Kit: Hasegawa 1/72 F-4EJ kai

Kit Number: SP 66

Price: $25.00 (est.)

Media: injected plastic

Decals : A super sheet. Not only can you do an EJ for every unit in the JSDAF, but this kit comes with decals for two special anniversary markings.

Accuracy: right on.

Overall: see review

Comments: I love F-4s. When this kit was on sale via Squadron for $9.99, I bought 4 of them. There are enough extra wing tips and tail tips and antennas and gun barrels and drag chute doors to do any F-4E version around, from Vietnam up to Japan's kai version. Since I have more specialty decals sheets than sense for the F-4, some of these are just waiting for the revetments of South East Asia.

On to the kit. Since there are so many options available for this kit, the kit is needlessly complicated to build. Extra bits means extra opportunities to screw it up. However, I should also mention that if you have built one Japanese kit of an F-4 (like Fujimi's) you have built them all. There are only so many ways pieces can go together. Since I have built more kits of the F-4 in 1/72 than any other aircraft (48 compared to 36 P-51s and 27 Bf-109s), I think my experience means something. This is probably the best fitting F-4 there is (aside from all the bits that must be added. I had no problems with either the intakes or the forward fuselage join. I did have some problems with the insertions (of which there are many), mostly because they were either too big and needed sanded down, or too small and were not flush with the rest of the fuselage. If ya want your detail ya gotta pay for it.

The finished kit looks especially nice with its fancy decals scheme and ten bezillion tiny little warning decals. If you like F-4E's and have the skills for all the little parts and decals, grab one of these kits. You'll the like the results.

 

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