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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


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2 hours ago, ICMF said:

Sooo many special schemes for them to re-box.

 

Amen on the [Japanese] special schemes. And as @Chrisj2003 said, how about all the F-4C, D, and E schemes, not to mention the even more attractive USN and Marine F-4J!! And as @baldwin8  suggested, maybe after the F-2 is all laid out, the FM team can move on to the next non-Japanese Phantom ... like new wings (et al) to make an F-4B or slatted F-4S or F-4E ... or ... .  For me, 2022 will again be a great modelling year thanks to FineMolds.

 

Gene K

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Such a lucky time to be a modeller isn't it? Almost spoiled for choice I must say, Finemolds being one of the modern modelling heroes :) - I bought both the F-4C and D and the next time FineMolds will get me forking out is when an F-4G appears, although the new exercise schemes are very tempting  - the 1982 Komatsu Fighter Meet was a veritable feast of temporary camouflages - Phantom part ONE and Phantom part TWO for some nice examples.

 

Jay

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7 hours ago, Mountain goat said:

 I bought both the F-4C and D and the next time FineMolds will get me forking out is when an F-4G appears ... .

 

Jay,

Since the FM Weapons Sets are now on the way to hobby shops, you could do a little more FineMolds forking out by ordering some weapons to outfit your C and D models.:hmmm:

 

Quote

...  the new exercise schemes are very tempting  ... Phantom part ONE and Phantom part TWO for some nice examples.

Outstanding links,  and here's another outstanding link ... to one of the F-4EJ airframes shown in your links. I'm sure you'll agree that Craig Baldwin really did a bang up job in customizing his FM kit.

 

Gene K

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Got my Vietnam War F-4E a couple of days ago from Plaza Japan, it took me two days to react to the extreme ease of assembly, clever engineering and quality of detail, but we've all heard and read that before.

I am a little peeved about the afterburner ducts, their design makes difficult to adequately paint and detail the interior, but that's an issue shared with the 1/72 Academy F-4J and the GWH F-15 family, do any of these mold engineers build models?

The second (for now) gripe is about the drooped airbrakes, or lack thereof. When you go to the extent they went to detail a full intake duct, the additional cost for the airbrakes and wells would not have been prohibitive.

 

All in all, for the cost of these kits, why are we still buyin' Hasegawa?

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9 hours ago, Robertone139 said:

All in all, for the cost of these kits, why are we still buyin' Hasegawa?

That’s why we aint - these were way cheaper for me than the Hasegawa - no brainer in choosing FM.  Looks absolutely gorgeous plastic.

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On 9/22/2021 at 11:44 AM, Gene K said:

... you could do a little more FineMolds forking out by ordering some weapons to outfit your C and D models.:hmmm:

 

Well ... I got my Weapons Sets, and am impressed with the moldings, but not the meager contents and high price for such few parts. FineMolds marketing is "calculatingly unscrupulous", as shown by the omissions in the Phantom kits. However, the intentional omissions in the Weapons Sets is a low. Specifically:

 

lSx2fOF.jpg

 

I bought the Weapons Sets in part because I wanted fancy new Inboard pylons to use on Phantom kits other than FineMolds (whose kits already include the inboard pylons). However, to get complete pylons from the Weapons Sets, I have to make the parts that FineMolds could have easily included??? Yes, I know, that actually takes a few minutes of modelling ... .:worry:

 

Gene K

 

Edited by Gene K
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@Gene K, alternatively we could praise Finemolds for reducing single use plastic waste - unlike the Airfix kit where if you melted down all the unused bits you could almost use it to mould another kit!

😉

PS Just received my Marine F-4J - pretty good as I ordered it less than a week ago!

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2 hours ago, iainpeden said:

@Gene K, alternatively we could praise Finemolds for reducing single use plastic waste -

Afraid I don't understand your logic, sorry. Since the beginning of the FineMolds Phantom adventure, I've been ultra positive in praising them and the kits, but the Weapons Kits' omissions is/are just not right ... on principle.

 

FineMolds, in the spirit of completeness, should also have included the Sidewinder launch rails to go with the pylons, rather than suggesting to get them from their Phantom kit. All the missing parts are small and have already been tooled, so why not just include them?:headbang: 

 

Great service on the J model you just got! From whom did you order it, and what type of shipping did you use? FM is starting to pack the D models, so the 5 Oct ship-out-of-the-factory-door looks on schedule.

 

Gene K

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Hi Gene - I know you have been ultra positive about the Finemolds Phantoms and you are totally right , they're gorgeous. Looks like my little joke about waste plastic got lost in translation across the pond!

 

My J came from Hobbylink and I used Japan Post - total cost was £36.04  - about $48.

 

Take care and enjoy your weather - it's getting wet and cold here!

Iain

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6 hours ago, Gene K said:

I bought the Weapons Sets in part because I wanted fancy new Inboard pylons to use on Phantom kits other than FineMolds (whose kits already include the inboard pylons).

 

I was intending exactly the same when I finally get hold of these sets. I will do as you plan and make the plates, and I also really want the outboard pylons, so it's not a dealbreaker, but still...

 

Thanks for letting us know, Gene.

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7 minutes ago, iainpeden said:

My J came from Hobbylink and I used Japan Post - total cost was £36.04  - about $48.

Iain,

 

Just for comparison, I used DHL Express from HLJ --  shipping cost to US was $43 for: 2 Phantom kits, four Weapons Sets, and one magazine. Took HLJ three days to get the package to DHL, and DHL delivered it TWO (!) days after leaving Tokyo. Pretty expensive, but pretty amazing.:penguin:

 

Gene K

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2 minutes ago, Andrew said:

 ... when I finally get hold of these sets. I will do as you plan and make the plates ...

 

I'll make cut files for use in my Silhouette Cameo, and I'll post them here in the Scale Models Paint Mask site.  I just recently found this site, and I think it can begin to realize some of its grand potential as folks become aware of it. Among other things, I've posted cut files for FineMolds long and short nose canopy masks, so if you have a Silhouette cutter it will be easy to mask the FM canopies. I also posted accompanying SVG files to use in other cutters like the Cricut ... or to print and cut manually. 

 

The site owner has added a new section where folks can post files for Non-Mask Applications, as for the plates you mentioned, Andrew. My next post in that section will be for reinforcement belly straps to fit the FineMolds F-4E (and for those converting the E to the G model).:selfie:  

 

Gene K

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11 minutes ago, Gene K said:

The site owner has added a new section where folks can post files for Non-Mask Applications, as for the plates you mentioned, Andrew.

Wow! That'd be great! Thanks for mentioning - I'll be looking out for it.

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On 9/29/2021 at 5:02 PM, Andrew said:

[The pylon "fairings" would] be great! ...  I'll be looking out for it.

Check PM.

 

The Silhouette file is ready to post, but I'll wait until I add some other goodies. You can download the scale SVG here, and below is a thumbnail (which is NOT to scale). 

 

YIh9fz6.jpg

 

I laminated two .015" plastic pieces and sanded to shape. Still shaking my head at FineMolds' frustrating  omissions!  :shocked: 

 

Gene K

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2 hours ago, giemme said:

Incidentally,  my F-4J arrived at the customs in Italy on September 27th. Still there.... :angry:

I've had that in the UK aswel, packages leave Japan really quickly but get held up here for some reason.

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There have been massive hold-ups at Felixstowe because of congestion, although as this has not been mentioned much recently then hopefully this has been cleared.  However manning shortages in various businesses/departments because of the pandemic has also caused delays, as seen elsewhere.  It's a case of gritting teeth and bearing it.

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3 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

There have been massive hold-ups at Felixstowe because of congestion, although as this has not been mentioned much recently then hopefully this has been cleared.  However manning shortages in various businesses/departments because of the pandemic has also caused delays, as seen elsewhere.  It's a case of gritting teeth and bearing it.

As far as I can see when buying direct from Japan airmail is the way to go? So far its been cheaper than someone else bulk importing them into UK.

 

Chris

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35 minutes ago, Chrisj2003 said:

As far as I can see when buying direct from Japan airmail is the way to go?

 

I can only speak for buying and shipping to here in Canada, my  shipping airmail for this D version of one kit is $16 CDN and they normally arrived in less than two weeks.

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44 minutes ago, Chrisj2003 said:

As far as I can see when buying direct from Japan airmail is the way to go? So far its been cheaper than someone else bulk importing them into UK.

 

Chris

Well I have bought my kits from the UK and TBH there is no real price difference than buying from Japan direct. 

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Like @baldwin8I can only speak for myself and my experience when dealing with Japanese vendors is that I get the package 2 weeks or less after placing the order and using the least expensive shipping option. Japan to Los Angeles in 2 weeks for $20.00 - $25.00 is fine by me. Also the items I'm interested in are extremely hard to come by in the US.

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17 hours ago, giemme said:

Incidentally,  my F-4J arrived at the customs in Italy on September 27th. Still there....

 

14 hours ago, 71chally said:

I've had that in the UK aswel, packages leave Japan really quickly but get held up here for some reason.

 

I guess I've been very lucky. My F-4E and F-4J arrived yesterday after a relatively speedy journey from Osaka. I was advised by the supplier the package had been despatched from Japan last week, and 4 days later, the postman knocked to hand them over. And I will say they are rather awesome kits!

 

Terry

 

PS Giorgio, you will love the J!

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