

 

Edited by Gene K
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1 hour ago, Chrisj2003 said:

Just got my FineMolds F-4C direct from Japan; ordered 27-Aug; so that's leas than 2 weeks, Including air freight half way round the world £28 each ( x 3 :whistle:). So that is considerably less than Hobby 2000 which are around £39.99 including p&p or eBay prices for Hasegawa. And for that I get a better kit, with lovely intake trunking, a choice of decals or raised detail in the cockpit, etc. If F-M issue a slatted wing E (and F) I like @Giorgio N will be very happy, and will order a lot... and build them: 

 

 

Happy. 😁

 

Chris

Chris, can I asked from which store did you order?

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I know a bit off topic but before anyone thinks I'm after el cheapo alternatives to Fine Molds wares. I have 2 in stock already, F-4EJKai & RF-4EJ via HLJ & one more on the way, an F-4E from Hobby Search, I was a bit tardy to order from HLJ on that one. Likely more to come. :(  Out of curiosity, & having looked at Revell F-4Fs before & found them less than easy to come by or uber spendy, at least from the other side of the world, I was interested to find out from whence they originated, also having a Revell F-4J in stock, ex Monogram so Scalemates tell me but they don't say where the F-4F kits come from, even on the page for one. So, in the interests of science & my insatiable curiosity, whose are they, original Revell tools or not?

Steve.

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1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

I know a bit off topic but before anyone thinks I'm after el cheapo alternatives to Fine Molds wares. I have 2 in stock already, F-4EJKai & RF-4EJ via HLJ & one more on the way, an F-4E from Hobby Search, I was a bit tardy to order from HLJ on that one. Likely more to come. :(  Out of curiosity, & having looked at Revell F-4Fs before & found them less than easy to come by or uber spendy, at least from the other side of the world, I was interested to find out from whence they originated, also having a Revell F-4J in stock, ex Monogram so Scalemates tell me but they don't say where the F-4F kits come from, even on the page for one. So, in the interests of science & my insatiable curiosity, whose are they, original Revell tools or not?

Steve.

 

The F-4F is an original tool from the German side of Revell, derived from the same company's RF-4E (that IIRC was issued a year or two earlier). These kits date from the mid '90s and I believe this was the first issue of the F

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-04307-mcdonnell-douglas-f-4f-phantom-ii--144889

 

Mind, Revell issued other Phantom kits before these, including an RF-4, but I believe these were all based on Revell's old Phantoms from the '70s

And of course the same Revell today sells the Monogram F-4J you mentioned.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Thanks Giorgio, for some reason the normally, often reliable scalemates how omitted all reference to this line of Revell tools kits in their family tree, at least as far as I can see.

Steve.

 

Maybe they got scared by the sheer number of Phantoms of various origin that appeared in Revell's catalogue over the years and gave up... 🤣

 

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I was on the "Plaza Japan" website a few minutes ago (my go to site for acquiring Fine Molds Phantoms) and I noticed that both the Marine F-4J and  the Air Force F-4D now show an "Out of Stock" status instead of the "Pre-Order Now" message which I have been seeimg for the past few months. Could this mean these two kits have been released? My pre-order for them, with Plaze, still says "waiting for release"

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No.  Just that they've pre-sold their allotment of kits, so they're not taking more pre-orders.  I had it happen to the bombs set and F-4C while they were sitting in my cart (curse you again, procrastination!)

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I caved in and ordered the F-4E from Plaza Japan, we'll see how long before it knocks on the door.

I am going to recast the cockpit details, the intake duct parts and the splitters to systematically improve all of my Hasegawa E variants.

I am doing the same with the Academy F-4J to improve the Hasegawa Navy variants.

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On 9/2/2021 at 3:05 AM, Robert said:

Always liked VMFA-333 from their Nimitz cruise  ... .

 Close ... but USS America -- shouldn't take much decal cobbling. :selfie:

 

YKJoJbb.jpg

 

F-4J_Phantoms_of_VMFA-333_in_flight_in_1

 

Gene K

Edited by Gene K
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On 03/09/2021 at 19:51, Gene K said:

One of the other most glaring shortcomings is the shape of the intakes - very large and squared off. To me there is absolutely no comparison between the Finemolds beauty and the poor Revell attempt. Too bad Revell blew it in so many areas since the engineering and fit are noteworthy.

 

 

Gene K

With all respect, for your kind information: 

http://soyuyo.main.jp/f4e/f-4e-1.html

Of course, there is no perfect models... 🙂

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