Is this the most important postwar twin? The mighty Phantom in USMC colours

[Giorgio N]

I've not had time to do much on the Phantom lately so I started on some details. Among them the jet nozzles.

FM offers some pretty good nozzles and they are very simple to put together: 2 parts per engine, the nozzle proper and the afterburner duct. And here again there are things I like and things I don't. 

I like the nozzle, a single part that is however well detailed both externally and internally. Sure, there are resin sets that are nicer but for an OOB build they are very nice.

I also like that none of junction is visible, no need to use filler here.

I don't like that the last stage of the turbine is moulded with the afterburner section! This makes painting it more difficult, requiring a brush long enough and a steady hand. The turbine is also smaller in diameter than it should be as the afterburner section is tapered.

 

The picture shows both after primer has been applied, black Vallejo primer for the nozzle and... Humbrol 120 for the afterburner section.

The latter may sound like a strange choice but it actually makes sense: J79 engines have this area in a light green or blu/green colour and H120 is a good match for pictures I have of early J79s. Since my pot of H120 is from the days of excellent Humbrol paints, I managed to have a nicely painted part by brushing on a couple of coats, later followed by Vallejo metallics for the turbine and a black wash.

Even though I don't like the way they moulded the turbine disc, in the end with some care the result is not bad at all

 

 

[modelling minion]

Those exhausts look really good Giorgio, very nice painting.

[giemme]

Room for one more?  

 

Excellento job so far, Giorgio - gotta love an FM Phantom!  

Ciao

[81-er]

Lovely work with the cans there

 

James

[Navy Bird]

Looking good, Giorgio. Will you do the scheme on the box top? It's one of my favourites. I built the Fine Molds F-4EJ Kai in  one of those fancy anniversary schemes. Great kit and the best of the lot in 1:72.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Giorgio N]

13 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Looking good, Giorgio. Will you do the scheme on the box top? It's one of my favourites. I built the Fine Molds F-4EJ Kai in  one of those fancy anniversary schemes. Great kit and the best of the lot in 1:72.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

Hi Bill, yes I will build that scheme. VMFA-531 carried one of my favourite Phantom schemes and I contemplated building one for a long time since I bought the Hasegawa kit many years ago.

Initially I had the ancient Esci decals...

 

These were not really that accurate and represent a very early style of markings so I kept searching.

I then found a Superscale sheet, must have been 72-310, with an aircraft from the unit. This had a style of markings that I liked but was however not printed too well. Must look for it as it's not in my decal folders, it's probably in the box with the kit.

I then bought sheet 72-495..

 This represents the markings I like most but unfortunately it's slightly yellowed.

 

Now I will likely use the kit decals as they look pretty good. I'll then decide what to do with the Superscale sheets.

 

Speaking of FM Phantoms, I have another three in the stash: a grey ANG C, a Japanese EJ Kai in the 2-blue scheme and an EJ to be modified with the slatted wings from the Revell kit. Now the latter may be redundant as FM has just issued a slatted E...

 

[Giorgio N]

Let's see some more progress...

I've decided to build the model with a closed canopy to show the lines of the aircraft. The kit supplies a part with everything closed and it makes sense to me to glue this before priming. Doing so however means having everything in the cockpit now, including the seats. 

These are very nice and I like how FM gives separate cushions, makes painting much easier.

What I don't like is that there's no belt moulded on the seats. FM offers a detail set with the belts in plastic, these look very good however the set is not cheap and I don't want to wait for it to be delivered.

I considered using the Aires resin seats but these look a little too small for this kit. The alternative? Using the belts from an Eduard sheet!

 

This sheet is to be used on a Hasegawa RF-4 in the stash... that is the same kit for which I had bought the Aires seats (its seats had been donated to a different model a while ago). Since I'll be using the resin seats on the RF-4, the belts are not needed and can go on the F-4N

 

Now using a set designed for a different kit is not always easy and these belts don't fit perfectly on my F-4N, in any case the result is better than having no belts...

 

The last part, that is the top with the ejection handles, is not in place yet as I decided to glue the seat without it to avoid damage. Now I have to prepare the rear seat...

Have to say that the FM belts set look better. I may buy one but for the next builds I've bought a different Eduard set, that only includes belts (73051) since it's a cheaper option

[giemme]

Great job with the seats, G!  When I built mine, I used Quickboost seats: moulded in belts and, if anything, slightly larger than the kit seats. I ended up having to shave off the details on the bottom part of the side plates, but those were anyway invisible once the seats were in place inside the tub...

