The old (1980) 1/48th ESCI F-4J Phantom II kits do have some nice qualities about them, nicely scribed surface details and a correct shape however the cockpit is a comparative disaster with poorly fitting panels, decals for instruments (which aren't even correct) and ejection seats that don't come close to the real thing.
Notable Kit Features:
Proportionately scaled exterior dimensions and shape
Nicely scribed surface details
Poorly fitting cockpit with fictitious decals for instruments
Horrible ejection seats (buy replacements or build your own)
Nice glass fit is OK but not good
Exhausts are only OK (if you have spare - use them)
Sidewinders are questionable
Build Inspiration:
Here is another scheme that has been a favourite of mine for quite some time. When I noticed that Cam Decals had a set of these "Warlord" decals available, I figured I best buy one while they lasted. I had an ERTL F-4J Phantom without any usable decals, in the stash, just waiting for an opportunity like this. U.S. Marine Squadron VMFA-451 was not to be outdone when they designed and painted their F-4Js up for the bicentennial celebration in 1976. Complete with their Warlords centerline tank, this is one standout Phantom II - Got to appreciate those colourful 50s-80s USN / USMC schemes, especially now that most of the aircraft are sporting all gray finishes.
Heads-Up Report:
You will need to do some work in the cockpit to have the panels meet the fuselage sides at least (or replace the whole pit) The rear cockpit is incorrect for a Navy Phantom (it should have sidewalls and not consoles)
The instrument panel decals are fictitious in layout ...and they're decals
The ejection seats really need to be replaced as they aren't really close enough to pass inspection
There were some seams that needed filler along the spine and nose
There is a gap in the wing to fuselage join which has to be filled (preferably with some .020 sheet styrene)
Wing-tanks are moulded attached to the pylons
There is no provision to display separate canopies open and glass on my kit was distorted (but decently thin)
The weapons provided are best disposed of
Kit Additions / Modifications:
Replaced ejection seats with Wolfpack Martin Bakers
Replaced Exhausts with "J" burners from Hasegawa RAF Phantom II kit
Third-party "Warlords" decals from CamDecals.com (P48-005)
Finishing:
The base scheme on this USN aircraft is Gull Gray (FS 36440) over White with white control surfaces. By this time I was painting with Model Master water based types. I also painted on the tail colour as well as the nose blue, trying to match the fuselage stripe shade. (This colour match seems a greater challenge with water based paints as I find you get more significant colour shifts with the application of clear coats.) Paint weathering was done at the time of painting the main colours but kept pretty light as this was a bicentennial bird and kept clean. Once all the paint had dried, I applied the (Pledge) gloss coat in preparation for the decals. The metals were done using a few custom mixed tones to get some variance. Once the decals were completed, I applied various panel line washes and wiped these down to get the desired additional weathering. A final matte coat was applied using Model Master clear. After the finish dried the finer detail parts were added.
The After-Build Report:
This kit is a toss-up, hard to recommend due to its deficiencies but with a replacement cockpit and exhaust (which some modelers seem to buy anyway) you can make a good replica with this base. Having said that there are better options out there nowadays. In a more expensive price bracket, but far better are the Zoukei Mura, Academy and Hasegawa F-4Js. Note: Italeri rereleased this ERTL/ESCI series with some rework to the molds (and included these VMFA-451 markings) in the mid-2000, improving but not fixing all of the deficiencies however I have not built his iteration, so cannot comment on it as yet.
Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building what you want, how you want - Cheers
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