Phantom Phasination!

[gengriz]

My 1/72 Phantom lockdown phasination is phinally over with the completion of my naval pair:

 

 

Last to complete are my two RN Phantoms, one from 892 Sqn (ARK ROYAL) and one from 767 Sqn (RNAS Yeovilton).  Both of these are Fujimi kits, pretty much "out the box" (except for the aircrew).  The 767 one was a rebuild and tidy of a kit built just over 30 years ago, the 892 one is new:

 

 

 

I have two of the new Airfix kits in the stash, but whilst I love the build options, I'm really less than convinced about the deep toy-like panel lines and prefer this set of kits by a very long way; if and when I build the Airfix ones, the panel lines will have to go.

 

 

 

 

These are my usual finishing technique - hairy brush applied thinned Humbrol enamels, a Klear coat to help decalling, a light oily wash in the seams/engravings, then Windsor & Newton acrylic matt varnish to complete.  

 

 

The Fujimi kit is generally an easy build.  As with all Phantom kits, you need to take care with the intakes and the wing to fuselage joints.  Some preparation and care will avoid most problems. the newer kit was the upgraded mould with additional parts - e.g. air brakes and re-positioned auxiliary intakes - its wing halves didn't fit together quite as snugly as the RAF FGR.2 that I did last month, but they do fit with a little force.

 

 

Please excuse the missing pitots on this one - they were there right up until I added the nav -lights!  aaaargh.... Not quite worked out how to remedy this yet.  

 

 

The 767 yellow bird decal is somewhat smaller than the Airfix kit; I think Airfix have got it right here.  The Royal Navy titles are also suspect - they are much larger than Airfix (& Italeri), but seem to match relative positions on the fuselage - perhaps the badly positioned auxiliary intake is confusing here, or perhaps letter size changed during service?

 

 

 

 

and finally, a group shot of the whole "haunting" set together (numbers count etc....) !

 

 

Enough phantoms for now - a Buccaneer (HERMES - 801 Sqn) is nearly ready for decalling!

FredT

[Ad-4N]

Brush painting?  I am amazed?  I am at a loss for words.  Love to know your secret.  

[phildagreek]

A fine looking set, happy to see someone else using the brush & enamels.

[Tbolt]

Beautiful Phantoms and a lovely collection 👍

 

[SAT69]

Both are beautiful builds though I favor the 892 Squadron markings. A very nice collection indeed!

[Brigbeale]

A superb set of Phantoms!!

I have just finished my Airfix 767Sqn Phantom

 

[Pat C]

Lovely job Fred - inclined to agree on the Fujimi vs Airfix Phantom as well.

 

Pat

[bigbadbadge]

Wow they look gorgeous, fantastic work fella and great hairy stick work.

All the best

Chris

[binbrook87]

Great stuff. What a fantastic pair of phantoms you've got there and makes a nice comparison of the squadron markings. I've just finished off one of the new Italeri Fujimi reboxes as an RAF FG1 and tend to agree that despite its age it's still a great kit and looks better than the deeper panel lines of the Airfix offering. If anything the Fujimi lines are a little bit faint under a couple of coats of paint but look more restrained and realistic. I've got another original Fujimi 'yellow bird' to do at some point so thanks for the heads up on the decal faults. I'll probably look for some aftermarket ones 👍

[coneheadff]

Phantastic!!!

[Brigbeale]

You can never have enough Phantoms!

I think that makes us Phantom Phanatics🤪

Found this on Wikipedia 

Nicknames[edit]

An F-4F on display described as the "World's largest distributor of MiGparts", because of the high number of this type of enemy aircraft shot down

The Phantom gathered a number of nicknames during its career. Some of these names included "Snoopy", "Rhino", "Double Ugly",[157] "Old Smokey",[56] the "Flying Anvil", "Flying Footlocker", "Flying Brick", "Lead Sled", the "Big Iron Sled", and the "St. Louis Slugger".[158] In recognition of its record of downing large numbers of Soviet-built MiGs,[159] it was called the "World's Leading Distributor of MiG Parts".[157] As a reflection of excellent performance in spite of its bulk, the F-4 was dubbed "the triumph of thrust over aerodynamics."[160] German Luftwaffe crews called their F-4s the Eisenschwein ("Iron Pig"), Fliegender Ziegelstein ("Flying Brick") and Luftverteidigungsdiesel ("Air Defense Diesel").[161]

Reputation[edit]

Imitating the spelling of the aircraft's name, McDonnell issued a series of patches. Pilots became "Phantom Phlyers", backseaters became "Phantom Pherrets", fans of the F-4 "Phantom Phanatics", and call it the "Phabulous Phantom". Ground crewmen who worked on the aircraft are known as "Phantom Phixers".[3]

Several active websites are devoted to sharing information on the F-4, and the aircraft is grudgingly admired as brutally effective by those who have flown it. Colonel (Ret.) Chuck DeBellevue reminisces, "The F-4 Phantom was the last plane that looked like it was made to kill somebody. It was a beast. It could go through a flock of birds and kick out barbeque from the back."[162] It had "A reputation of being a clumsy bruiser reliant on brute engine power and obsolete weapons technology."[163]

Edited July 20, 2020 by Brigbeale

[russ c]

Great looking Phantom and really nice collection there

[TonyW]

Absolutely outstanding.

Those planes really are top notch. The six pack shot is a joy to behold. The photography is more than a bit good as well.

 

Tony.

[Hook]

12 hours ago, gengriz said:

Enough phantoms for now - a Buccaneer (HERMES - 801 Sqn) is nearly ready for decalling!

No such thing as enough Phantoms (or Buccaneers, for that matter ).

 

Thanks for posting these!

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Sky Keg]

Wow!!!!!  That`s a nice collection.  And to think you could add even more to it.  I look forward to your upcoming Buccaneer!!!!!

 

Phabulous on the Phantoms too!!! 

 

Mike

[Chrisj2003]

Phabulous... brush painted, 1/72nd, and Fujimi 

[F-32]

Great collection, they look awesome all together

[TonyOD]

Awesome job. For my money the 892 NAS "Omega" Phantoms were the most beautiful planes ever to grace a carrier deck. I built that same Fujimi kit years ago, sadly lost in action*, but am given to understand that the same moulding is now available in an Italeri box so might revisit.

 

*Pics still exist though! https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/1-72-faa-phantom.24327/

[jackroadkill]

Those look amazing.  I'm a brush painter and that makes me weak at the knees.

[PhantomLover]

Great set of Phantoms! 

[woody37]

Lovely builds and a great collection too

 

[Marcin Wojciechowski]

Very nice look. Good work !

[Agent K]

Superb models there, nicely done.……… although shouldn't that be Phascination?!...……. 😉😁

Edited July 22, 2020 by Agent K

[Stramash]

A stunning pair. Really like that finish as well from the W&N can. I'm going to get some..

[Tiger331]

 

I remember all the excitement when these Fujimi kits first came out in the late 1980s which coincided with my posting to Hong Kong 😀. I've lost count of how many of these kits I have bought over the years and although most have been passed on as I have largely moved up to 1:48 scale I simply could not part with all of them and kept a couple back. I'm glad I did since the Airfix kit has not fully met with my expectations. After all these years the Fujimi kit stands up to the test of time and you have done a great job to reinforce this view - to factor in the use of a brush for the finish is equally impressive. I had a chuckle too at the photo showing the 228 OCU jet with the Blue Tail. I produced this very model as a retirement gift for one of my former colleagues who had spent many hours as 'ballast' (as the pilots used to call them) in these jets.

 

Anyway, great models, great finish....Well Done, Sir !