F-4F Phantom

[Paul A H]

F-4F Phantom

1:100 Revell Easykit

Revell’s Easykit range of pre-painted, snap-together kits covers subjects as diverse as fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, cars and Star Wars vehicles. They are clearly aimed at the younger modeller (age 6 and up according to the box) and if as a result they draw young people into the hobby, that can only be a good thing for all of us. The aircraft in the range are fairly simple 1:100 scale kits that more often than not feature colourful schemes as well as easy construction.

This F-4F Phantom II is fairly typical of the range in that is made up of fewer than thirty parts, the majority of which are spread across two sprues of blue plastic. The mouldings are actually rather nice and feature clean, crisp detail and (fairly chunky) recesses panel lines. The pre-painted parts are actually pretty nicely finished too.

As you would expect, some compromises have been made in terms of detail and finesse; the undercarriage is a fairly basic and bears no relation to the real thing. It does, however, fold out of the way when the aircraft is being propelled across the living room by small hands, accompanied by plenty of enthusiastic jet noise (actually my hands aren’t that small...). The missiles and drop tanks also click into fairly chunky housings. It’s easy to see why Revell have done this, however, as it all helps to make the finished model more difficult to break during any particularly rough landings.

Conclusion

Whilst not aimed at the kind of modeller that frequents this site (well, most of us), this is nevertheless a fun little kit and I would encourage all of you with young children to sneak one or two of these into the stocking this Christmas. You never know, it might just spark a passion that will last a lifetime.

Review sample courtesy of

[Mike]

Great for introducing the littleuns to the hobby though Paul. I've given a few of these to a Nephew and he's now asking for simple kits with glue and paint.