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What happened to all of the 1/48 F-4E/F kits?


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Seems like these days, if you want a 1/48 gun nosed F-4, your pickings are pretty slim, especially if you want slatted wings.  About the only kit that seems to still be consistently available is the old hard wing Italeri kit.  A few shops might still have the Hasegawa RF-4EJ kit, but if you want a slatted wing, you pretty much have to go the eBay route.  What’s up with that?

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We are at the mercy of Hasegawa for now. They always seem to have an F-4 variant available, but never the one I need.  ZM says they will have a test shot of the forthcoming -E at the Nats next week, so help is on the way.  I thought maybe the G would be a good starting point, I got my G from the shelf and I see it only has a G nose, and the large antenna is molded into the tail, not an add on part, so that is not a reasonable starting point.  

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Soooo word on the street is (my LHS street that is) that the big bad T is going to continue a trend of working out their 1/48 scale model kits and the F-4 Phantom is coming in due time from them. The same source that passed this onto me at my LHS had previously shared enough info about the P-38 like 6-7 months ago so I'd like to believe that yes, Tamiya is going to give us some 1/48 F-4 Phantoms. Whether or not they begin with long nose versions (a blessing if so) is anyone's guess.

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A 1/48 F-4E from Tamiya would be awesome! I’d be just as happy with one from Z-M, if they fix the short-nose kits’ fat haunches. As much as I love the Hasegawa Phantoms, they’re showing their age and take a lot of aftermarket to bring them up to speed.

 

Ben

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17 hours ago, Whiskey said:

Soooo word on the street is (my LHS street that is) that the big bad T is going to continue a trend of working out their 1/48 scale model kits and the F-4 Phantom is coming in due time from them. The same source that passed this onto me at my LHS had previously shared enough info about the P-38 like 6-7 months ago so I'd like to believe that yes, Tamiya is going to give us some 1/48 F-4 Phantoms. Whether or not they begin with long nose versions (a blessing if so) is anyone's guess.

Based on how awesome their latest models are, I sincerely hope this happens 👍🏻

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Steve

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19 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

A 1/48 F-4E from Tamiya would be awesome! I’d be just as happy with one from Z-M, if they fix the short-nose kits’ fat haunches. As much as I love the Hasegawa Phantoms, they’re showing their age and take a lot of aftermarket to bring them up to speed.

 

Ben

 

I agree with you on every point. Something tells me we will see the ZM F-4E before a Tamiya version. But just sitting here imagining a Tamiya F-4E that goes together as nice as their F-14s and is as accurate in its representation. Would be a dream come true.

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5 hours ago, boom175 said:

They will have a "prototype" of their "Late F-4E" at the US IPMS Nats next week. My guess its a rapid prototype and not from the tooling, But that's just my guess.

 

You are right, I was mistaken in saying it was a test shot. 

 

It will be nice to have a new tool long nose Phantom.   It is just frustrating that Hasegawa released just about every phantom variant, but they are hard to find.   It even seems like Hasegawa Phantoms rarely show up on vendor tables. If you do see a Hasegawa Phantom on a vendor table, it is the original J with raised panel lines. 

 

A Tamiya Phantom ... interesting idea. If my understanding is correct, This is the final year the JASDF will operate the Phantom, so maybe it is a good opportunity to commemorate the occasion with a new kit. 

 

Does anyone know why Academy stopped with the short nose hard wing variants?

Edited by Kurt H.
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48 minutes ago, Kurt H. said:

 

Does anyone know what Academy stopped with the short nose hard wing variants?

 

I’m sure Academy does, but honestly, their kits have been eclipsed by ZM (even with ZM’s known issues).  ZM is more accurate and easier to build.

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On 7/30/2019 at 4:21 PM, Whiskey said:

Soooo word on the street is (my LHS street that is) that the big bad T is going to continue a trend of working out their 1/48 scale model kits and the F-4 Phantom is coming in due time from them. The same source that passed this onto me at my LHS had previously shared enough info about the P-38 like 6-7 months ago so I'd like to believe that yes, Tamiya is going to give us some 1/48 F-4 Phantoms. Whether or not they begin with long nose versions (a blessing if so) is anyone's guess.

If Tamiya did one, it'd be north of a hundred dollars and no where near what ZM does. I can but the ZM kits for $75 all day long without waiting for a sale. 

Gary

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the same thing that happened to Hasegawa and Fujimi 1/72 Phantoms:

In the hands of Limited Edition gods or forgotten due domestic market attention to the EJ/Kai and not a C/D or G or E/F and so on

 

Luigi

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On 7/31/2019 at 9:14 AM, A.C.Acikgoz said:

coming soon, hasegawa plastic, correct 2020 cokpit from pre painted eduard PE and decals printed by Microscale…

 

48-F4-KUTU-s.jpg

 

Who is this being produced by? Never heard of this boxing.

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1 hour ago, habu2 said:

Do I see an Aurora U-Boat in your stash?  Now I’m really impressed....

 

 

Yeah, I was debating doing a display with my 1/72 Corvette. But I think I might just donate it to the city.

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