RF-4B USMC VMCJ-1

Es-haq Khosravi
Nice job!

Xenia V.
Mersi! 🙂

Es-haq Khosravi
Your welcome! was it a merci in persian or in french?! 🙂

Xenia V.
In Persian. I don't speak Farsi but I do know a few words, there were a lot of Persians at my high school. 🙂

Es-haq Khosravi
Kheili khoobe! Tabrik migam! (Very good! Congratulations!)

Xenia V.
Well, it's a QF-4N so a drone, yes, but I think this particular one was mostly used with a pilot for weapons tests of some sort. It's also the very first Phantom I built... and I'll be finished with #16 sometime today (only slime lights left to add!).

M.Julian Marles
Looks awesome!

Xenia V.
Do you happen to know the title? I'll have to track it down for my library. I also have decals for an overall orange QF-4B in the stash... that will really stand out on the shelf.

Xenia V.
Ah, yes! I know of that book, but I guess it slipped my mind... I've been away from modelling since last summer, but now I'm single again, nothing to distract me from important things.😉

Clifford Keesler
Nice Phanthom Xenia,a very nice build.

Bill Spargo
Fantastic collection of Phantoms

Choppa Nutta
I like this, a very tidy build Xenia 🙂

Kerry COX
Hasegawa for me were the only model makers that got that Phantom "Look" perfectly, and I have tried so many other manufacturers kits and I was never 'happy' with the way they came out. Yeah !!!! the Has' 🙂

Choppa Nutta
I thought the Revell ones looked ok too, I wonder which you think are the worst phantom kits (and thus the ones to avoid)
I have a sneaking feeling you might say Revell now😉

Xenia V.
The Revell F-4F is pretty decent, I think, and the old Monogram (also Accurate Miniatures) kit, despite its raised panel lines, is also quite good. Fujimi... well. For Spey Phantoms they're your only choice, and those do look quite good, but avoid their long-nose versions (F-4E/F/G) unless you're willing to cut the nose and reposition it, as they got it rather wrong; I haven't seen their Navy or recce versions, though. Airfix, avoid at all costs.

So to sum, my choices would be Revell for F-4F, Fujimi for FG.1 and FGR.2, and Hasegawa for the other variants.

Kerry COX
Good Call Xenia. I will have to re evaluate my comment. :-/

Choppa Nutta
interesting insights, cheers Xenia 🙂

Xenia V.
Glad if I could help! 🙂

Alistair Brand
Lovely Phantoms - Fujimi F-4k on the bottom shelf? (I built the Airfix one after getting back into modelling last year)

Xenia V.
Yeah, it's a Fujimi FG.1, the Silver Jubilee scheme. I've since built the FGR.2 as well in the Falklands markings, and I've got another FG.1 in the stash. As I mentioned above, the Fujimi kits of the Spey Phantoms are really the only ones that get that bulkier shape right. (How did the Airfix build go? I built an Airfix Phantom, too - the one furthest back in the photo of three here - and I used about 30 lbs of putty on it...)

Alistair Brand
It was an exercise in puttying and sanding. It was my first in a while so I built it OOB.

The decals are transparent (white especially) and the transparencies needed sanding and polishing to fit and not spoil the profile (unfortunately I got some sanding dust inside) You would not build the canopies raised as there is no detail inside. The undercarriage bears a passing resemblance to the real thing so I built it wheels up. No engine or intake detail. Black paint is your friend. Panel lines like WW1 trenches.

Building it was a good experience as I got to use some long forgotten skills and I only paid $5 for the kit from my LHS.

Xenia V.
Sounds about like my Airfix Phantom. I went ahead and sorta bashed it into an F-4J by adding the wing bulges (on the upper surfaces of the wing only; I really couldn't be arsed to try doing that on the landing gear doors and surrounding area too!). All in all considering what it was when I started, I'm still pretty pleased with the result. Looking back, though, I should have replaced the pit and exhaust cans with the cheapest resin, and the canopy with a spare Fujimi or Hasegawa; the lack of a transparency in the centre section bugs me. 😛

soheil moghisi
very nice.

Xenia V.
Thank you Soheil 🙂

Alistair Brand
Re: The center transparencies - use some microscale crystal clear or "cold" wood glue (which is exactly the same stuff) to make them - it goes in milky but dries transparent.

Xenia V.
Well, I meant that the centre section, on my kit, was solid. And I *did* have several spare canopies... anyways. I finished that build almost 2 years ago now.

Bernd Grün
Very nice Rhino. 👍

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work.