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1/48 F-4 Phantom best kits


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I haven't heard anything about the Tan model F-4E. Totally ignorant about that! I'm more of a short nosed Phantom guy, but I'll keep an eye open for that.

 

It's a funny thing with F-4s, but there are quite a few kits that are most certainly "fat", and it's odd that it keeps happening. I was disappointed with the Tamiya not just because the rear fuselage has a similar problem (although not quite as bad) as the Z-M, but also because the intake shoulders are located too high, which leads to a slab sided fuselage and a spine that is too shallow. The Z-M has that same problem, and it just looks a bit chunky. The shape of the pilots canopy could be better, too.

 

It's great that they can engineer kits of such high technical quality. And let's face it, the Z-M F-4 does look like a Phantom. I was going to say that a little extra research would have paid off, but they've almost sold out of them, so what do I know! It doesn't make the Hasegawa, Academy, or Monogram kits obsolete, which I suppose is a good thing in some ways.

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That would be weird Larry, although I've seen similar comments about the Tamiya 1/32nd kit too.

What's especially weird is trying to marry the larger diameter Spey rear end with the comparatively slimline J79 intakes.

You have to ask WTF?

 

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  • 1 year later...

Just to clarify, I haven't been able to conclusively find an answer, the AMT/ERTL F-4J kits are the ESCI or no? Came across a few dirt cheap but don't want to buy something I'll just end up getting rid of later on.

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56 minutes ago, Whiskey said:

Just to clarify, I haven't been able to conclusively find an answer, the AMT/ERTL F-4J kits are the ESCI or no? Came across a few dirt cheap but don't want to buy something I'll just end up getting rid of later on.

 

I wish I could give you a conclusive answer however my experience is that the AMT/ERTL F-4 kits are the old ESCI kits from back in the 80's and according to the Scalemates website the AMT/ERTL F-4J kit is the ESCI version. I have the 1989 rebox AMT/ERTL F-4C/D "Mig Killer" #8875 and it is definitely the old ESCI moulding with engraved panel lines. I have build several of these old kits and I love them, nice straightforward builds, the only problems are that the cockpit canopies don't fit too well and the cockpit is very sparse. I managed to get a spare Hasegawa cockpit into one and it worked really well. The Italeri/Testors Phantoms are not good. I have an RF-4C, an F-4E/F and the F-4S and they all have raised panel lines. I tried building the Testors F-4G and it ended up in the bin!

Michael

 
   
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On 1/21/2018 at 4:33 PM, Ben Brown said:

The rear canopy is too long, so the center section is pushed forward and the front canopy is shortened to make up for it, but it isn't really noticeable unless it's sitting next to Hasegawa kit. I've read that the Hasegawa canopies will fit the Academy kit.

 

 

I'm interested in this claim because, compared to the Hasegawa, I can't see it. I built three Hasegawa F-4s last year, and an Academy. I made an attempt at measuring the rear canopies and I reckoned they were almost the same. Have you got any photos or measurements?

 

I do agree the Academy front canopy is shorter than the Hasegawa one, but it looks to me like the difference is in that fixed centre section, not the rear opening section. I'm not saying you're wrong, just asking someone to point it out to me a little more clearly 🙂

 

E.g.

 

Hasegawa:

f4e_22.jpg

 

 

Academy:

f4n_24.jpg

 

Jon

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1 hour ago, jonbryon said:

I do agree the Academy front canopy is shorter than the Hasegawa one, but it looks to me like the difference is in that fixed centre section, not the rear opening section.

The sweep of the centre section's front frame in Academy looks too big. This impacts the front canopy of course.

Edited by Laurent
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46 minutes ago, Whiskey said:

Academy's center section of the canopy definitely looks wider and it is sloped more than the Hasegawa. The question then becomes, which one is correct?

Neither ? Hasegawa's front frame looks too vertical while Academy's looks too swept.

0815141043_resized.jpg

 

Now ZM looks good to me in this area...

PA041966%25E6%258B%25B7%25E8%25B2%259D.j

(source: https://yhnjum.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot)

Edited by Laurent
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...except that the ZM canopy centre section is a bit too skinny in length. I think overall, Hasegawa is the closest and ZM comes second. I don't think any Phantom kit on the market has captured the lateral, central bulge of the real canopy (and cockpit) though. But we're entering the esoteric realm now... 🙂

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27 minutes ago, JeffreyK said:

 But we're entering the esoteric realm now... 🙂

Exactly where we need to be Jeffrey! 

 

I've installed a set of your well thought out Zoukie Doukie correction pieces and though I haven't completed it yet, it SO adds to that Phantom look! 

 

Thanks for your eye!

 

Cheers

 

Larry

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On 1/21/2018 at 5:33 PM, Ben Brown said:

F-4B/N: Academy is better than Hasegawa's, due to Academy's scribed panel lines and better detail. Academy needs a few fixes, though. 
F-4C/D: I would say Z-M over Academy, due to the better detail and the accuracy issues detailed below. Hasegawa's is easier to build than Monogram's, but they both have raised panel lines. Monogram's has a better cockpit than Hasegawa's. 
F-4E/F/G: Hasegawa. It will be interesting to see what Z-M and Academy eventually come up with. 
F-4J: Z-M. I think Hasegawa is a close second, ahead of Academy, due to the latter's higher initial cost to purchase and the need for additional $$ to fix accuracy issues . 
F-4S: Z-M. Hasegawa's needs a few mods to be an accurate F-4S, but it builds into a good-looking F-4S. Hasegawa has Air Force-style slats that are incorrect for the S and it's missing some other F-4S-specific details. Not hard to fix, just a little time-consuming.

 

hey Ben, which of the ones you mentioned above has the tail area (near the exhausts) more correct as shapes? thanks.

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Hi All,

 

I must revise my statement about the rear canopy on the Academy kits. The length is actually very close to that of the Hasegawa canopy. You all are right, it's the center section that is the problem. That's what I get for parroting something I read on the forums without actually checking! :doh:

 

Alpagueur, I haven't really compared at that area of the kits. I don't like how Academy has the seam for the parts running right through the stabilator pivot. The best fix for that is to get some of Jeffrey's stabilators and use the photo etched parts to correct that area. 

 

Also, I'm now thinking that Hasegawa's F-4J is a slightly better buy than the Z-M kit, and Jeffrey has shown the Hasegawa kit has a better fuselage shape. If you add up how much it costs to bring the Has. kit up to a similar level of detail as the Z-M kit (intakes, cockpit, exhausts, stabs), you actually come out a little cheaper than buying the Z-M kit, especially if you add in the Hypersonic correction parts to get the Z-M kit's fuselage shape right. I think the Z-M kit still needs seats and canopy details, and some exhausts and wheels wouldn't hurt, either. I'll probably eventually sell my Z-M J in favor of the Hasegawa kit, if I ever decide I need a J on my shelf.

 

Cheers!

 

Ben

 

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