Revell 1/32 F-4G Review & Build- update 12/13 (pg.19)

[Stikpusher]

Now that I have made enough room on my workbench, I can finally kick off this review build.

First off, a little about the F-4G. The F-4G was the last of the Phantoms in service with the USAF and also the last aircraft type to be modified specifically for the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) role. Heavy losses to sophisticated air defenses early in the Vietnam War lead the Air Force to develop aircraft and tactics tasked with taking down those defenses and allowing the strike force to hit their targets with lower losses. It was a program of move and countermove that started with the F-100, later the F-105, and finally the F-4. The program was known as "Wild Weasel" due to the aircraft's task of ferreting out and killing enemy air defense radars and Surface to Air Missile (SAM) sites. Weasels were the first in and last out of the strike area. The F-4G would be the ultimate expression of the specificly modified and tasked SEAD aircraft used by the Air Force. Designed with all the hard learned lessons of Vietnam in mind, the F-4G would have to wait another 12+ years after entering service before being put to the test of combat. But not in the skies of Central Europe against the Warsaw Pact as originally envisioned. Instead its' baptism of fire would come over Iraq and Kuwait in January 1991 as a critical part of the air campaign to liberate Kuwait. The F-4G would provide sterling service there, and indeed would end its' career and fire the F-4's last war shots in the same part of the world helping to enforce UN mandated "no fly zones" over Northern and Southern Iraq flown by Idaho ANG pilots.

So where to begin? Well let's look at the box and what is inside...
Well the kit comes in a nice big sturdy box, the boxtop having a photo of one of the final active duty F-4Gs at Nellis AFB around 1996



opening the lid reveals multiple sprues bagged in five separate clear bags, with most of the sprues in light gray plastic and one in clear

















there is also a nice big instruction booklet



and a beautiful full color decal sheet



more to follow...

[Stikpusher]

upon opening the clear poly bags there are 11 sprues of light gray plastic parts and one (or subdivided into three) of clear parts.

lets have a better look at the sprues now. Most are older, dating back to the late 90s original release of the F-4E/F-4F kits, and those parts are still there in case the builder decides not to do the F-4G Wild Weasel version.





















there is also a sprue with the F-4G specific parts



and the clear sprue with both the original F-4 windscreen and the later F-15 style "frameless" windscreen fitted to later F-4Gs



lets have a look at some of the detail molded on- a nice mixture of raised and recessed where appropriate











Also included are weighted or un weighted wheels, two different types of centerline drop tanks, and an assortment of ordnance including AIM-120 AMRAAMs, AIM-9M Sidewinders, AIM-7 Sparrows, AGM-45 Shrikes, and an AGM-78 Standard ARM. Unfortunately, no AGM-88s are included, and this is too bad as with the kit decals included, those were the only type of Anti Radiation Missiles (ARMs) carried by the F-4G at that point in her career as depicted on the decals.

[BorgR3mc0]

I have this kit in a RoG F-4F boxing. It was a present by some friends. I know very little about the F-4 and 1/32 scale modeles so I am interesting in what you judgement is on this kit.

[KSaarni]

Interesting, very much following!



- Kari

[jelliott523]

If I am not mistaken, which is very possible, the F-4G's from here in Idaho were the first "G" models to receive the new F-15 style windscreen upgrade. I have this same kit in my stash and am waiting awhile to get her started, need to build some shelves for everything else first.

[Stikpusher]

Thanks for looking in and commenting so far guys. I hope that you like what follows over the next few weeks as I tackle this baby.

Borg, when you get around to yours, make sure that you have PLENTY of space on your workbench, or surrounding area. You're gonna need it!

Kari, I hope that you enjoy the show.

je, I don't know if the ID ANG guys were first to get the F-15 windscreen, but they certainly had them in the photos I have found when I was researching this build. And I am gonna be using those markings, as they were the last Americans to take the Phantom into harms way (there is a pun in there for a Weasel Phantom)

Jim, thanks for popping in. The lack of HARMs would not bug me so much, IF, Revell had given an early career marking option when the kit weapons were carried. Good thing I have some Trumpeter 1/32 US Aircraft Weapon sets that have HARMs in my stash. I wont include them in the review, but when I take this completed build to IPMS, it will be armed appropriately

I started some work last nite, and will get some photos up later on here after I get some paint on the initial sub assemblies. I am gonna try Jim's technique of thinning Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner to see how that works. Wish me luck...

[Stikpusher]

So last night after dinner, I began cutting sprue and gluing stuff together. Naturally Step 1 is the cockpit.

so I added the side consoles and rudder pedals into the cockpit tub



and then I built the ejection seats



The seats are multi piece affairs and not too bad for 1/32. Side and top detail on them is ok, but the belt and buckle detail is too soft in my taste. I have seen Revell do better seats in 1/48. One of my seats had a major sink mark on the front of the headrest, the other had it on the rear. I filled the front sinkmark with putty and sanded it smooth, but then I lost some of the belt detail. The seats also lack the center front secondary activation handle.

then a test fit of the seats in the tub on their rails





If I were not building this straight Out Of Box (OOB) for this review, I would use some resin replacement seats with nice crisp harness and buckle details.

Then today I began painting. The instruction sheet would have the builder use Gunship Gray (FS# 36118) for both the basic cockpit tub color and the seats as well. This is incorrect. US Aircraft cockpits since the 1950s have been Dark Gull Gray (FS# 36231), and the Martin Baker Mk.7 Ejection Seats used on the F-4G are Black. A quick bunch of image searches confirms this.
So I used Tamiya Dark Sea Gray (a match for 36231 according to the IPMS Stockholm site color chart) for the tub, sticks, IPs, and sidewalls, and Tamiya Semi Gloss Black for the seat frame.

















over the next few days I will begin detail painting and update when I can.

[BorgR3mc0]

Following

[LyleW]

Hope this turns out well. I'm sure you will do a great job. I (don't know why) bought one right after sending this to you. Permission to add some belts is granted.