First
flown in the late 1950’s, the F-4 Phantom II was the mainstay fighter of
the Navy, Marines and Air Force for over a decade, and continued in
service well over 3 decades. It can even still be found in some foreign
inventories. Over 5,000 were built, which is remarkable for a modern aircraft,
which are usually produced in relatively small numbers. It has been flown by
numerous countries and been produced in a number of different variants which
have covered a wide range of mission assignments, from fighter-bomber to recon
and SAM-killer.
The
Navy’s F-4J was developed from the earlier B, but incorporated a number of
improvements from the C and D variants, which the Air Force flew. One of the
improvements was the addition of thicker wheels, which necessitated a “hump”
in the top of the wing to give enough clearance when the landing gear was
retracted. Other changes included a more powerful version of the J79 engine and
the deletion of the IR sensor under the nose.
R/M’s
release includes 96 pieces molded in gray plastic. Though raised, the panel
lines are very nicely done. For the most part, the kit is accurate for a J, but
there are some small errors that need correcting because the J was based off the
F-4C/D molds. The rear cockpit retains the C/D side consoles, though a new rear
instrument panel is provided. The refueling door on the spine of the fuselage is
still present, although most likely this gets sanded off while filling the top
fuselage seam, and there is no representation of the Navy refueling door on the
right fuselage below the canopy. The kit also provides the Air Force style
wheels, which are decidedly different from the Navy style. This can be fixed
with a set of resin wheels very easily.
It’s
been a long while since I’ve built this kit, and I was pleasantly surprised at
how it went together. The only really troublesome spot I came across during
construction was the intake area. With sanding, dry-fitting and patience, the
intakes can be made to fit okay, but you will still need to fill. Be as careful
as possible, since there is quite a bit of detail that will lost if you sand too
big of an area. Other than that, construction went quite smoothly.
I painted
the white areas with Boyd’s White Primer. I’ve found this to be excellent
for giving solid coverage in 1-2 coats. I masked off the white with masking tape
for the flaps and stabs, but used a
“snake” of kneaded eraser for the demarcation line on the
lower fuselage. This is similar to sticky-tac, but it’s lower tac and leaves a
minimal residue, if any, that is
easily wiped off. Then I sprayed MM Acryl Lt. Gull Gray for the upper surfaces.
The gloss coat was accomplished using a couple coats of Future. For the
Bicentennial markings, I raided my Hasegawa F-4J decals. They fit almost
perfectly on the Monogram kit, and they responded very well to Micro-Sol.
Another little trick I picked up from my friend Gordon Kwan was to brush some
Future on the back of the decal before you put it on the model. I’ve had no
silvering trouble since doing this, and it’s a really slick idea.
After the
decals were dry, I shot MM Acryl Flat Coat and then weathered it using burnt
umber pastels brushed onto the panel lines. I dry brushed gull gray over the
pastels to mute the dark color a bit, since I’m not a fan of really dark panel
lines. Since this model will be ending up in a museum, I got lazy and didn’t
weather the bottom. I finished up by painting the navigation and anti-collision
lights and putting on the canopies. I must say that this was a fun model to
build, and if you want to do a lot of Navy Phantoms, this is an affordable
option over the Hasegawa kit.
Darren
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