 

Ciao

[Giorgio N]

12 minutes ago, giemme said:

Great job with the seats, G!  When I built mine, I used Quickboost seats: moulded in belts and, if anything, slightly larger than the kit seats. I ended up having to shave off the details on the bottom part of the side plates, but those were anyway invisible once the seats were in place inside the tub...

 

Ciao

 

That is very interesting... mine are also from Quickboost (I wrote Aires by mistake... although Quickboost is indeed Aires) and yet looked slightly smaller. I will have to reassess the thing. There's a large hobby exhibition coming soon in Milan (as you sure know...), I'll see if I can find another Quickboost seats set and check them, Afterall I have more than one Phantom in the stash..

Speaking of which, for my slatted wing conversion I will of course follow your build!

[giemme]

22 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

 

That is very interesting... mine are also from Quickboost (I wrote Aires by mistake... although Quickboost is indeed Aires) and yet looked slightly smaller. I will have to reassess the thing. There's a large hobby exhibition coming soon in Milan (as you sure know...), I'll see if I can find another Quickboost seats set and check them, Afterall I have more than one Phantom in the stash..

Speaking of which, for my slatted wing conversion I will of course follow your build!

Since you mentioned it, I converted an F-4EJ to and F-4E, so I'm wondering if the tub in your kit is different from that one. It seems very unlikely, although I did notice that in the two FM kits I acquired later (J and D) there were some modifications, like the tail fin molded in one piece rather than two...

 

Also, IIRC, the problem with the Quickboost seats is that they were fouled by the side consoles, because when I did a dry fit at first, I didn't notice any interference. Bottom line, I might have slightly misplaced the side consoles when I glued them in, or FM modified them for this kit. Thoughts?

 

Ciao

[modelling minion]

Lovely work on the seats, they look great. 

[Navy Bird]

1 hour ago, giemme said:

Also, IIRC, the problem with the Quickboost seats is that they were fouled by the side consoles, because when I did a dry fit at first, I didn't notice any interference. 

 

The separate side consoles do indeed intrude slightly into the space for the seat, but it's a quick fix to "re-bevel" their edge so they don't. FWIW, I used an old pair of Verlinden resin seats for my FM build. They fit nicely with no mods.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[giemme]

2 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

The separate side consoles do indeed intrude slightly into the space for the seat, but it's a quick fix to "re-bevel" their edge so they don't.

True, but when I built mine, I dry fit the seat without consoles and found out about the "intrusion" only after gluing them in place - painted and all....  Won't happen next time - if I remember, that is...

 

Sorry for the detour, G.

 

Ciao

[Navy Bird]

23 hours ago, giemme said:

Won't happen next time - if I remember, that is... 

 

Experience enables us to recognise our mistakes when we make them again. Happens to me all the time.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Giorgio N]

And the seats are done!

In the I decided to also use the ejection handles from the Eduard set, maybe not the most realistic option since they're a bit flat but I was happy to not have to paint them

 

Now I have to glue the glass for the sight and the cockpit will be complete. Then it will be time to fit the tail and the canopy, mask where needed and it will be priming time

[giemme]

Seats looking good, G!  At this scale, PE for the ejection handles are perfectly adequate, IMO.

 

Ciao

[modelling minion]

Not many of us can compete with Eduard's pre-painted handles, even if they are flat they are very neatly done.

[81-er]

The seat look very nice, Giorgio. I certainly can't paint those as well as the Eduard handles either

 

James

[Giorgio N]

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks! Now that I'm back after some days away from home I can show a very important step: after the clear parts have been glued in place, the model is really ready for priming!

 

 

The FM kit offers a single windscreen and two options for the canopy: one is single piece for those who are happy with a closed canopy, the other sees 3 separate section (front opening canopy, fixed middle section and rear opening canopy) for those who want an open canopy. I thought about it for a while and then went with the closed option. Yes it may be a pity to hide the pretty good detail in the cockpit but I prefer to have a sleek looking model this time.

All parts fit well, but there's something I don't like: the F-4 windscreen has no frames where it meets the fuselage and the kit reproduces this... problem is that to fit a clear part that has no frames it's important to have no trace of glue that may ruin the effect. To achieve this I used my trusted UV curing glue, applied in a very thin layer.. this glue however only sets when illuminated with a UV torch and before this happens the part may move slightly, with the result of having a bad fit. PVA glue is of course another option but generally these glue are not as strong. So in the end I had to work hard to get a good fit of the windscreen. I managed to avoiud traces of glue so I'm happy enough but I'd have preferred a different design choice. And this design choice is the one I'd like on all aircraft model kits: have the windscreen moulded with part of the fuselage, like on the Academy new tool 1/72 Tomcat! This would allow the modeller to glue the part without much concern as the joint would then be painted in the fuselage colour and any sanding would be far enough from the windscreen to avoid any damage. Please model kit companies, think about it!

