Finally; a new 1/72 Phantom

[ya-gabor]

6 hours ago, habu2 said:

Why would you need a weapons set for a Blue Angels (or Thunderbirds) bird?

 

Yes, it is all about the Sparrows.

But few posts up I did quote from the original FineMolds announcement:

 

The kit also comes with a pilot figure and an aircraft missile set to recreate the dummy

Sparrow missiles that are equipped as tanks for smoke oil.

 

Actually those weapons sprues are a welcome adition with some nice other things on it.  : )   OK the down side of the story is that the kit is going to be more expensive.   : (

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

[Tomcat Trebor]

@Gene K thanks for the news. A F-4B or the RF series would be nice.

 

Regards 

Robert 

[GeneK]

On 8/21/2024 at 4:06 AM, Tomcat Trebor said:

 A F-4B or the RF series would be nice (as regards a new kit n announcement from FineMolds)

 

Unfortunately, the new kit is a 1/48 Zero (two versions) to be released in December. Fortunately, it will be done in the grand FineMolds tradition. 

 

 

Gene K

Edited August 23 by GeneK

[amato1969]

Whoa, nice for the 48ers, but our 72nd F-4B has to be close behind !!!

[McFly]

Oct.´24

 

1/72 US Navy F-4J VF-96“Showtime 100”

https://finemolds.co.jp/FF/FF04.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/72 US Navy F-4J "Blue Angels" (limited edition)

https://finemolds.co.jp/FF/FX03.html

 

 

 

Edited August 28 by McFly

[Craig Baldwin]

Well there you have it. F-4B/N. Should make a couple of people happy. Well, happier.

[ya-gabor]

Excellent news! So they make the “thin wing” early version F-4B.

It would suggest that there is a chance of getting eventually another new wing sprue for slated F-4E’s also. I will be waiting for it.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[MoFo]

Boo!  That's not the wing I'm waiting for. And after analyzing the sprue sequence, I'm starting to lose hope. 😞  TL;DR, there doesn't seem to be enough room in the alphabet for them to include the slatted wings. 

 

Taken from Britmodeller:

 

Quote

Most manufacturers start with sprue A and work alphabetically (almost universally skipping the letter I, though).  Interestingly, FM seems to do the main sprues alphabetically, but starts at Z and moves backwards for the clear sprues.  It's the same in the F-14, F-15 and F-2 kits.  Also, because there are SO many sprues to cover SO many variations, they've resorted to labelling some N1, N2, N3, etc. when it's basically the same sprue, just with variant-specific parts (like the stabs on the F-4, or rudders on the F-15).  But it's going to have variants, all the versions will be numbered from the start; they don't start with sprue N, then do N1, N2 and N3 for the variants.  So with that in mind...

 

The F-4EJ has sprues A through J (minus I), plus L1, plus Z and Y.  The kai kit swaps out sprue H for sprue K, so sprues A through L, sequentially, cover the Japanese versions. 

 

Sprue M is for the short exhaust.

 

Sprues N and O are unaccounted for.  Hmmmm...

 

Sprues P, Q and R are for the short nose (specifically Navy) versions.

 

Sprues S, T and U (plus P) are for the short nose AF versions.  Also, they ran out of letters, so the LORAN sprue is labelled NN.

 

V and W are the RF-4EJ-specific parts.

 

Z and Y are the long-nose clear parts; X1 and X2 are the short nose clear parts

 

Finally, we have seen L1 (slotted stabs), L2 (slotted stabs w. reinforcement) and L3 (unslotted stabs).  Presumably there could also be an L4 (unslotted w. reinforcement).

 

So, a couple of things.  We can see that things are sequential, and grouped in a relatively logical manner - it gets complicated because there's a lot of mixing and matching, but when you zoom out, it does make sense.  They tool the parts to make the base subject in a sequence, then do the sprues that let them make the next variant.  And the sprue with the outer wing panels isn't 'numbered'; it's JUST sprue J.  I can't imagine them NOT doing slatted wings (so many marking possibilities!), and yet  there just doesn't seem to be room for it.  I would have expected the hard wing to be J1 with the slat sprue J2, given their naming convention.  Then again, looking at the way their F-2 and F-15 kits are labelled, I'd have expected the exhaust sprues to be G1/G2, not G and M, and the canopies to be Z1/Z2 and Y1/Y2, so who knows?  Maybe if it's being left until the end, it will be something like NX, but it IS kind of... odd. 

