Zoukei-Mura 1/48 Phantom F-4D by Peter Marshall
I
t would seem that Zoukei-
Mura (ZM) are going to give
us new moulds of a lot of
different Phantoms! First we
had the -J and -S, now we have
the -C and -D. I can’t see them
stopping there, and while I
initially questioned the need for
another F-4 in 1/48 scale, building
their F-4J convinced me I was
wrong. I was delighted therefore
to be asked to review this kit, the
fourth of their Phantom family,
representing the -D version.
A little history: The F-4D was
an improved version of the F-4C
which, while being externally
almost identical to the F-4C, was
very different internally. The
first example flew on December
7, 1965 and deliveries began in
March of 1966, with a total of
793 built. While the F-4D had the
same basic airframe as the F-4C,the major difference was in the
avionics, and the most significant
change was the replacement of the
APQ-100 radar of the F-4C with
the smaller, lighter, and partly
solid-state AN/APQ-109A. Other
improvements enhanced the
ground attack aspect of the mission.THERE’S A LOT MORE OUT
THERE...BUT WHAT’S IN
THE BOX?
There are eleven sprues of mid-grey
plastic and one of clear parts, all
with excellent detail. There is also
a decal sheet by Cartograf, and
though most of the sheet is devoted
to stencils, there are markings
for two Vietnam-era aircraft: the
first (65-0593) is in the standard
Southeast Asia (SEA) colours of tan,
medium green, and dark green over
light grey, and the other (66-8812)PHANTOM
Revolutionary
KIT DETAILS
MANUFACTURER: ZOUKEI-MURA
PRODUCT NUMBER: SWS 1/48 NO.
SCALE: 1/
TYPE: INJECTION MOULDED
PANEL LINES: RECESSED
PARTS: LOTS (AND LOTS! I MAKE IT
ABOUT 390. NOT ALL USED AS ALTERNATE
WEAPONS ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 150 OF
THESE)6 • AUGUST 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
BY SACCO DE VRIES
PHANTOM F-4D
BY PETER MARSHALL
1/006-13-FEAT-Phantom-0818.indd 6 12/07/2018 11: