To my fellow forum members,
A quick overview of the F-4J Phantom from Academy. Besides looking really cool and retro, Ezra and I had a really good time working with this kit. I had no idea what so ever that this kit was in essence a Snap-Tite kit when I purchased it at Hobby Lobby. Ezra called the Phantom “Ba Bau Airplane”. It means ghost/goblin or something supernatural (The vertical tail has a decal of a “Cross & Bones” to signify the “Jolly Rogers” call sign) in Filipino.
Jeri is half Japanese and half Filipino hence the language exchange. All I saw was the cool looking Phantom on the box art and knowing it was an academy kit, that it would be a great model to build. I personally find that Academy does a great job with their products and you can count on them to provide decals that are made in Italy. Which is a big help as these decals are superior to other standard decals. They remind me of after market products. it‘s when I started to research the build in that I found out that it was something unique.
Upon opening the box and looking at some of the parts, I couldn’t tell that the nature of the kit was a Snap-Tite kit. It’s when you start to do the assembly process that you realize what kind of model you’re building. Yet with that knowledge and the directions from Academy, it directly says to utilize styrene cement of which I used “Tamiya Extra Thin Cement” for my medium.
The parts fit really tight and feel secure, pulling on the pieces shows this as it’s hard to do so. The cement is just an extra cautionary procedure. The kit and assembly process is nothing to take lightly. It’s not the old type Monogram Snap Tite’s of the ’70’s, remember those kits FSM Forum Members? Wow, those bring back fond memories. And the cool part was that you didn’t have to paint them. In a way, Academy does it‘s best to color their parts (Their‘s one spruce that’s colored black and of course the clear parts). The rest of the kit is in light gray to my eyes.
There were no seams to fill as the contact points were the fuselage and wings, that’s brilliant Academy! And everything and I mean everything was a delight to put together. Although, it is a kit that you don’t give to a novice. It does have some sections that must be delicately placed together. The rockets and bomb‘s are somewhat challenging and trying because of it‘s Snap-Tite nature, you had to snap things in place which were tedious. If it was a standard type glue only kit, it would have been a lot more simple. I know, that’s hard to say. Lol!
With the nature of the Phantom being a modern day aircraft, I know that the Phantom is forty year‘s plus and that the Phantom is not flown anymore by US military personal, remember I have been building WWII aircraft, hence my nomenclature of “Modern day aircraft”. Due to this, it has a billion tiny decals! Lol! Half, I could not see and the other half I would utilize a magna-visor also as they were so small in that the smallest extra sharp tweezers I purchased from a professional salon shop could not hold things together. Of course, without question in that I could not see them. Getting old sucks sometimes!
I made a few mistakes that were fixable and paintable. These were the bombs and rockets that are and can be a challenge if not planned right. Yes, and I Forum Members did not plan right! Lol! The canopy is one piece. Other than the decals, Ezra really enjoyed this build. I’d do it again if I had the chance. Next up in the near future, Ezra wants to build either an X-Wing Fighter or a Tie Fighter. In my humble opinion this is made for all modelers alike. I can highly and extremely recommend this kit. It definately doesn’t feel like a Snap-Tite kit and the decals are meticulous! Have fun and enjoy this hobby.
Your friend, Toshi & Ezra