Thank you all for all the kind words and encouragement. My goal is not necessarily to be able to build professional quality builds, but one day, maybe, I'd like to enter a competition or two and see how I do.
As to the kit, I thought it was pretty good. There were some fiddly bits that continuously broke off, for instance the actuators on the afterburner petals. And I couldn't stop breaking the seeker heads off the GBU-10s. The decals left a lot to be desired as none of them really wanted to lay down, although that is probably the result of my inability to lay down a smooth gloss coat. The stripe at the top of the vertical stabilizer I ended up painting on as those decals would not conform no matter how much micro sol, micro set, and solvaset I used. The conformal tanks weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. The intake trunks were a bear, I painted those by pouring thick house paint down them a couple times, you can still see the seams, though. Speaking of seams, I'm still trying to find a filler that I feel comfortable with, I've tried squadron, PPP and vallejo, I'm probably just not doing it right. Also, I couldn't help but get a step between the front of the fuselage with the cockpit and the rest of the fuselage.
All in all, I liked the kit, I do intend on circling back to it and doing it again. But I'd get aftermarket decals, and I'd probably get a weapons kit so I could hit every hardpoint with Mk-82s, CBU-87s, or something like that.
I'm considering doing a WIP thread on the Academy F-4 I'm doing so I can glean the exceptional knowledge and wisdom of you guys and learn tips and tricks to do things better as I do them. The bottom line is that I just wanna get better.