Rex

Isn't that Anhedral?

That's a good shot of the shuttle too. Someone has a thread somewhere on here asking for shuttle details so that he can make one in, I believe 1/48 scale.

But, Gary,,,,,,isn't that the hobby? Get the cockpit right, get the airframe right, buy or create the best exhausts that we can. Then add details to the landing gear, get the best pylons, tanks and weapons that we can find. Then apply the best aftermarket decals that we can get for the scheme that we want. The alternative is 457 builds of the exact same markings that come in the box for any given model,,,,,,with no mods that stand out from each other's builds, all with OOB weapons and tanks. I really "don't get" updating the cockpit and exha

That 1/18? scale Tomcat would be cool for that. Servos, switches, wiring, etc. As against working models as I am,,,,,,,,I gotta admit that Anne and I darned near wore out the hangar deck light button on Kelly's carrier at one of the Nats.

"They said they re-measured and reworked the area for the long-nose Phantoms...Let's see." And if they do re-work it,,,,,,,,that means that even they have agreed that the shape is off. This is one of those things that will show up as extremely obvious to all online writers,,,,,once their F-4E comes out,,or once someone else releases a new tooling to compete for the sales dollars. (exact same thing happened to Academy when the Z-M kit came out, only then did people accept that there were problems with the Academy kit)

And insisting the whole time that he is "a serious modeler." And "these are NOT toys, dangit!! "

Even better Zach,,,,,,,,,,,picture in your mind how that would work at a serious modeler's house,,,,,or at a show. a big ole honkin' sign next to an expensive new tooled Tomcat,,,,,,,,,,with 100 hours into the build, aftermarket decals, etc, etc,,,,,,,,,that says "please play with my wings"

Movable wings on a model would only work if there was a big honkin' button on the top to launch the weapons. Wing position options are enough for a serious modeler. If you want to move the wings, pull up the flaps and slats, pop the seals up and down, and deploy and retract the landing gear,,,,,then you need to practice your "swoooossshhhhhh" noises,,,,,,,or get a GI Joe Tomcat instead. (I'd realllllly like to see a "serious modeler" that can engineer a truly moveable wing on a Tomcat model,,,,,that has the wing parts work in unison at the same time)

the markings other than the NF codes are on this sheet https://www.furballaero-design.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=48-011 angled NFs could be made from angled NEs or NLs https://www.furballaero-design.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=48-018 That is as close as I know to do in 1/48, unless it is just the scheme you want, then you could build the NL coded jet on #48-011. (that is what I decided to do in 1/72, I decided to just be glad I didn't have to do yet another Black Tail VF-161)

I wish he could be talked into doing an F-4B book, then an N, then a J, then an S, then,,,,,,,,,,the RF-4B. But, I'll just be glad to get the F-4A book when he finishes it. I like all of the "purty pictures" books well enough,,,,,,,,but an F-4A book from Tommy, done in the same style as "Scooter" will be a real treat.

Very glad that Tommy re-found that "lost knowledge" about those eye lids. Drawings in books back in the "old days" showed that difference,,,,,,and then the drawings all got "generic" sometime after that. Now that tidbit is back again. Having that info online and from a guy like Tommy,,,,,,means that people can go back to filing or filling again, to get that difference correct. Only the very newest kits address that item.

You might be able to cobble something together from the earlier NL tail code scheme, combined with NF from some later scheme. I have a Furball sheet in 1/72, which I think is a scaled down version of a 1/48 sheet,,,,,,,,,,so, combining the earliest with the latest to get that middle scheme should be do-able. VF-161 Phantoms had 4 main schemes in that era, first, with the NL, then they moved to CVW-16 and carried the AH, then that NF scheme of your photo, the the various NF schemes that most are used to seeing with the Black tail and beyond into Low-Viz. edit

oops, one thing "The pointy end faces the front" except for the A-6, those were built backwards

