has the same upper colours but
black undersides. There are two
markings and decal placement
sheets, in full-colour, and a 32
page A4 instruction booklet.
The instructions are what I now
expect from ZM: the multiple views
make it very clear what goes where,
and how, with useful comments
scattered along the way. The only
things I can take issue with at this
stage are the colour instructions
and the ordinance provided.
Ordnance-wise, while youget four different AIM-9 variants
(D/E/J/L) and two different AIM-7s
(E-2/late F or M), and the suggested
load out of AIM-7Es and AIM-9Es
seems appropriate, 66-8812 was
one of the Long Range Navigation
(LORAN)-equipped aircraft that
was used for precision night-time
navigation, so something more air-
to-ground would seem appropriate.
As for the painting, the colour
guides show the side profiles with
slightly differing camouflage
patterns but with the uppersurfaces identical, suggesting ZM
have some reference material to
support the side patterns. However,
I have seen a picture of the right
side of 66-8812 and it doesn’t match
the paint instructions, so I would
suggest that the instruction to
paint the whole of the wing tanks
black is incorrect too; the pictures
I found look like the top is still
green. Anyway, onto the build...
I addressed the cockpit first.
Stages 1 to 7 covers the build and
installation into the fuselage ofthe front and rear cockpits, with
detailed seats, side consoles and
instrument panels, separate
throttles, control columns, and
canopy levers. However, these are
the same seats as provided in the
F-4J kit and are, as such, slightly
inaccurate – and I do mean slightly.
The differences relate to the
survival pack and the oxygen
bottle. On US Navy (USN) seats the
bottle is in the seat pack with a
pressure gauge visible on the seat,
but the US Air Force (USAF) seatsWWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • AUGUST 2018 • 7
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