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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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11 minutes ago, CasualModel98 said:

They are also restocking the earlier releases.  Looking to get the F-14A and the F-4EJ.

I wonder if the F-4EJ first kit comes with the missiles or empty pylons?  During the launch it was shown to have the missiles included.

Found my own answer, the weapons are sold separately.  Somehow I was under the impression it was bundled together... 

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English translation: 

Mold for new product F-4J is in progress Rough machining (PL machining) is finished and electric discharge machining is started.

 

Looks like we (well, at least some of us :wink:) will be treated to the short nose mold development.

 

Gene K

Edited by Gene K
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It looks like that last picture satisfies my curiosity about how Fine Molds will be dealing with the USN / USMC short nose variants having the retractable refuelling probe on the starboard side of the forward fuselage and the USAF variants not. No Hasegawa style "fill the panel lines" requirement here:

The photo suggests there will be one sprue with USN / USMC specific features - spine with no refuelling receptacle, catapult strop attachment hooks, drag chute door, flat top inboard wing pylons and starboard nose half; and presumably an equivalent sprue with USAF features, and a common sprue with the port nose half and nose cone.

I assume the USN / USMC specific sprue will also have the intake mounted RWR fairings. All versions of the Fine Molds F-4 have the locating holes for these on the intake parts, but flashed over, And while the main subjects for the USN and USMC boxings (VF-114 & VMFAT-101) didn't have them, I believe the alternate subjects (VF-21 and VMFA-333) did (for a period, at least).

 

    Jonathan.

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28 minutes ago, Jabba said:

My RF-4EJ has just been handed to me from Japan, so will have a look at this when I get home.

 

Nice, hopefully they will be in stock soon at Frome Model Centre then 👍

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FM Progress: Short Nose F-4B/C/D/N Nozzle start. Appears to be pretty much wide open - maybe there will be an option for a more "at rest" set.

EDIT: Or is this for the F-4J - a refinement of the F-4E nozzle?

 

Gene K

Edited by Gene K
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Not too bad so far, huh, Craig?

 

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More detail shots here. The accompanying translation says ... 

 

Quote

This is a test shot of the F-4C / D engine nozzle. (* Molding color is different) I was able to express it in a good way. Although it is a small part of about 1 cm, 20 or more discharge masters are manufactured, and the mold is made by dividing it on the front and back in consideration of work efficiency. I think it will be one of the fascinating points. 

 

Not sure what all that means except that it's a significant effort to get it right.

 

Gene K

 

Edited by Gene K
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I have pre-ordered the F-4C.

I wonder which 142 FIG F-4C it will be.  I'm really hoping for a 123 FS in Hill 1.

I think i'll have to get at least the missile weapons set.  I do like to have the option of the different pylons.  Being able to do a 32 TFS F-4E with the AIM-4 would be really nice.

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On 5/30/2020 at 2:51 PM, Spooky56 said:

 

The Kai designation just means the airframe has received an upgrade - just like the KWS (I think) or ICE upgrades the Luftwaffe F-4F received for example. 

 

The Japanese refer to them as F-4EJ and following upgrade F-4EJ Kai, RF-4E and following upgrade RF-4E Kai, the F-4EJ converted to recce role became RF-4EJ and following upgrade RF-4EJ Kai...if that's how the Japanese designate them then that's fine by me.

 

 

Hi, Spooky56,

AFAIK there is no "RF-4EJ Kai". The "RF-4EJ" (that is, the fighter F-4EJ assigned -rather than "converted"- to the recce role) are precisely airframes that were set aside when the original "Kai" conversion, and were later assigned to the recce role out of storage. They kept the EJ equipment and abilities, their recce capability being solely "pod-based". Cfm. JBaugher site.

 

Fernando

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Thank you Fernando. I know. I had repeated an error that appears on many photography sites. That error appeared to have been covered sufficiently in subsequent posts here so I did not amend my original one as the correct information was already there.

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13 hours ago, ICMF said:

Has anyone bought the JASDF weapons set?  I'm curious to know how it is - I was disappointed in their F-14 weapons set.

 

Nice packaging, nice decals, but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the plastic. No flash, and shapes look good, but detail isn't there  ... to my 1/72 eye.

 

I did order the F-4 sets ... with higher hopes and expectations.

