RF-4B Phantom II

I really enjoyed building this Hasegawa model. The fit was generally good, and it was a very interesting subject - an unusual RF-4B with the thick tires, bulged wings, and large engine afterburner canisters of the F-4J/S. I like to call it an RF-4J.

There were a couple of things that I did not like about the model that I did have to change. The ejection seats were sparsely detailed, and the intake trunking was non-existent. I remedied this by getting some True Detail intakes and ejection seats. The intakes came with the intake fans attached, but they looked too shallow, so I cut them out, added some vinyl tubing to extend them back further, filed the intakes to fit the fuselage halves, and voila, the intakes looked much better.

The decals are from the kit, mostly because this was such an unusual subject that it limited the aftermarket options, this being the most colorful one. Most model paints are not that brightly colored so I had to search for the bright green paint for the tail. I finally found an enamel from Kustom Kolor called "Bright Green" that I think matched almost perfectly. The only problem was that the tail fin decals did not adhere really well, leaving a silvery film visible in certain lighting angles. I did my best to hide the film by using a lot of SolSet and painted the larger areas over with the bright green paint.

After everything was painted, decalled, and put together, I think that the model turned out very well. As mentioned before, I love the Gloss Gull Grey over Insignia White color scheme, and this RF-4 with the bright green tail does not disappoint.

F4D-1 Skyray

This was a model that I purchased on my mission in Russia ten years ago. I don't remember what the conversion rate was, but I do remember that it was cheaper than in the States. It is a very good 1/48 Tamiya kit. The wings came positionable up or down, the cockpit and wheel wells are very finely detailed, and the fit is nearly perfect. The only thing that I felt lacking was the intake trunking. I thought about adding in the ducts in, but decided that it looked well enough and made the kit straight out of the box.

Once I finished painting and weathering the interior pieces (jet intake fan, wheel wells, & cockpit) the rest of the fuselage pieces went together without a hitch. I didn't have to spend very much time filling gaps and sanding because it didn't really need it. I chose ahead of time that I wanted to show the unique wing shape as well as a folded wing by folding the port wing only. The other advantage to this was that I saved a little bit of shelf space for other models.

I love the U.S. Navy paint scheme in the late 50's, 60's, and 70's of Gloss Gull Grey over Insignia White, so naturally I was pleased with the look of this aircraft. The decals are Aero Master decals. I chose the VF-141 "Iron Angels" markings (Aero Master must have misprinted their instruction sheet because they say this was from VMF-542 which it obviously isn't). I chose them because I liked the unusual orange delta shape painted with the delta-wing. The decals went on well.

I wanted a simple armament package, so along with the drop tanks, I added the Sidewinder missles and that was it. I think the Skyray looks sleek but deadly with this set-up. Overall, I am very pleased with this model. No wonder it has been a popular kit.