I know that I am "dipping my toe into TomcatLand", but, I see a Choice, with a backup plan already in the box. Got the cockpit all detailed out and you want to open the canopy, try that option,,,,,,it turns out not to your liking,,,,use the other canopy option. (or try again with another kit from the stash) Beats the heck out of trying to razor saw clear parts to make multi-piece canopies from a one piece clear part. And attaching those clear parts to the frame shouldn't be any harder than attaching clear parts to the solid plastic of the fuselage. If a mode

yeah, there are different levels for different people. And for different aircraft with the same people. I want to get ALQ-51, -100, etc, justttt right for my F-4s. But for something like the F-14, all I care about is if the pointy end faces the front, and the wings sweep. F-16N are the same. S-2 and S-3 are the same deal. But, F-4, A-4, A-7, F-8, A-6, A-1, etc,,,,,,those I dive into the details. Some people just want a Spitfire,,,,,others want to get the tape correct over the gun ports and have exactly the right wing and engine make. (and the cro

You got that right, Zach. It has created a ton of fun for me. Progression is what expanded my collection of thin winged Phantoms into a large group that don't all look like each other structurally . An F-4N with no DECM sitting next to a "normal" F-4N, all the sub-types of fit on the F-4B from the earliest bare bones versions up to the ones just before the survivors got Bee Lined into N's, the slatless F-4S, the DECM F-4Js, and enough differences in RF-4Bs to make them a separate study all on their own. F-4D variations are just as much fun, with all of the t

ack, read it too fast I mis-read it as only two changed sprues, instead of only sharing two sprues I'll fix it back okay, fixed,,,,,,,I apologize. But, you'd be surprised at how many kits got labeled as "new tool" on there, simply because the modeler never saw the earlier releases, or didn't believe they were related toolings. I jumped the gun.

No, some of us thought "12" because of a couple of places that said that. (we had a long discussion about it on ARC, and I was one of the guys corrected) But, it was only the two last batches of 5 each. And the last 3 of the second batch of 5 got the rounded noses. So, yeah, you'll see 12 in print and on the web,,,,,but, it really is just the small group that were made in Blocks after the F-4B style of tooling had it's use discontinued. But, as with all things Phantom, the RF-4B had many upgrades and versions caused by that, all under the one designation of RF-4B.

It should be classed as "changed parts" with a link-line to the older kit. I'll go fix it unless someone beat me to it. edit, okay, fixed and it now shows the linked kit

Ben, does any Hasegawa have the alternate nose,,,,so that the "Last Three" can be built OOB?

Probably no difference in the two colors for online model photo taking and posting. But in 1/1* and photos of 1/1, you can see the difference between the two main Whites, and Camouflage Gray, and they are different. (heck, in 1/1, you can see the difference between the many actual colors called White over the years) Regarding F-4B, you can trust Ben to know https://modelingmadness.com/review/viet/us/usaf/brownf4b.htm *1/1, that is the area that doesn't much affect models anymore, it used to be called "real life", now it is just "off line."

F-4C USAF had both SEA schemes. The scheme was invented after Vietnam started, and the Light Gull Gray over White aircraft were given the two Greens and the Tan scheme while keeping the White undersides. Sometime just before the tail codes were invented, the bottoms of F-4C got the very Light Gray, 36622, color added to them. Quick and dirty rule of thumb for F-4C SEA, if tail codes are present, Light Gray bottom, if no tail codes, but the Serial Number was on the tail, look at the contrast between the lower wing Insignia or front landing gear or door inter

EROS was a part of the F-4 program almost from the very beginning of the F4H-1 tests. So, it is entirely appropriate for it to be seen on F4H-1, F4H-1F, and F-4A photos,,,,,and then later on in the second type of F4H-1 photos. (in old books one will see EROS more often that Sparrows in the pics) It must have stuck around for almost the entire lifetime of the F-4, someone here recently posted a photo of an Australian F-4E with one mounted in the Port Forward Sparrow bay.

Oh and the general rule was not " A on the east coast and N on west" or "C on the east and W for the west for the Marines" It was "A to M" on the east, and "N to Z" on the west, and applied to all USN/USMC squadrons, except for the "7V", "7A", etc type of squadrons, and the Training units (2A, 2B, etc),,,,for those, we had to just know which number and letter was assigned to which airbase/airfield/air station.

As Darren says, at the time that codes were assigned, WT stood for VMFA-232. During the early years, some squadrons got new codes if they switched coasts. Then the Navy gave up on that, and no matter where a squadron went, the unit kept their codes. Marines deployed with both types of codes when they went on carriers, most of the time they matched the Code of the Navy air wing they were attached to,,,,,but, sometimes they just kept their own codes for the deployment on the ship. (and in at least two cases, they switched codes about halfway through the cruise, from USMC codes to USN CVW codes.)