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Which kit is easier? 1/48 ZM or Academy F-4J?


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5 hours ago, dnl42 said:

Neither DMold nor XMM have J intakes for the Academy kit. DMold has B/C parts and XMM has B parts.

 

XMM says their B parts fit the J kit. I lack the knowledge to understand if this is a shortcoming of the Academy kit, but they do have J intakes for Hasegawa

 

I've already built my Academy B, so it's hard to compare the fuselage parts with my unbuilt D, but it looks like the 1-piece upper fuselage part is common to all three kits (B, C/D, & J), so intakes meant for the B should work for any of them. I used XMM's intakes on my B, and one dropped right in and the other took a little massaging. It could have been User Error, since XMM's parts are usually outstanding. DMold's are equally outstanding. 

 

The reason you need different intakes for the Hasegawa kits is because the fuselage parts for their B, C/D, J/S, and E/F/G kits are all different, so intakes designed for one won't fit the others. 

 

Also, +1 on Hypersonic's corrected ACS intakes for the Academy kit. XMM includes a pair with their engine intakes, and Steel Beach also sells some. Hypersonic's reposition the intakes, slightly, while Steel Beach's and XMM's don't, unless you first fill the depressions where the kit parts normally would go.

 

Ben

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6 hours ago, Space Tiger Hobbes said:

Why would one want to put B intakes on a J? Is there a F-4BJ variant? :rolleyes:

 

Because it's available as I indicated  :thumbsup: (Ben clarified that for you). External B and J intake differences are the ECM pieces on the shoulders - B didn't have them, N had long ones, and J/S had short ones.

 

Gene K

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2 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

I've already built my Academy B, so it's hard to compare the fuselage parts with my unbuilt D, but it looks like the 1-piece upper fuselage part is common to all three kits (B, C/D, & J), so intakes meant for the B should work for any of them. I used XMM's intakes on my B, and one dropped right in and the other took a little massaging. It could have been User Error, since XMM's parts are usually outstanding. DMold's are equally outstanding. 

Yeah, I just bought 2 of the B intakes for my B and J kits given Alexander's comment that it fit both. I'll do one of them for the upcoming USN Legacy Squadron GB.

 

2 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

Also, +1 on Hypersonic's corrected ACS intakes for the Academy kit. XMM includes a pair with their engine intakes, and Steel Beach also sells some. Hypersonic's reposition the intakes, slightly, while Steel Beach's and XMM's don't, unless you first fill the depressions where the kit parts normally would go.

 

I had previously purchased the Hypersonic AC intakes, so I'll use those.

 

36 minutes ago, Gene K said:

External B and J intake differences are the ECM pieces on the shoulders - B didn't have them, N had long ones, and J/S had short ones.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Edited by dnl42
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On 6/23/2017 at 8:50 AM, dehowie said:

 

Picked one up from Volks Tokyo on Tuesday.... some cool new parts not just the S wing..ill leave the rest as a surprise.

 

I got mine today direct from Volks Tokyo -- six days to get from Japan to Florida. Excellent!!:thumbsup:

 

Did a quick search for the "surprise" parts, but they are not evident, so will have to do a sprue by sprue search ... or wait for clues. Are you sure your extra parts weren't just in the local Japan-sold kits?

 

Gene K

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  • 3 months later...

..." Also, +1 on Hypersonic's corrected ACS intakes for the Academy kit "...

 

I can second that but one has to be very carful installing them. The piece that covers the "installation dent" in the fuselage has to be slightly puttied in and sanded! This can lead to an asymetrical apperance of the ait intakes. Ask me why I know...

Next time I will fill and sand the fuselage first, then carve off those pasrt from the intakes and install them afterwards. In general, the way this was solved on Hasegawa and ZM is way better!

 

cheers

Uwe

 

 

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OK, maybe that explains it. Years ago, I heard the F-4B/C and F-4J used different intakes and maybe that there was a different vent configuration. So the intakes didn't change between the real variants. They changed between the designs of early and later Hasegawa kits. Why would the aftermarket design intakes for the Academy Phantoms and list a specific variant then?

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10 hours ago, Space Tiger Hobbes said:

 Why would the aftermarket design intakes for the Academy Phantoms and list a specific variant then?

 

Usually it's because of the differences in the engine face attached to the end of the intakes.

 

Gene K

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