Scale Models 1

No. 1435 Flight, based at Royal Air Force Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands, 1991.

VF-84 Jolly Rogers of USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVA-42, circa 1970.

Capt. Steve Ritchie's F-4D, 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Udorn, Thailand, 1972.

F-4J from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, nicknamed "Red Devils", Iwakuni AB, Japan, 1974.

Luftwaffe F-4F Phantom number 37+14 in the Norm 90J-Air Defense Camouflage Markings.

Japan Air Self-Defense Force, F-4EJ Kai (改), from the   302nd Squadron, 第302飛行隊, Chitose Air Base.

Good details for the cockpit. Flight crews are not included, also there are no raised instrument panels.

The cockpit set includes side panels (decals), ejection handles, and control sticks.   

Note the compressor inlet guide vanes of the Phantom's twin Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines. 

Painting Phantom's heat-resistant plates is always a pleasure.  

Weathering on the back of the plane with Vallejo umber wash.

Weathering with Vallejo wash. Mainly using pale grey and umber washes.

One of the few 1:72 scale Phantoms with extended flaps, speed breaks, and a lowered aileron.

Very detailed decals and stencil work for a 1:72 scale model. 

No. 1435 Flight, based at Royal Air Force Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands, 1991.

FGR.2 has a slightly wider fuselage to accommodate the two Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines.   

Note the Crest of the Falkland Islands carried on each side of its nose and the red Maltese Cross on the tail. 

FGR.2 with extended inflight refueling probe and the open canopy configuration. 

FGR.2 with the SUU-23/A 20mm Vulcan gun pod carried on the centerline station. 

FGR.2 with Eduard's F-4, 1:72, scale ladder.

The pilot from the left is from Ravell's original set. 

The pilot on the right is from Hasegawa pilot crew set.

The cockpit has reasonable details with ejection seats handle included.

The first step in building a Phantom is always getting the cockpit ready.

Trying out a new technique in creating coloration on the heat-resistant titanium plates.

Black oil paint was used in creating the coloration on the heat-resistant titanium plates.

Some extra decals from Airfix's Phantom were used, such as the static vent warning labels on the radome. 

This Revell's Phantom has raised panel lines, not my preference. 

VF-84 Jolly Rogers of USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVA-42, circa 1970.

The F-4J is an updated and strengthened F-4B with the air defense role stressed.

It's a challenge to set up the open canopy configuration as the attachment points are weak.

The open canopy has to be used because the canopy fit is really not that great. 

The distinctive horizontal stabilizer of a Phantom with the 23-degree anhedral tail.

Another distinctive 12-degree dihedral outer wing which solves the instability problem near Mach 1 and 2.

One of the hardest decal settings is the sash.  Tore it several times and it has to be repaired extensively.

If you know where to look, you will notice other errors in the application waterslide decals.

The jet is carrying six Mk.82 bombs with fuse extenders. 

The Skull and Crossbones have become the most recognized and feared insignia in the world. 

The original Italeri kit doesn't include the flight crew. These two are from the Hasegawa pilot crew set.  

This is a very old kit with very poor cockpit details, other than that, the kit is pretty decent. 

The coloration behind the auxiliary air intake doors was created using oil paint (raw umber).

Note the retrofitted arrow-shaped reinforcement plates found on the USAF's F-4s during the 80s.

The AIM-7E Sparrow and AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles are used as the air-to-air armament. 

GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and MK 82 Snakeye from the Hasegawa weapon set are used as armament.    

The kit doesn't include a centerline fuel tank, hence a SUU-16/A gun pod from Fine Molds is added.

Capt. Steve Ritchie's (a Vietnam-era ace) F-4D, 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Udorn, Thailand, 1972. 

Note the 3 kill markings on the port side of the boundary layer splitter plate. 

This is one of the few kits that include retrofitted arrow-shaped reinforcement plates on the tailplane.

Not as extreme as the detailed Airfix FGR2 decal, but the decal for this Italeri kit is pretty good. 

The building process was quite enjoyable, and there were some very fine recessed details. 

The F4 is painted with the South East Asia I Scheme with Forest Green, Light Green, Flat Earth, and Grey.

Tamiya XF-27 (Black green), XF-52 (Flat Earth), XF-19 (Sky Grey) and Vallejo 71.289 (Dark Green) were used. 

The cockpit tub has reasonable levels of detail, the only grievance is the missing ejection seat handles.  

The missing Martin-Baker ejection seat handles are remediated by the Eduard after-market handles. 

Tamiya panel line accent color highlights the panel lines and gives them a more realistic depth. 

The heat-resistant panel is a separate cut-out unit, making masking unnecessary while painting.

The clean version of USMC F-4J without weaponry from the inboard and outboard pylons. 

Another angle of the phantom featuring the US carrier deck display base from Coastal Kits. 

The F-4J inboard pylons carried the LAU-10 Rocket Launchers with the 5-in Zuni rockets.

The LAU-10s are from Hasegawa. This launcher is exclusively for Navy and Marine Corps aircrafts.

