dirkpitt289
Master Sergeant
Username: Dirkpitt289
Name: Dirk
Category: Beginner
Scale:1/72
Manufacturer: Fujimi
Extras: Quick Boost Phantom Ejection Seats
The biggest, fastest, most powerful, most expensive. The list of superlatives for the F-4 Phantom goes on and on. The Phantom was - we would like to say is, but the past tense is apt - the standard against which every fighter of its era was judged. Everything else in the air had to contend with the almost impossible challenge of defeating the Phantom, and nothing ever did.
Here is my entry for this group build. A Fujimi F4B Phantom II of VF 84. The VF Fighting 84 lineage dates all the way back to WWII and is still around today.
The Kit
The kit is molded in gray with engraved panel lines and has 106 injection molded parts, five of which are clear plastic for the canopy. The instructions are well illustrated, and include supplemental drawings to show the proper positioning for open canopies, as well as the proper angle for the rear stabilizers and a paint guide for the missiles. Overall, this appears to be a very good kit.
Fujimi's jet intakes are of good quality, with engraved detail on the ramps. Like the much older 1/72 Revell F-4E, the Fujimi version features intakes that curve around to meet the ramps on top and on the bottom, covering a full 180 degrees on a vertical line. This is a big plus, since some other manufacturers (namely Monogram) feature intakes that do not cover a full 180 degrees, meeting the bottom edge of the fuselage, and require a lot of putty, sanding and patience to hide an ugly seam that never appeared on the actual Phantom. With the Fujimi Phantom this is not a problem.
The kit's exhaust nozzles seem to follow an industry standard of providing good external detail, and fairly good molding representing the turbofan at the end of the shaft.
The kit's missiles are noteworthy mainly because they bear engraved panel lines, something I have rarely if ever seen on a kit.
The kit decals are crisp and all completely in register with no bleed-over or blurred lines. *There are two versions: *The first is for VF-84, the "'Jolly Rogers" that features two different versions of the skull and crossbones tail insignia, both of them white, but one with a black background that is reminiscent of the flag of 18th Century pirate ships. *The VF-84 version looks impressive and includes markings for the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Independence. *My only criticism is that the particular shade of yellow in the diagonal band across the fuselage does not ring true. *The second version of decals is for VF-213, the "Black Lions," and does not appear to have a vessel designation – overall a much plainer looking aircraft bearing little more than aircraft and serial number designations.
The cockpit features decals for all instrument panels, and seats of fair detail that offer separate parts for the pull handles triggering the ejection sequence. The pull handles are not particularly detailed, but at least an effort is made to represent them. Many manufacturers do not bother with this part. If you care about this aspect of the build, you can do what I plan to do and use aftermarket parts.
Name: Dirk
Category: Beginner
Scale:1/72
Manufacturer: Fujimi
Extras: Quick Boost Phantom Ejection Seats
The biggest, fastest, most powerful, most expensive. The list of superlatives for the F-4 Phantom goes on and on. The Phantom was - we would like to say is, but the past tense is apt - the standard against which every fighter of its era was judged. Everything else in the air had to contend with the almost impossible challenge of defeating the Phantom, and nothing ever did.
Here is my entry for this group build. A Fujimi F4B Phantom II of VF 84. The VF Fighting 84 lineage dates all the way back to WWII and is still around today.
The Kit
The kit is molded in gray with engraved panel lines and has 106 injection molded parts, five of which are clear plastic for the canopy. The instructions are well illustrated, and include supplemental drawings to show the proper positioning for open canopies, as well as the proper angle for the rear stabilizers and a paint guide for the missiles. Overall, this appears to be a very good kit.
Fujimi's jet intakes are of good quality, with engraved detail on the ramps. Like the much older 1/72 Revell F-4E, the Fujimi version features intakes that curve around to meet the ramps on top and on the bottom, covering a full 180 degrees on a vertical line. This is a big plus, since some other manufacturers (namely Monogram) feature intakes that do not cover a full 180 degrees, meeting the bottom edge of the fuselage, and require a lot of putty, sanding and patience to hide an ugly seam that never appeared on the actual Phantom. With the Fujimi Phantom this is not a problem.
The kit's exhaust nozzles seem to follow an industry standard of providing good external detail, and fairly good molding representing the turbofan at the end of the shaft.
The kit's missiles are noteworthy mainly because they bear engraved panel lines, something I have rarely if ever seen on a kit.
The kit decals are crisp and all completely in register with no bleed-over or blurred lines. *There are two versions: *The first is for VF-84, the "'Jolly Rogers" that features two different versions of the skull and crossbones tail insignia, both of them white, but one with a black background that is reminiscent of the flag of 18th Century pirate ships. *The VF-84 version looks impressive and includes markings for the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Independence. *My only criticism is that the particular shade of yellow in the diagonal band across the fuselage does not ring true. *The second version of decals is for VF-213, the "Black Lions," and does not appear to have a vessel designation – overall a much plainer looking aircraft bearing little more than aircraft and serial number designations.
The cockpit features decals for all instrument panels, and seats of fair detail that offer separate parts for the pull handles triggering the ejection sequence. The pull handles are not particularly detailed, but at least an effort is made to represent them. Many manufacturers do not bother with this part. If you care about this aspect of the build, you can do what I plan to do and use aftermarket parts.
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