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Italeri 148th F-4J(UK)


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Next up for me was gonna be the Hase FGR.1..........until I got this off Ebay! I was expecting this to be a version of the Testors kit, so was pleasantly surprised to find it's the old, but nice Esci kit. Had to do it next.

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Looking forward to this one, having heard some good things about the Esci Spooks. Time to get cracking!

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Pit done. Basic, but not bad with a bit of dry brushing. The seats are, well, peculiar. But I always build OOB so in they go. Dont look to bad, I guess, and canopies will be closed on this one!!

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Main construction completed. Overall it went together very nicely indeed. Not much filler to be used here.

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That is, until you look underneath. What is it with spooks? Has any manufacturer managed to produce an F-4 that doesn't have a bloody huge gap here?!!!

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Oh well, out with the filler and wet'n'dry it is then!!

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Really pleased to see you tackling this Italeri 1/48th F-4J Phantom Alan, I think it is much under-estimated so hope you get a good result out of it. But please, not *too* good, otherwise the bids on eBay will go up lol ;)

I think Italeri must have made some improvements to the basic ESCI kit, the old F-4J I have just started has absolutely no detail in the cockpit and relies upon decals supplied with the kit. I agree it does fit well and the air intakes go together really well, way better than the Hasegawa and Revell offerings IMHO.

Looking forward to the next update

Michael

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Really pleased to see you tackling this Italeri 1/48th F-4J Phantom Alan, I think it is much under-estimated so hope you get a good result out of it. But please, not *too* good, otherwise the bids on eBay will go up lol ;)

I think Italeri must have made some improvements to the basic ESCI kit, the old F-4J I have just started has absolutely no detail in the cockpit and relies upon decals supplied with the kit. I agree it does fit well and the air intakes go together really well, way better than the Hasegawa and Revell offerings IMHO.

Looking forward to the next update

Michael

That cockpit isn't the best detailed I've seen, and I did actually consider the decals at one point. Biggest gripe is those seats. Look like a couple of wooden pallets with some bits 'n' bobs added

Oh, and dont fret about the Ebay price's. I think they're safe!!! :lol:

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Ready for a coat of paint now, I reckon. Filled, smoothed and main Undercart fitted.

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Fit of the canopy's is dissappointing, although probably more down to my clumsy hands than anything. If it weren't for those woeful seats I'd have changed plans and fitted them open.......maybe one day I'll go against my modelling instincts and buy aftermarket!!!

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Good grief Alan! You don't hang about do you? :)

In my experience the fit of the canopy pieces is the worst part of this kit by far, a shame as the rest is pretty good.

I would seriously consider purchasing a complete new cockpit for this kit in the future, not sure which one to go for though as like yourself I don't normally go for this sort of thing. Then display the model with canopies open.

Not too late to display her in some gaudy USN colour scheme ...

Michael

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Good grief Alan! You don't hang about do you? :)

In my experience the fit of the canopy pieces is the worst part of this kit by far, a shame as the rest is pretty good.

I would seriously consider purchasing a complete new cockpit for this kit in the future, not sure which one to go for though as like yourself I don't normally go for this sort of thing. Then display the model with canopies open.

Not too late to display her in some gaudy USN colour scheme ...

Michael

I have an original Esci issue of this kiy in the stash. That ones gonna be a USN birdie, and I will deffo bite the bullet and get a couple of resin seats for it! That'll shock a couple of my pals on here!!!! lol

Superb work there Minty :worthy: Youve nailed that gap nicely :yahoo:

Bexy

Cheers Bexy. Milliput, it is a wondrous thing!!!! :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a quick update as to where I am on this one. Main camouflage scheme is finished now. Tomorrow the black tail and metallic areas will be completed. I musy confess, I rather like thye spook in its light grey suit.

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Still very disappointed by the fit of the canopy, but otherwise a really enjoyable kit :)

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Well that's the decalling done. Went on very nicely. Now, the guide called out a miriad of stencilling, but they were the same ones as used on the USN options and looked wrong to my eyes. Checked a few pics, and it's hard to make out any stencils in any of them. So kept them down to bare minimum, just the ones that seemed right! Will seal them in with another coat of Klear, then it's a wash with the trusty Promodeller.

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Still hate that bloody canopy. Totally spoils the look of the old girl!! Oh well :shithappens:

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She is coming along very nicely indeed. I remember photographing RAF Phantoms at airshows in the 80's and early 90's and don't remember them being covered in stencils, at least not like their later USAF cousins were. That wash has really added something as well. So close to the end result now!

Michael

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Cheers for those comments, chaps. She's done now! Quite pleased with her, although that bloody canopy bugs me to pieces! And there are a few aerial blades that are not provided in the kit. Now, fashioning items from scratch is definately NOT my strong point. So discretion being the better part of valour, I decided to live with their ommision rather than risk the whole thing going FUBAR!!

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More pics in the completed section.

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She is coming along very nicely indeed. I remember photographing RAF Phantoms at airshows in the 80's and early 90's and don't remember them being covered in stencils, at least not like their later USAF cousins were. That wash has really added something as well. So close to the end result now!

Michael

They were still covered with the "no step and no push" markings on the wings, but as they were white in colour they were often quite difficult to see.

That is a nice finish there Alan. Blade aerials are simple in construction if you use 10 thou plasti-card.

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They were still covered with the "no step and no push" markings on the wings, but as they were white in colour they were often quite difficult to see.

That is a nice finish there Alan. Blade aerials are simple in construction if you use 10 thou plasti-card.

Cheers matey. The stencilling supplied in the kit were only for the US navy/marine schemes, so mostly black. So best left off!!

May well sort out those aerials at a future date.

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