The F-4J outboard pylons carried twelve 500-lb Mk.82 bombs through the use of multiple ejector racks.  

The outboard pylons are from Fine Mold. The original outboard pylons were carrying the external fuel tanks.

F-4J from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, nicknamed "Red Devils", Iwakuni AB, Japan, 1974.

The Sanders AN/ALQ-126 ECM sets can be seen mounted on the upper intakes. 

The F-4J has no high drag slatted wing as was being used by the F-4E, instead, it has slotted stabilators.

These slotted stabilators provided a tremendous downward force at low speeds.

As a result of all these aerodynamic innovations, the approach speed was reduced from 157 mph to 144 mph.

This is one of the few Phantom kits at this scale that features a tail cone "smile".

The Navy and Marines phantoms have walkway marking decals that are not easy to apply. 

Many layers of matt varnish are used after applying the walkway decals. XF 20 is the main gray color used.

The cockpit has no raised panel details and everything is done through decals. 

The two Martin-Baker ejection seats with ejection handles are included. 

Surprise to see the two pitot tubes located in each of the outer walls of the air intake are included.

These pitot tubes are critical in the operation of the variable ramp inlets of the J 79 engines. 

F-4F was intended as a lighter version of the F-4E, and it does not carry the AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.

For Norm 90J, Vallejo 71.114 Medium Gray, 71.275 USAF Medium Gray, and Tamiya XF-19 are used.

The radome color is from the mix of Vallejo 71.277 Dark Gull Gray with Tamiya XF-15 Flat Flesh.

The AN/ALQ-119 ECM pod and the AIM-9B are from Fine Molds US Air-to-Air Missile Set #2.

Note the AN/ALE-40 chaff and flare dispensers at the aft of the inner pylons. 

The kit came with the canopy extension/retraction struts, making everything fits very well.

 Note the retrofitted arrow-shaped reinforcement plates on the tailplane

It's quite an enjoyable build, most parts fit pretty well.

Maintenance platforms and maintenance crews together with the  F-4F Phantom.

Another angle of maintenance platforms and maintenance crews.

Two options for the cockpit build, either decals or raised instrument panels, the latter were chosen.

The double throttles, control sticks, and the antenna hand control at the WSO right panel can be seen here.

White color is used for the air intake ducting system.

The kit lets you construct the intake ducts that connect to the compressor front frame.

Another view of the General Electric J 79 compressor front frame with the inlet guide vanes.

Note the two tailpipes which will later connect to the variable-area afterburner exhaust nozzles.

Many of the F-4 EJ's panel lines and rivets are over-sprayed in a lighter grey. Duplicating the effect here.

Duplicating the effect of discolored panels. Very diluted grey colors were used to create this effect.

The panel labels are very thorough. Instead of individual labels, many of these come in patches. 

Because many decals come with bigger patches, a layer of matt varnish is used to help the decals blend in.

The fit in general is very good, this is especially true when it comes to the construction of wheel bays. 

Features in the auxiliary air intakes can be seen here before the doors are placed and obscure the details.

The ASM-1 anti-ship missiles from Fine Molds JASDF Missile Set are used in this kid.   

The F-4EJ also carries three AIM-7F Sparrow Missiles and the AN/ALQ-119 ECM pod.  

The centerline fuel tank and the rest of the F-4EJ armaments can be seen here.

The original kit doesn't include the flight crew. These two are from the Hasegawa pilot crew set.   

Open canopy configurations are chosen, here is a close-up view of the port side.    

 The kit also comes with the canopy extension/retraction struts, seen here in red. 

Japan Air Self-Defense Force, F-4EJ Kai (改), from the   302nd Squadron 第302飛行隊, Chitose Air Base.

The squadron's emblem is a stylized image of a white-tailed eagle, a raptor that resides in Japan.

Note the Hinomaru used as a roundel by Japanese military aircraft. 

A close-up look at the engine exhaust and the afterburner rings of the J-79 engine.

Ground crews for tractor, hydraulic lift trailer, and lift truck, as part of the aircraft weapon loading set.

Ford tractor which the main role is to tow various ground support equipment. 

MJ-1 Lift Truck (also called a jammer) has a cantilever lift arm, which has a capacity of 3000 pounds. 

 The MJ-1 is seen here carrying the SUU-23/A 20mm Vulcan gun pod (from Airfix FGR.2).  

The MHU-12M ammunition trailer from Hasegawa, seen here together with the AIM-9E from Fine Molds.

A Ford tractor is used to tow the Air Force version of the AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles. 

A cute Phantom Spook from the Hasegawa Egg plane series.

The hydraulic lift trailer is used for the same purpose as that of the MJ-1 lift truck.

Maintenance platforms and maintenance crews together with the  RAF FGR.2 Phantom.

Another angle of the maintenance crews and maintenance platforms. 

On the left is the A/M32C-10 air Conditioning unit and on the right is the A/M32A-60A  generator set.

The A/M32A-60A or simply "Dash 60" provides power and compressed air for starting the J-79 jet engines.