McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom 1/72 Fujimi

I have nostalgic memories of F-4F from aviation days I visited as a youngster, with a lot of jet planes including awesome, weathered Luftwaffe Phantoms. In the past, I bought a Fujimi kit offering a big decals sheet with Luftwaffe markings. Unfortunately, my decal sheet was out of register. In addition, there are superfine panel lines on the kit that need rescribing.

Well, the unusable Fujimi decals were replaced by very nice HaHen aftermarket decal sheets. They cover all the used camouflage patterns of Luftwaffe Phantoms fleet, including main stencils and formation lights. As the first build, I selected a plane with camouflage called “NORM 74” belonging to JaboG-35 located in Pferdsfeld base around the year 1980.

The decals are excellently drawn, but they are printed by some alternative method (i.e not screen-printed). As a result, for example, the saturation of the yellow colour is poor. Also, the carrying film is quite thick, stiff and covers the entire sheet. It caused a visible edge on some decal pieces. The decal solution is effective, but due to the superfine panel lines, I had to press the decals into them anyway. Well, I would say the test of HaHen decals was successful and I will be glad to use them for other Phantoms.

The build of the kit itself turned out as per my concerns. The rescribing could have been better. The main parts have a poor fit, especially the nozzles are too small. Also, the detail level of the kit is low. Despite all of the above, I am happy to have the Phantom finished.
It was in the time of the Covid-19 situation one had to enjoy little things. Definitely, for another Phantom build, I will choose the superior Revell kit.

One thought on “McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom 1/72 Fujimi

  • 22. 9. 2021 at 1:49
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    With all the recent releases of F-4F Phantoms, Mr. Koktavy displays an excellent example of the venerable Fujimi model.. Thank You !

    Reply

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