 

Gene K

Edited by Gene K
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Updates trickling in from Finemolds. Interesting they chose to add the RHAWS fairing as a simple add-on rather than a new top section of the fin.

 

SGnQs3G.jpg

 

mH4Yxp5.jpg

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23 hours ago, Gene K said:

 

Nice packaging, nice decals, but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the plastic. No flash, and shapes look good, but detail isn't there  ... to my 1/72 eye.

 

So, much like the F-14 weapons, then.  Not remotely as nice as Hasegawa's "recent" sets from the aughts, and not even better than the ones from the 80's.  Shame they're not up to the quality of the rest of the kit, since a really high quality missile set would sell for years (if not decades).  

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To follow up on Craig Baldwin's post -- progress on separate instrument panels and consoles for each planned short nosed variant:

 

 

 And the backs of the Instrument Panels:

 

EzpdYCMVEAIdeeQ?format=jpg&name=large

 

Gene K

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Thin Wing Conversion Set for FineMolds Phantom (cough, cough)

 

So far FineMolds has not announced a thin wing Phantom, but hopefully will in the next iteration.  

 

In the interim, if one needs, for example, an F-4B/N or F-110 in FM quality,  there is a set available for the short nose FM kits that includes the thin wing, thin tires, gear doors (main and nose), vertical stabilizator tops, slotted stabs, ECM antennas, cockpit decals, and a full set of F-4B/N decals (F-4N: US Navy VF-111 `Sundowners, F-4B: US Navy VF-151 `Vigilantes`, andF-4B: US Marine Corps VMFA-115 `Silver Eagles).  It is somewhat expensive at US$21.68 and is currently available here.  

 

Serendipitously :giggle: I have this set,  so did some trial fitting: the thin wing top fits nicely with just a little surgery (the wing root-to-fuselage fit is near perfect). The alternative to the this top wing replacement is sanding down the FM wing (easy to do on the bottom, but the top will require fine re-scribing to match the FM lines (beyond my skill level)). After sanding, the top wing gets a little thin in one area, but is not a factor in rescribing. This approach is not as simple and clean as the top wing replacement,  but I appreciate that not everyone may have a "spare" thin wing laying around.

 

gMM8HSH.jpg

 

 

Gene K

P.S. The Hasegawa kit is one of my favorites, and stands on its own!

 

EDIT: After I started "reconfiguring" FM F-4EJ kits to short nosed F-4C, F-4D, and F-4J, FM announced the C, D, and J.  Besides the F-4B/N above, I also started a slatted F-4E and G, as well as an RF-4E ... so it follows that we will not only see the F-4B/N, but the others as well. Hallelujah, and you're welcome.  :thumbsup:

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On 4/21/2021 at 8:52 PM, ICMF said:

 

So, much like the F-14 weapons, then.  Not remotely as nice as Hasegawa's "recent" sets from the aughts, and not even better than the ones from the 80's.  Shame they're not up to the quality of the rest of the kit, since a really high quality missile set would sell for years (if not decades).  

Yeah, I plan to get the Hasegawa bomb set to equip my F-4s instead of the FM set to be released.  The Hase set also cost 3x lower. 

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On 4/26/2021 at 3:50 AM, CasualModel98 said:

Yeah, I plan to get the Hasegawa bomb set to equip my F-4s instead of the FM set to be released.  The Hase set also cost 3x lower. 

 

I would bet that the 42 Eur+VAT is a typo on the FM bomb set. It should be the same 19 Eur+VAT as on the Air to Air set! The FM set (to me) is worth the cost since it includes an assortment of pylons and suspension equipment. 

 

Gene K

 

P.S. It's frustrating to us Non-Facebook types to be linked to a page that requires a Facebook account to view. (https://www.facebook.com/finemolds.co.jp/posts/3910640299050278 ) So who is the European distributor?

Edited by Gene K
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Nice shots of the C model test sprues via an FM Tweet: 

 

Ez9mtyaUUAETMOA?format=jpg&name=large

 

Ez9mxHAVkAgOBWQ?format=jpg&name=large

 

Interesting that there are two nose cones. The P sprue with the left front fuselage is probably a sprue common to the J kit ... which means one could use that nose cone (after shaving off the J antenna) to model a slick nose D. Nice.

 

Glad to see that the vertical fin is one piece since the insert in the the long nose Phantom kits is not a very good fit!!

 

Gene K

Edited by Gene K
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