To those of you who may have just awakened from a 50 year sleep and don't know about the finest jet ever produced by mankind, I'll give you a brief  background. The F-4 first flew in 1958 under the name of the F4H-1 (in the language of our elders). It then went to break every record that an aircraft of its class could; records that lasted for a very long time until they were finally bested by evil USAF wizards, flying magic aircraft (which also happened to be built by the same people that built the Phantom).

Though the Phantom was abducted by these wizards and many more were in the service of these beings than by the kindly aviators of the Navy, it was with the good folk of haze grey and underway that the F-4 was to wear its most flamboyant markings and to inspire many a good lad of the glen. Though banished from the skies of the land of USN, some of their brethren still serve other masters in lands across the seas.

Italeri's F-4 kit was initially released shortly after the second generation Hasegawa Phantoms in the late 1970s. This meant that they offer comparable detail, and since the Italeri series covered variants that were not provided by the Japanese firm, their kits were much sought. It also means that this is a raised detail kit. Later ESCI produced an equivalent series of F-4s with engraved detail, but oddly, it did not result in a massed switch-over to the ESCI kit by modelers. It seems that in the beginning, having engraved panel lines was nice, but not really a reason to start the mass dumping of older kits. I can tell you that it rarely made any real difference to me as I built quite a few of the Italeri kits in both Italeri boxing and when they were reboxed by Testors.

Anyway, the basic layout of a 1/72 F-4 is pretty standard with the fin in one fuselage half, the lower wing out to the hinge being a single piece with the outer portions being incorporated in the separate upper halves. Three drop tanks are provided as are four Sparrows and four Sidewinders. Also included are the proper 'pointy' inner wing pylons. All of the S upgrades are there in the form of the outer wing slats, the proper longer small wing fences (F-4Es with the slat upgrade had shorter fences), and the intake DECM antennas. a four piece canopy is provided, but there are no hinges on the parts that open which generally relegates the kit to closed canopies. There is raised detailing on the instrument panels and the cockpit is fairly well done with some detail on the inside of the fuselage, though it would benefit from some replacement seats. Another area where it would benefit is with replacement wheels as the kit ones are simplified and don't really look the part. Of course, you have a plethora of ejector pin marks to remove from gear struts, missiles, inner gear doors and pylons.

Italeri has always had good instructions and these are no different. A nice parts layout is provided as well as color information in Testors, FS 595 (where applicable) and generic names. The construction drawings are well done with hints and suggestions provided as needed. Markings are provided for two aircraft, and for that you need to look at the back of the box as that info is not included with the instructions. First is the box art aircraft from VF-301 in one of the variations of the Heater-Ferris experimental scheme that this unit used for several years. The other is a VMFA-232 F-4S in A tactical scheme of FS 36231 over FS 36375. The Italeri decals are nicely done and quite matte. They provide both a false canopy for the VF-301 aircraft and upper wing walk areas for the VMFA-232 aircraft.

OK, so this isn't the latest and greatest, and yes, you can still find it on shelves. You can also find it at swap meets at fraction of its 'new' cost. If you are more concerned about a nice build than spending $25 or more dollars on the Hasegawa kit, then you really should consider this one.

Kit courtesy of me and scrounging around at swap meets.

February 2005

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