I would like to join, if possible. Nothing fancy, the 1:72 Hasegawa RF-4E Phantom II "IDF", OOB. Catching up with the GB, my apologies if my responses are, well, dated!
kustommodeler1 – That is a sweet kit. I have it in my stash, and collecting AMs for an uber build in a few years, once I have a clue what I am doing ;) Look very much forward to your build!
Gamera – very sweet work on the pilots! Pit looks good. I am no expert, so cant tell the difference, if any!
Oortiz10 – Very nice start to both your build and WIP! And good lucky score on opening the box and garage sales ;) Good info from Phantom experts.. one of the main reasons I join GB is to learn about the machines. I only have two Phantoms in my stash (I know, a crime!); the old 48 scale pro-Modeller/Monogram and the 1:72 Has Im building for this GB. Lots of good info in your WIP pics; I know what you mean about “Flat black”. I have used NATO Black (also MM enamels) for subs, looks better than “plain ole” Flat Black. Sweet conversion/fixing.
Bushi – Those are great pics; the cradle of Aviation is in LI, within reasonable driving distance, but have no Phantoms. That lead me on a short online search for surviving Phantoms, found this wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_F-4_Phantom_IIs
and read the small (and very nice surprise!) that after reopening (they had a major renovation from 2006-08), The Intrepid Museum (lower west side of manhattan) has a Marine F4-N on loan from Pensacola!
http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/getdoc/a16458f1-2ddf-4e64-be20-b292c1e7af11/US-Marine-Corps-Aircraft.aspx
“This Phantom is an F-4B that was modified to an F-4N in 1971. It served with Marine squadron VMF-323 on combat standby during the failed Iranian hostage rescue mission of April 24, 1980. Our Phantom is painted as it appeared then. The aircraft is displayed on the flight deck, and is on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.”
Now, this is not the one I am building, but I plan a visit to the Intrepid once weather gets warmer; so if anyone wants a Walk Around, start telling me what angles/locations you want :)