 

As for N and O, the most logical explanation to my mind is that N will be the thin wing and O will be the requisite detail parts.  That would give you M, N, O, P, Q to cover the thin wing navy aircraft, making all the sprues grouped sequentially (A-L = Japan; M-Q = B/N; R = J/S; S-U = C/D; V+W = recce).  I wouldn't say it's confirmed, but I WOULD say it's REALLY likely.  But again, if that DOES account for the two 'missing' sprues, that leaves the slat wing without an obvious letter.

 

 

 

[Craig Baldwin]

CAD detail image on X, provided by finemolds_t .

A change in the wing, other than of being the thin version, the open speed brake option deviation from previous releases.

 

Edited September 10 by Craig Baldwin

[GeneK]

4 hours ago, Craig Baldwin said:

A change in the wing, other than of being the thin version, the open speed brake option deviation from previous releases.

Thanks, Craig.  Keep the images coming.

 

New skinny tires and gear, new nose piece, appropriate antenna and vert stab on the N. I hope at some point FM corrects the wing tank nose shape ... and that when they do the slatted E that they include the Gun Gas Purge Door. Perfect! 

 

Both the B and N are to release in March 2025, so reserve early before order stops are put in place. In that regard, Fine Molds has a great record for on-time releases.

 

Gene K

 

Edit: The added B sprues, boxart, and markings are here , while the same for the N model are here. Also, the FM President addresses the new Phantoms in this video starting at 3:15 running to 9:02 (of 19:17 total). Closed Captioning in English is fairly understandable .

 

Unfortunately the box artist passed away this year, so the art must be some of his last.

Edited September 10 by GeneK
Added links

[GeneK]

The new wing sprues have  separate leading edge flaps segments, so that will make it easier to drop the leading and trailing edge flaps as well as droop the ailerons ... for those so inclined to model the aircraft taking off or landing. However, the gear is molded weighted with no nose gear extension.

 

Gene K

[Stefan buysse]

2 hours ago, GeneK said:

The new wing sprues have  separate leading edge flaps segments, so that will make it easier to drop the leading and trailing edge flaps as well as droop the ailerons ... for those so inclined to model the aircraft taking off or landing. However, the gear is molded weighted with no nose gear extension.

 

Gene K

Hi,

 

Among the releases that Eduard announced for October is a 1/72 version of their deployed brake parachute for the Finemolds F-4E. 

I don't see a reason why they couldn't be fitted to the other Finemolds F-4's.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

 

 

 

[McFly]

https://finemolds.co.jp/FF/FX04.html

 

 

 

 

https://finemolds.co.jp/FF/FF05.html

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11 by McFly

[hemspilot]

On 9/10/2024 at 3:16 PM, GeneK said:

The new wing sprues have  separate leading edge flaps segments, so that will make it easier to drop the leading and trailing edge flaps as well as droop the ailerons ... for those so inclined to model the aircraft taking off or landing. However, the gear is molded weighted with no nose gear extension.

 

Gene K

I was wondering what those tabs like looking extensions were on the wings parts drawings, still not sure though.

[hemspilot]

On 9/10/2024 at 5:45 PM, Stefan buysse said:

Hi,

 

Among the releases that Eduard announced for October is a 1/72 version of their deployed brake parachute for the Finemolds F-4E. 

I don't see a reason why they couldn't be fitted to the other Finemolds F-4's.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

 

 

 

Stefan, Have you got a source for that, their website only goes to September.

Edited September 12 by hemspilot
added text

[ya-gabor]

21 minutes ago, hemspilot said:

Stefan, Have you got a source for that, their website only goes to September.

 

It is an October release

 

Best regards

Gabor

[GeneK]

On 9/10/2024 at 4:45 PM, Stefan buysse said:

Among the releases that Eduard announced for October is a 1/72 version of their deployed brake parachute for the Finemolds F-4E. 

I don't see a reason why they couldn't be fitted to the other Finemolds F-4's.

The difference would be the tailcone. SInce the Eduard chute includes the tail cone that has RHAW bumps, it makes it easier to modify for other models you want to use it with (or use the cone in your kit). I don't know if the USAF chute was different from the other US services or foreign models ... or whether USAF used different versions of the chute. Need Tommy Thomason for that info.

