Academy 1/72 F-4J tweaks

The first and most obvious tweak is fixing the lack of seat detail. Resin copies are the obvious fix, but with no option of open canopies, it seemed a waste to me. First pic, sorry for the out of focus, shows the difference masking tape seat belts make. I also wound up some wire for the pull handles that the kit misses. Without this tweak, it looks like the old Revell kit seats when complete. Forty dollar kit, and I can find better seats in a five buck Monogram kit from 30 years ago

In these pics, you'll notice that I highlighted some mounting pegs in red. I removed those. The splitter plates went on after painting, which made painting easier. The separate natural metal section is a great idea, but the build sequence negates it's advantages. Removing the pins from the lower fuselage in the second photo, and also from the exhaust area piece allow you to paint them separately and install at final assembly. It still fits well:

The last issue I'll share is the canopy fit. I almost always install the canopy last, but with my first build, you'll see the problem I had with it. You can also see the unmodified seats. Gluing and taking care of the seam helps immensely. I could have taken more time with it, but hopefully you can see an improvement :