Revell 1:32 F4-F Phantom
This was supposed to be a quick out of the box build. This quickly changed for a few reasons. The first thing was that the instrument panel was flat with no detail. The sides of the cockpit also had no detail. In the end I scratch built the instrument panel and bought a Verlinden resin aftermarket kit for the side panel detail. The resin aftermarket kit also came with more detailed ejection seats. Since I went this far I might as well go even further. I added LEDs to the instrument panels and to the running lights.
The kit came with flat instrument panels. There was no way that I could build a kit this way at this scale so I started to add some detail. It so happened that I had a couple of books with references for this model.
This is a quick build so I did not get a chance to photograph the rear instrument panel or the finished cockpit
I always did like the lines of this fighter. One of my all time favourites. The size is huge
Tried to get a closeup of the cockpit
Side profile
Nice lines. The upward sloping wing ends and the downward sloping rear just seems right.
Closeup of the back of the rear instrument panel. I had to scratch the instrument panels since the Verlinden aftermarket resin set was not correct for this version.
Close up of the rear. The black and yellow was painted on as it was fairly simple and I was worried that the decal would not be solid enough. This proved to be true as the German flag decal was transparent. Testors metalizers were used on the exhaust and wings.
Sweet view of the rear of this bird.
Another interesting view
Conclusion: The fit of the parts was actually very good. Overall a very good experience with the model. The only down side is the cockpit details. I also had a bitch of a time gluing the canopies open. The landing gear was also a bit weak. Now this plane in this scale is BIG. I had to custom make a box to transport the thing in. There are seams inside the intakes that are nasty looking. It would take a bit to get these clean. I don't know if there are aftermarket parts (Seamless Suckers) for this model plane of if the set for the Tamiya kit would fit this one. For a model that took just over a month to complete I am happy. I just wish I had a place to display it.