 

Gene K

Edited September 12 by GeneK

[Stefan buysse]

2 hours ago, hemspilot said:

Stefan, Have you got a source for that, their website only goes to September.

Hi,

 

I saw it in the Eduard newsletter, at the end of the newsletter there is always a couple of pages with the planned releases for the next month.

 

So far, I've never seen a picture of a Phantom with a chute in which the chute looked different to me (except for the colours). 

 

Cheers, Stefan. 

[JNordgren42]

On 9/11/2024 at 3:02 AM, McFly said:

https://finemolds.co.jp/FF/FX04.html

 

 

 

 

https://finemolds.co.jp/FF/FF05.html

 

 

 

 

 

I've been following this topic since I joined the forum admiring the beautiful work FM has done on all the versions of this kit. I've always loved the Phantom and the Jolly Rogers, so I couldn't resist putting down a pre-order at HLJ on the VF-84 F-4B. It will go great next to my Final Countdown Tomcat. 😁

[GeneK]

On 9/12/2024 at 1:23 PM, hemspilot said:

I was wondering what those tabs like looking extensions were on the wings parts drawings, still not sure though.

Given the kit's separate leading edge "extensions", my first thought was that they were there to allow the option of Leading Edge flaps up or down. In other kits offering such an option, one or the other extension is cut off (they are molded in different angles), and inserted into a slot in the back of the leading edges. However, the new sprues do NOT have corresponding options for the outer LE flaps or the TE flaps (or in later models of the F-4B and F-4N, the drooped ailerons) ... all work together, and as in love and marriage, you can't have one without the other. (thanks Frank Sinatra)  

 

Would just take a little cutting, filling, and sanding to drop them  all. Here's an example of what that would look like:

 

 

Gene K

[Craig Baldwin]

FM will also revise the MLG strut.

[hemspilot]

17 hours ago, GeneK said:

Given the kit's separate leading edge "extensions", my first thought was that they were there to allow the option of Leading Edge flaps up or down. In other kits offering such an option, one or the other extension is cut off (they are molded in different angles), and inserted into a slot in the back of the leading edges. However, the new sprues do NOT have corresponding options for the outer LE flaps or the TE flaps (or in later models of the F-4B and F-4N, the drooped ailerons) ... all work together, and as in love and marriage, you can't have one without the other. (thanks Frank Sinatra)  

 

Would just take a little cutting, filling, and sanding to drop them  all. Here's an example of what that would look like:

 

 

Gene K

I am surprised that such feature is not mentioned in the highlights for the new thin wing kits.

[GeneK]

4 hours ago, hemspilot said:

I am surprised that such feature is not mentioned in the highlights for the new thin wing kits.

Sorry if I misled you -- it's not a kit highlight since I'm speculating ( ) and the majority of the parts needed are not provided separately. The FM President early on said he was balancing retail cost versus simplicity/features, and I think he struck a good balance this time by including the speed brakes.

 

But again, shouldn't be too hard to drop everything with a little modeling. And about folding those wings ... .

 

Gene K

[hemspilot]

2 minutes ago, GeneK said:

Sorry if I misled you -- it's not a kit highlight since I'm speculating ( ) and the majority of the parts needed are not provided separately. The FM President early on said he was balancing retail cost versus simplicity/features, and I think he struck a good balance this time by including the speed brakes.

 

But again, shouldn't be too hard to drop everything with a little modeling. And about folding those wings ... .

 

Gene K

There used to be a Wolfpack Design hard wing flaps set 1/72.

[GeneK]

38 minutes ago, hemspilot said:

 There used to be Wolfpack Design hard wing flaps set 1/72.

Yes, that WAS a great set, but unfortunately has not been readily available for a long time.  Part of a Wolfpack 1/72 flap down trio: Hard Wing, F-4K/M, and F-4EJ Kai.

 

Discussed way back in 2009 here at ARC, among other places:

In that discussion, the numbers given for the degrees of flap extension are for the F-4C. For the F-4B, the angles are:

Leading Edge: Inner 30, Mid 60, Outer 60 (vice 55 for F- 4C). Later modified B models and F-4N have Inner LE flaps fixed closed.

Trailing Edge: Flaps 30 @ half, 60 @ full down. 

Drooped Ailerons: Later B models and F-4N - 16.5 degrees with flaps 1/2 or full down.

 

Whew, right? Slatted birds are of a different feather.

 

Gene K