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Sam

THE

First Looks!

• F-4C Phantom II • Ju-88A-4
  
  
  • B-25 Mitchell • Gee Bee R-1
  
  
  
  

see page 42

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F-4C Phantom IIFirst look at Zoukei-Mura 1/48 F-4C Phantom II by Jezz Coleman

Taircraft of the latter half of the 20th century. The USAF’s he F-4 Phantom is one of the most easily recognisable and famous

first version was based on the airframe of the US Navy’s F-4B, but with modifications: the rear

cockpit was modified for the air force’s weapons system officer and a second set of controls was fitted. Other changes included

broader tyres and a set of more powerful brakes, as they would be land- as opposed to carrier-

based, and a completely different avionics suite was employed.was almost fully equipping all USAF The F-4C first flew in 1963 and

squadrons in Vietnam by 1965.this kit to follow-up their two fantastic naval releases (in Zoukei-Mura has now released

the form of the F-4J and F-4S), and it is a great addition to their portfolio of Phantoms.

THE KITThe kit parts comes on 11 sprues containing 370 light

grey parts, and one more sprue containing 14 clear parts. The instruction booklet is extremely detailed and comprehensive.

an F-4C from 57th FIS, NAS markings for only one aircraft, The large decal sheet has Keflavik, Iceland 1976. These are the Bicentennial markings and are quite colourful, with a large checkerboard design covering the entire vertical stabiliser. They are printed by Cartograph and are perfectly in register and very crisp.previous releases and indeed, The kit is largely based on the

many of those parts are still included. There are new details for the fuselage, including new shortened afterburner nozzles

to correctly depict the J79-GE-15 engines (although the original nozzles are still included). The rear cockpit is accurate for

the F-4C, but the two Martin-Baker ejection seats do not include any pilot restraining harnesses. These

belts really are needed, so on my previous F-4S build I had added a set of Quickboost resin replacements. I purchased the Zoukei-Mura

etch set for the cockpit, which is produced by Eduard, but it almost seems a shame to not use the

moulded detail in the cockpit, as it really is that good. A careful painter can make this cockpit look fantastic out of the box.

option of open or closed. If it is not being used on the finished The canopies come with the

model, the closed cockpit comes in really handy for masking the cockpit whilst painting.

integrated into the cockpit, so they need to be built at the same time, The front wheel well is

but it is really well thought out and fits perfectly. The main wheel wells are built into the wings and slot into a tab at the bottom of the fuselage

to complete the inside of each well. sublime and the detail is really well refined. My personal highlight is The rest of the airframe is

the depiction of the titanium plates at the rear of the afterburners.You get two complete J79

engines, but they are lacking in a lot of detail. This is a shame, as Zoukei Mura did such a great

job on the details for the Jumo engines included in the 2016 release of the1/48 Ho 229 kit.

AIM-7E Sparrow missiles and 4 AIM-9P Sidewinders. However, no bombs are included in The kit includes a set of

the kit, which is a shame.CONCLUSION

There are a few issues and shortcomings with the kit: the lack of harnesses is noticeable (although

there are plenty of etch or resin replacements available), a few details have been left out in the

wheel wells, and I had issues with the fit of the outboard parts of the wings, as there was a gap when

fitted in place. As well, some of the sprue attachment points aren’t in the greatest place, such as on the spine at the top of the fuselage. Very

careful trimming is required when removing these parts, especially as Zoukei Mura plastic is quite soft.

but I would personally prefer more than the one option in a kit of this price; however, plenty of The decal sheet is very nice,

aftermarket options are available.and easily the best F-4C in the scale. Overall, though, this kit is fantastic

Zoukei Mura have certainly done their homework on this release. This will be shortly followed by the

F-4D and hopefully, in my opinion, an F-4B or N. Although it is quite costly at approximately £70, don’t let this high price tag put you off

what really is a fantastic kit. thank Zoukei-Mura, and Carmine I would sincerely like to

Napolitano specifically, for my review sample; I will shortly be building it for either a future issue of SAMi or MAM.

52 • APRIL 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

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FIRST LOOK!

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Large

Scale

Hawks

K

ittyhawk have

supplied us with

some information

about a forthcoming project

that will take a number

of years to complete.

“Myself and a team of

specialists (Navy, Air Force, and

Army pilots and maintainers)

are working on doing the entire

family of Blackhawks, Seahawks,

and Pavehawks in 1/35th scale

and later maybe 1/48th scale. 

The Blackhawks at the moment

will be UH-60A/L and MH-60L,

eventually we will do the UH/MH-

60M aircraft.  The Seahawks are

even more exciting with the entire

line being covered from SH-60B,

SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R and SH-

60S.  This will provide a wonderful

canvas for some very colourful

aircraft.  The Pavehawk will be the

HH/MH-60G variant.  No release

date yet but proofing of the CAD

continues until we get it right.”

Like many US Navy fans, I

am really looking forward to the

Seahawk family as no manufacturer

to date has covered these types

with a state of the art kit in the

larger scale. And with a folding

main rotor and tail it will not take

up much space on the model shelf.

Multi Scale

Racer

M

ikro Mir have

announced that they

will be releasing

the DH-88 Comet in 1/72 scale

to compete with the existing

SBS kit and just announced

AZ Models kit. But even more

interesting is that they will

also be releasing a 1/48 scale

version and the CAD image

looks like this will be the most

detailed kit of the type to date.

Expect the inevitable red

Grosvenor House marking.

and considering that only 5

examples were completed,

the Comet carried a wide

range of paint finishes. And

I do hope that the black and

gold DH-88, Black Magic or

the British racing green and

gold G-ACSR feature on the

kit sheet or are released as

an aftermarket decal sheet.

A Really Bent Wing Bird

W

ith a name

like AFV

Club you

would not expect

this manufacturer to

release any aviation

kits but in fact, they

have a growing

range in all the

major scales.

One of their

latest kits is an

F4U Corsair in 1/144

scale and they have

now announced that

they will release a

new version of this

kit with the wings

folded, which I

think is a first in

this scale. Do not be put off by

the Japanese anime artwork

the plastic contents look first

class and I will certainly be

keeping an eye on the Hobbylink

Japan and Lucky Models

websites for this kit’s release.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • APRIL 2018 • 35

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