[modelling minion]

Good to see her ready for priming Giorgio, and looking very good too. 

I agree with you about the way model canopies are designed, more thought should go into it and how we are supposed to get a good joint without compromising the clarity. 

[giemme]

G, I couldn't agree more on what you wrote about windshields! During my last Phantom build, I received a very helpful hint on how to deal with frameless ones, seeing that my favorite glue to use with them is TeT:

 

 

As I said, I prefer using TeT to glue clear styrene in, provided that there are no chances for the glue to capillary leak into unwanted places (I learned that the hard way ). Otherwise, I did use both PVA and UV resin, and I tend to prefer the latter too

 

Anyway, great to see your Phantom is ready for priming!  Always a sense of accomplishment when you get to this stage of a build, right?

 

Ciao

[Beard]

Seeing your progress on this kit makes me want to start one of the Fine Molds Phantoms I have, but it's probably best that I finish the Hasegawa and Fujimi ones I'm currently destroying.

[Gene K]

On 9/2/2025 at 7:06 AM, Giorgio N said:

... the fit is pretty good. The main problem area is, as often happens, where the front fuselage meet with the rest, here some filler is needed.

 First - thanks for a great thread - it will be a classic. 

Second - your thesis on the F-4 Development is ... well ... epic!

Third - as concerns the front to rear fuselage fit, on your next FM Phantoms, here's what I learned from putting together "several" FM F-4s:

 

 

Most important is #1 - sanding down the ends of the intake ducts that fit into the engine face bulkhead. Number six removes a stray blob of plastic.

 

Gene K

As an aside, do you think the front of the shoulder mounted ECM protrudes out a little too much (bulbous)?

 

[81-er]

A very sleek looking Phantom, Giorgio  I definitely agree with you that more models should have canopies that have been given a lot more thought as to their assembly. Especially ones that come in about 15 different pieces that we're supposed to be able to hold all in the correct positions to glue at once!

 

James

[Giorgio N]

On 9/25/2025 at 3:07 PM, Gene K said:

 First - thanks for a great thread - it will be a classic. 

Second - your thesis on the F-4 Development is ... well ... epic!

Third - as concerns the front to rear fuselage fit, on your next FM Phantoms, here's what I learned from putting together "several" FM F-4s:

 

 

Most important is #1 - sanding down the ends of the intake ducts that fit into the engine face bulkhead. Number six removes a stray blob of plastic.

 

Gene K

As an aside, do you think the front of the shoulder mounted ECM protrudes out a little too much (bulbous)?

 

 

Thanks for the kind words and thanks a lot for the diagram ! I have had some fit issue in the area, next time I will follow this. I have also found a couple of areas where I should have been more carefulll

 

On 9/25/2025 at 1:54 PM, giemme said:

G, I couldn't agree more on what you wrote about windshields! During my last Phantom build, I received a very helpful hint on how to deal with frameless ones, seeing that my favorite glue to use with them is TeT:

 

 

As I said, I prefer using TeT to glue clear styrene in, provided that there are no chances for the glue to capillary leak into unwanted places (I learned that the hard way ). Otherwise, I did use both PVA and UV resin, and I tend to prefer the latter too

 

Anyway, great to see your Phantom is ready for priming!  Always a sense of accomplishment when you get to this stage of a build, right?

 

Ciao

 

Thanks, very useful tips! Iìll have to try something like that! I have a glue that shiould be similar, worth experimenting on something that just joined the stash,,,, that is... another FM F-4N!

 

Yes, I did buy another one. Over the last weekend Milan hosted a large model show with many vendors. Among them was a Hungarian family business who only sell kits at model shows and similar events with great prices and they had many FM kits, including the one I'm building here. Since the price was very good, I grabbed it immediately. The plan is to build that one taking into account all I've learnt building this first one.

Now I'm in two minds though: part of me would like to push on with the kit as intended, part of me is however thinking of using the kit decals on the next kit and complete this one in different markings. Among my favourite ones are those of VF-302 for which I have no decal but can be easily made using masks and a laser printer... I'll see how well I can sort the surfaces and then decide. 

What I have to be careful of is not to get a third kit... the same dealer will be at another show not far from here next weekend.. must resist and not buy another F-4N!