Eduard F-4E Parachute (648910 for MENG) 1:48

[Mike]

F-4E Parachute (648910 for MENG)

1:48 Eduard Brassin

 

 

A lot of fast jets land at high speed, and need to slow down in a hurry, especially if they have landed at a shorter runway than usual.  They do this by applying the wheel brakes, air-brakes, but also many jets have a parachute pack that they can deploy at the rear to further retard the speed of their aircraft.  The ‘chutes don’t go on fire because they’re made from a tough, fire-resistant material, but also because the aircraft’s throttles are either at idle or in reverse, assisting with the braking.  The F-4 was designed primarily as a carrier aircraft, where it would usually land using an arrestor hook, which brought it to a halt in a hurry, but that puts a huge stress on the airframe, shortening its lifespan, so is to be avoided when possible.  When landing on runways, rather than deploying an arrestor wire, which is specialist equipment that might not always be available, they use parachute packs that are deployed from the rear of the aircraft, inflating due to the airspeed, allowing some of the air to bleed through the slots in the material, as they’re intended to slow it down, not pull the tail off.  They were used as a matter of course on even the longest runways, although crews were trained on parachute-free landings, just in case.

 

The Set

This set sets you thinking when you see it, as it’s hard to imagine a parachute fitting in the box, but it does.  The ‘chutes aren’t excessively large, and at 1:48 scale it fits neatly.  As is usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, it arrives in a Brassin-themed black-and-yellow cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as additional padding.  There are six 3D printed resin parts in two separate Ziploc bags, plus a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass in another bag with a protective sheet of white card protecting it from bending in the box.

 

 

 

Adding a parachute to your Phantom model will be key to a landing or post-landing taxiing diorama, and the detail is exceptional, even having a flattened edge to the ‘chute where it presses against the runway after initial deployment.  Construction begins with cutting a small recess in the tail of your Meng Phantom kit so that you can slide the resin para-pack compartment into position, which has the door moulded open and out to the rear.  The parachute is printed as a single part, which is attached to the base on the lower edge, and should be simple to remove and clean-up, adding a 7.8mm length of 0.4mm styrene rod from your own stores to the top, fixing the drogue bag to the end, and the drogue ‘chute itself on an eight-pointed PE star that represents the short lengths of cord that allows it to open.  Between the parachute and the compartment is another 64.5mm length of 0.75mm rod with a 1.5mm ferrule for the last 3mm, all from your own stock, which ends with a 3D printed O-ring (plus a spare) that gathers the individual cords of the parachute.  These cords are depicted by fine PE strips that are anchored at the inner end by a strip, enabling you to form it into a small circle, spreading out the opposite ends so they can be attached to the circumference of the parachute, locating them on the tabs that project from the underside of the billowing ‘chute.

 

 

 

 

Markings

There are paint call-outs in Gunze Sangyo codes throughout the build, many of the cords are in white, the parachute and its lines yellow, and the drogue ‘chute in a light tan colour.  Check your references for your particular example if you want to get maximum accuracy.

 

 

Conclusion

This is quite an unusual set that you’d think would be a niche product, but maybe its existence as a relatively simple method of creating a ‘chute-assisted landing scene will create the market and result in a lot more F-4s in landing dioramas going forward.  If it succeeds, we’re more likely to see a proliferation of these sets for other aircraft.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of