The 1/48th Monogram F-4C Phantom II kit was typical of Monogram products back in the 1970s and 80s, with impressive detail (for the time, especially in the cockpit) with finely raised panel lines, produced at affordable prices. The fit was sometimes less than stellar, however many of us in North America began this hobby building these kits, and continue to do so today, despite their age.
Notable Kit Features:
Nicely molded (and mostly correct) cockpit
Detailed ejection seats (partly molded into the pit)
Good overall shape and dimensions
Finely done raised panel lines
Nicely done landing gear
Multi-piece glass canopy can be positioned open or closed
Separate ailerons and speed brakes which can be positioned
Air-Air armament (AIM-7 and AIM-9) come with the kit as well as ECM pods, "Towel Rack" LoRan antenna, camera pod & Vulcan gun-pod
Build Inspiration:
I originally built this aircraft to depict USAF F-4C (64-0776) which was a "MiG Killer" aircraft of the Vietnam war. Finished in post-war Air Defense gray livery, this Phantom still carried its red and yellow stars representing Lt. Col. Robert Titus and 1st Lt. Milan Zimer three victories gained in May 1967. Decades later some of the decals began to flake off and the lacquer clear coat yellowed, enough to convince me to try a repaint of this model aircraft. I ended up selecting another Titus and Zimer crewed aircraft, this time their assigned F-4C from the 366th TFW, 389th TFS, known as ‘The Gunfighters’. None of their MiG Kills were made in this airframe, however it carried their names on the canopy rails as well as the three MiG kill stars on the nose, just below the forward windscreen. Interestingly Titus and Zimer achieved their victories over their adversary MiG-21 aircraft, one with a AIM-7 Sparrow, one with a AIM-9 Sidewinder and one with a SUU-16A gun pod (which was carried on the center-line station).
Heads-Up Report:
Ejection seats are partly molded into the pit (which still works for me)
Fit of the engine intakes will require some filler & sanding
Underside wing fit with aircraft nose requires careful fitting and possibly some filler work to join smoothly
Raised panel lines and detail make sanding seams problematic as detail is removed in the process (or you could completely sand off the panel lines as I did)
Speed brake actuators are molded into the well
Horizontal stabilizer fit will require trimming as they sit too far off the fuselage
Outboard wing tanks are molded onto pylons
Glass fit is OK but not great (can be positioned open or closed)
Sink marks are often present in the Sparrows that come with the kit
Kit Additions / Modifications:
Sanded off the raised panel lines
Wrapped yellow thread around the black painted ejection handles to get the fine spiral stripes done
Trimmed horizontal stabilizers tab to fit close to the fuselage
Cut ends from exhausts for more depth
Used Furball Aero-Design decals 48-029 (Highly recommended)
Finishing - Re-Finishing:
In order to refinish this old original oil and lacquer painted model aircraft, the surface would have to be sanded down sufficiently to allow the new water-based paint finish to adhere. At some point I decided that my sanding was adequate enough to proceed. Although not all the paint nor decals had been sanded off, the surface was relatively smooth and dulled to take the new coat of paints. The refinish was to be in USAF TAC Jungle consisting of FS 30219 Tan / 34079 Dark Green / 34102 Medium Green over the underside FS 36622 Light Gray (although some of these early F-4C still wore the original white undersides). As it turned out the "adequate" sanding job wasn't... The problem actually resulted from not completely removing the original decals, as the masking tape ended up lifting the old decals and ruining the new finish in the process. (I should have know better, but a bit of laziness got the better of me - as is the resulting cause with many of my post build critiques.) After patching these spots up and adding a few more patches in areas to represent some camouflage weathering, I was basically back on track with the re-finish. Not my finest work, but a definite improvement over the old yellowing, flakey finish, this model got a remake/remodel to breathe new life into the collection.
The After-Build Report:
Certainly better F-4 kits are now available in this scale, however the 1/48th Monogram F-4C Phantom II still produce a good model, that looks the part, at a very reasonable cost. If you are looking for a bargain, this Monogram kit is good value for money. The best (and as expected - most expensive) F-4C/D kit in 1/48th is the Zoukei-Mura. I have built the Academy 1/48th F-4C Phantom II which is quite nice (less detail and some minor inaccuracies, however less expensive than the Z-M as well) The old raised panel line Hasegawa F-4C/D version can still be found too, so model builders now have a few choices to suit your desired detail and price point requirements in F-4C/D Phantoms (which was not always the case).
Completed build #52 - December 1992 using the 1/48th scale Monogram #5800 kit. - Refinished December 2024
Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers
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