Fixing to build Hasegawa's 1/48 F-4J Phantom II

I've built up the older versions and the newer releases of Hasegawa's F-4J. The only glitch I ran into was the molded in formation lights of the newer release. I was modeling an older version of the -J and had to remove them. The end result came out all right, but while cutting, sanding, filling, buffing, and polishing, not to mention re-scribing, I cursed Hasegawa for not just including P/E formation lights instead of molding the lights into the fuselage.

I am just putting the finishing touches to Showtime 100 at the moment and I must
say that had my paint/varnish not had a big falling out this kit would have been a dream.
I got myself another J last weekend and Here comes the bunny !.
That is , once I finish the 1/32nd VMFA531 'N' ----oh God, why did I buy that detail set?

I have the later release of the kit with the engraved panel lines. The cockpit seem to be correct on this kit. Can't wait to start on it!

Hi jroden144

Thats a good kit you've got there. It's pretty straight forward and you should'nt have too many problems. The only thing I've found with the kit is a couple of minor fit problems which can be easily rectified.

After you have finished the cockpit and want to put the two fuslage halves together you may be left with a seam line on top of the aircraft, which you can easily sand off. The other problem here is that you may need a little filler to fill a gap where the tail halves meet underneath the rudder. Again, easy to fix with filler/sanding.

The only other thing I can think off is the undercarridge and their doors. I always find that bit a little tricky(I'm on my 2nd Hasagawa F-4 at the moment)
Theres nothing wrong with the parts, you just need to take your time putting them in the correct position.

Hope you enjoy your Phantom, good luck!

Darren.

Hasagawa released the kit twice. The first release did not have the correct rear cockpit. Their second release corrected the problem. Which release do you have?

I built both kits. I had no problem with the first as I scratchbuilt the rear cockpit. The second release I did have problems with the cockpit tub fitting into the fuselage halves. I had to file away some of the tub to get it to fit. The only other problem with the kit is the horizontal stabs have very small pins for mounting into the tail section. I would suggest you cut them off, drill out the stab and replace with longer and stronger pins.