Marine Air - the Tradition of 'Egg'cellence Continues....
My last (and slightly past-the deadline) entry in Gamera's great-fun 'Silly Egg' GB is Hasegawa's oft-seen 'egg' F-4E Phantom...'tweaked' slightly to F-4J standard, to represent an a/c of the USMC's VMFA-333 'Shamrocks' during the Vietnam War. I ditched the kit's sole included ordnance -- which I think are anti-ship missiles for the JASDF version -- and cobbled up a more-suitable load-out from spares. I added a 'mini-me' GIB from an old ballpoint pen clicker, and made PC-printed decals for the crew's squadron helmet insignia. Main decals are an old 1/144 sheet from Y-Kraft in Japan.
Just as an FYI, the markings are for the crew which notched the Shamrocks' only credited MiG kill during the war. In September 1972, Major Lee T. "Bear" Lasseter and his RIO Capt. John D. Cummings shot down one MiG-21 and damaged a second during a strike escort mission near Hanoi, with both their aircraft and an additional member of their flight suffering flak damage over the target. Headed home, both a/c were hit again...this time, by ground-launched SA-2 missiles. On fire and running out of fuel, both crews managed to eject over the Tonkin Gulf...and, happily, were recovered safely by helicopter and returned to the USS America to fly again.
