Zoukei Mura 1/48 F-4E Viper killer finished!

[Drew T.]

Hi guys, I finally have this project finished.  It's Zoukei Mura's Early F-4E updated with Hypersonic's late F-4E update set. 

[Drew T.]

Sorry, I'm having problems adding text to this post so I'm responding to it.  Below is a link to the build log:

 

 

Overall, it turned out to be a fun kit to build.  This is my first Zoukei Mura kit I've built.  It's a major step up from the Hasegawa Phantoms, but still not quite as nice as Tamiya's F-4C (of course).

 

I was impressed with the 3D printed Kazan landing gear.  It uses SS tubing for the hydraulic struts, so there's no need to paint or mask them.  Once the resin is painted, the paint can be scraped right off the tubing. 

 

I have both the Phase Hanger and Reskit pylons, but I ended up using the Phase Hanger ones since they are designed specifically for the ZM kit and fit better.  However, I did use the chaff and flare dispensers from the Reskit pylons since they aren't included in the Phase Hanger set. 

 

The insulation borders on the canopy frames were made from Anyz decal stripes.  I wanted to use a gray or beige color, but he only sells these decals in the primary colors.  Yellow looked too odd for this application, so I settled on using white and then went back and applied a light layer of yellow ochre oil paint to "dirty" up the white and make it look less stark. 

 

Anyway, thanks for looking and hope you enjoy the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking!

Drew

Edited November 4, 2024 by Drew T.

[A-10 LOADER]

Holy cow Drew, phantastic job buddy !! Love all the tiny details, the weathering, chipping, etc.

Steve

[Mr.Happy]

Drew,

 

Absolutely stunning work.

 

From the build details to the painting….top notch.

 

Mr. Happy

[Whiskey]

That’s freaking awesome! Really going to look into that landing gear after reading about yours. Beautiful Toom!

[Sodasorb]

Beautiful Phantom! Really like the weathering done in the camouflage.  

[strikeeagle801]

That's a Phantastic Phantom.  I love the overall presentation. You put a lot of effort into this, and it really shows. 

 

Aaron 

[Niels]

Very, very nice!

[ExchefAndy]

A Phlawless Phantom, beautiful work from top to bottom!

The hand painted cat is superb... 10/10

Andy

[Drew T.]

Wow, thanks for the kind words everyone!

[phantom]

Outstanding.

[RichB63]

Great looking jet. Lots of skill and dedication on display here.

 

Rich

[Gator52]

Phenomenal Drew; what's next on your bench?

Chris

[11bee]

Fantastic work!

[Joerg]

Fantastic build! Hats off to you.

 

Want to do that scheme too, but was put off by the quality of the tiger head decals. To my eye the colors of the decal are all wrong.

Great effort with the masks to paint it.

 

Joerg

[Drew T.]

Thanks so much everyone for the compliments!  My next project is the 1/48 Freedom Models F-20 kitbashed with the AFV F-5E to replicate the first prototype Northrop built that still used the F-5 cockpit and nose.  I'm a sucker for the sleek red and white paint scheme the first prototype used.  I'm almost finished with the cockpit and will post photos in the next few days.

 

Drew

[Scooby]

Awesome build! I deployed on several DACT deployments with my Canadian Hornet squadron against this guard unit, our pilots liked fighting them as the ANG pilots were a much harder fight.

 

Once again, outstanding build!

[Red Dog]

that's an awesome model. Well done

[Drew T.]

Thanks Scooby and Red Dog!

[JayBee]

Fantastic build! 😍

[Drew T.]

Thanks JayBee!

[Curt B]

Beautiful Phantom...great work!  My only comment might be that the landing gear and the wheel wells could use some weathering, the pure white catches my eye a bit.  I hope my Phantoms turn out as nice as yours!

[Drew T.]

Thanks Curt!  You're right about the wheel wells and landing gear.  These parts are 3D printed parts that had a slightly rough finish.  This made the enamel wash I applied difficult to remove and stained some of the surfaces.  I had to go back and touch up these areas with the white paint, otherwise, these areas would look too dirty.  So I ended up erroring on the side of too clean instead of too dirty.

[Youngtiger1]

Beautiful. That nose art is the best on F-4.

[Drew T.]

On 3/2/2025 at 3:46 AM, Youngtiger1 said:

Beautiful. That nose art is the best on F-4.

 

Thanks!