The Phabulous Phantom was THE American combat plane of the 60's. Produced in prodigious quantities worldwide, it saw a great deal of action in the Mid East and Southeast Asia. While the Israeli's had a great deal of success with it against it's foes, in Vietnam, the US wasn't doing quite as well until after the development of specific training to allow it to take advantage of its brute power. 

The first USAF Phantoms were actually loaner Navy F-4Bs. The very similar F-4C first entered the USAF inventory with the 4453 CCTS at McDill AFB in mid 1963. From there it was introduced into other units and rather quickly replaced other types. It was also sent to Vietnam still wearing its gull grey and white paint scheme. This proved less than practical over the dense jungles of SE Asia and a more appropriate scheme of greens and tan were eventually used on all subsequent versions.

The F-4D was the next version and had a greater number of USAF specific equipment installed. This relegated most of the F-4Cs to the bomber role while the F-4Ds were tasked with air to air interception duties. In addition to the Sparrow and Sidewinder, the F-4D was capable of firing the Falcon missile. This missile proved to be a dismal failure and after a brief and frustrating trial period with the 8th TFW, it was basically eliminated from the inventory.

These early Phantoms went on to lengthy duty with the Guard and Reserves after they were in time supplanted by the F-4E in regular USAF service. The final F-4D was flown to the boneyard in 1991 following the F-4C by a few years. Interestingly enough, neither the F-4C or F-4D were modified to drones as were the F-4E/G version. Just about all the F-4Cs and most of the F-4Ds have been cut up for scrap. As of 3 January 2000, only 11 F-4Cs were in the AMARC inventory.

This kit was initially released in 1995 and it has taken me this long to finally be able to afford it. Plunking down major money for a model kit is not something one does everyday and it was with some trepidation that I did so, especially after reading the less than sterling reviews about the kit's fit. Well, I have built the Revell big scale Phantom and really wanted something with more detail. This kit definitely has that. There are all the bits and pieces to do a pretty accurate version of either the F-4C or F-4D. There are different chin sensors, tail caps, and interior bits for whichever version you should choose to build. While it is impossible for me to show you a scan of the complete kit, I have included a scan of the cockpit bits and pieces, showing the different parts for the F-4C and F-4D.

Also included are drop tanks for the wings, though no centerline tank is included. Amongst the other goodies are a full missile suite of AIM-7E Sparrows and AIM-9E Sidewinders. There is also an ALQ-87 jamming pod. In addition, there are TERS for the wing stations as well as bombs for those racks. Also included is a MER for the centerline in place of the drop tank. Not sure just how many aircraft were so equipped in Vietnam when the plane was assigned as a mud mover, so I'll have to do some searching the reference material for that.

This kit has several bits that are screwed together, including the metal landing gear. There are also metal wheels and rubber tires. The metal gear have plastic coverings on them for the detail. I have not had any weight problems with my Revell RF-4C, but maybe the Tamiya kit is a lot heavier and they thought the metal gear was needed.

Typical of Tamiya's thoroughness, there is a 20 page instruction booklet showing the 28 construction steps, a color chart, decal placement and various warnings. Downside is that all paint call outs are for Tamiya paints, making it difficult to use other paints unless you are familiar with the colors of the F-4. A nice touch is the full color painting of the ejection seat on the box side. This should be a great deal of help when it comes to seat painting.

All the decals are for 8 TFW aircraft in the standard SEA scheme of two greens, a tan and underside light grey, except where noted. 

The first aircraft is an F-4D 66-7661 in the standard SEA scheme from 435th FS, tail code FO. It has a single Mig Kill marking on the splitter plate and is shown built up on the instruction sheet cover.

Next is another F-4D, 66-0279 in SEA scheme but with a black undersides. This aircraft was attached to the 497th TFS and used for night interdiction. It carries the LORAN 'towel rack' antenna on the upper fuselage spine and is coded FP.

Finally is F-4C 64-0829 of the wing commander Robin Olds. This is in standard SEA scheme and carries two Mig kills on the splitter plate. It is coded FG. All are very nice schemes and since the decals are by Scalemaster (and in register), decaling should not be a problem. There are a healthy set of stencil markings included, though thankfully, not the hundreds that popped up on the Phantom in the mid 1970!

There are also a few aftermarket sheets for this aircraft, mostly by Cutting Edge and Eagle Strike. Oddly, there are tons of sheets for Navy Phantoms but darn few for the Air Force  versions in this scale. One can only hope that more appear.

It looks like a great kit and if you can afford it, then I would recommend buying one for your collection.    

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet!! If any of you manufacturers or shop owners want to send products for review and building, please contact me.