Academy F-4B Phantom II by Miro Adamovic

Academy's 1/48 scale
F-4B Phantom II

by Miro Adamovic

McDonnell-Douglas F-4B Phantom II

Academy's 1/48 F-4B Phantom II is available online from Squadron

Description

The kit was build using pretty much every aftermarket item available for it. The list of aftermarket items used is:

Aires

F-4B Cockpit Set
F-4B Wheel Wells
F-4 Auxiliary Intakes

Eduard

F-4B Wheels
F-4B/C/D Exhaust Nozzles
F-4B Air Brakes
AIM-9B Sidewinder
AIM-7E Sparrow
Mk82 Snakeye

Hypersonic Models

F-4 Canopy Details
F-4 Slotted Stabs
F-4 Air Conditioning Inlets
370 Gallon McDonnell Fuel Tanks

Aerobonus

Multiple Ejection Rack
Triple Ejection Racks
Mk77 Napalm Canisters

Quikboost MB Mk7 Ejection Seats, DMold F-4 Intakes, Master Pitot Tubes and AOA Probe.

With such a long list of aftermarket items, no wonder that the build was a bit overwhelming and prone to all sorts of problems, starting from resin cockpit and nose wheel well, it just seemed impossible to fit both items into the kit. Not accepting failure, I started sanding resin parts and dry fitting them....at the end, cockpit was rid of it's floor which was not a big issue as it got covered up with ejection seats later and nose wheel well was wafer thin, also I had to shave a lot of plastic in surrounding areas of the kit. With the biggest issue out of the way, I fitted in resin intakes which gave no resistance at all, auxiliary intakes and main wheel wells were a breeze and soon I closed the fuselage and the kit was ready to be painted...

Painting and Markings

The model was painted with paint decanted from Tamiya AS-16 spray can, thinned and shot through my airbrush and good old Tamiya acrylic XF-2 Flat White. Bare metal areas were painted with various shades of Alclad Lacquers. Decals are from Furball USMC Phantom sheet and represent VMFA-314 machine that served in Vietnam.

Finishing Touches

Thumbnail panels:

After painting and recalling, the model was weathered using artist oils and pastel chalk, ordnance was painted and attached, and I nicked a couple of two shot Zuni launchers from Hasegawa 1/48 F-8E Crusader kit to make it a typical Marine close air support Vietnam War loadout.

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