Tamiya F-4J and F-4J 'Marines' What's the difference??

[Jasta 14 addict]

Hi Guy's,

 

Like the tittle say's, what are there main differences between these two kit's??

 

As i'm planning to buy one, i looked at my local hobbyshop, and i've noticed a price difference between the two kit's. 115€ for the F-4J and 130€ for the Marines version.

 

I know they are both splendid kit's, and money is not an issue, but i wanna know why and what is making this price increase.

 

At the moment i'm making a list of the needed aftermarket goodie's, are thing's i need to know before i buy???

 

Thank's Guy's

 

Greetz

 

Danny

Edited October 2, 2016 by DannyVM

[BloorwestSiR]

The Marine version includes a full load of bombs as well as missiles while the Navy version only has missiles.

 

So the Marine one has more versatility in terms of stores vs the Navy one.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Carl

[Tony T]

And the decals, which are best replaced for either edition.

 

Tony

 

 

edited

Edited October 2, 2016 by Tony T

[Jasta 14 addict]

The Marine version includes a full load of bombs as well as missiles while the Navy version only has missiles.

So the Marine one has more versatility in terms of stores vs the Navy one.

Hope that helps.

Carl

Thank's Carl, so can i conclude that the Marine one is more suitable for fighter bombing tasks, and the Navy one, for interceptor task, or am i wrong on this??

 

And the decals, which are best replaced for either edition.

Tony

edited

Thank's Tony, do you mean in a mather of quality, or wrong markings??

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[Zero77]

I used the kit decals for my VMF-333 F-4J and i think they were OK. I cant really tell about accuracy, and like every other Tamiya decals they are a bit thick compared to top quality AM decals, but they are very correct and easy to use.

 

Regarding the "full load" of bombs, that's not really true. For the loadout i needed for mine (18X Mk.82) i had to cast copies to have enough bombs.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures.... One more RFI thread for which i should take new pictures.

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=46771

Edited October 2, 2016 by Zero77

[Jasta 14 addict]

First, Nicolas, very nice F-4J my friend, really nice work. Also the wip on the French forum, really nice. So if i could follow correctly on the French forum......F-4J with Aires cockpit and Avionix ejection seats....?? And F-4E with Avionix cockpit and Aires ejection seat's.....??

 

What where you're findings regarding both resin cockpit's, talking about quality, accuracy and fit??

 

I wanted to do a QF-4 drone, but i can't find decals. I have them in 1/48 scale, together with lot's of aftermarket for my F-4S project, but due to my conversion to 1/32 scale it's for sale. So i'm searching for bigger scale decals.

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[Dave Williams]

The Marines kit is the J kit with the sprues containing the two MERs, two TERs, and 12 Mk. 82 bombs (6 with fuze extenders, 6 without) added in from the original C/D kit. You also get new outboard pylons that you can attach the MERs to. The rest of the plastic is the same.

[Zero77]

First, Nicolas, very nice F-4J my friend, really nice work. Also the wip on the French forum, really nice. So if i could follow correctly on the French forum......F-4J with Aires cockpit and Avionix ejection seats....?? And F-4E with Avionix cockpit and Aires ejection seat's.....??

 

What where you're findings regarding both resin cockpit's, talking about quality, accuracy and fit??

 

I wanted to do a QF-4 drone, but i can't find decals. I have them in 1/48 scale, together with lot's of aftermarket for my F-4S project, but due to my conversion to 1/32 scale it's for sale. So i'm searching for bigger scale decals.

 

Greetz

 

Danny

 

Thanks Dany.

I dont remember exactly, but the fit was pretty good for both cockpit. I remember the Aires cockpit hole for the kit screw did not fall in front of the kit hole (as if the resin cockpit was too long or too short), so i had to correct that, but nothing very serious. The AVionix front and rear cockpits are separate, which is not a very good point in my opinion as it asks for more trimming work for it so set perfectly, but i dont remember it to be very difficult. I think they do so to control any dimensional issues regarding shrinkage or something that could happen with a very long piece like a complete 2 seat cockpit.  

The details are nice (especially for the Aires set) and of course are a great addition to the kits.

Regarding accuracy, i dont know. I think they are accurate, but there were several different layout versions as if it were an early or late F-4, so it may not match what you exactly need.

 

For the seats, yes it's strange but the J cockpit supplied USAF type seats and the E cockpit supplied Navy seats (main difference being the location of the O2 bottle and gauge), at least that's what i understood watching pictures in several books about F-4.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Zero77

[thierry laurent]

Note as well that the Navy kit has a Marines scheme option whereas the Marines kit has a Navy scheme option!

[Jasta 14 addict]

Thanks Dany.

I dont remember exactly, but the fit was pretty good for both cockpit. I remember the Aires cockpit hole for the kit screw did not fall in front of the kit hole (as if the resin cockpit was too long or too short), so i had to correct that, but nothing very serious. The AVionix front and rear cockpits are separate, which is not a very good point in my opinion as it asks for more trimming work for it so set perfectly, but i dont remember it to be very difficult. I think they do so to control any dimensional issues regarding shrinkage or something that could happen with a very long piece like a complete 2 seat cockpit.  

The details are nice (especially for the Aires set) and of course are a great addition to the kits.

Regarding accuracy, i dont know. I think they are accurate, but there were several different layout versions as if it were an early or late F-4, so it may not match what you exactly need.

 

For the seats, yes it's strange but the J cockpit supplied USAF type seats and the E cockpit supplied Navy seats (main difference being the location of the O2 bottle and gauge), at least that's what i understood watching pictures in several books about F-4.

Thank's Nicolas for you're feedback. Ok that' s something to keep in mind.

 

Note as well that the Navy kit has a Marines scheme option whereas the Marines kit has a Navy scheme option!

Thank's Thierry,

 

So both kit's can be equiped with bomb's if neccesary.

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[Tony T]

The Navy boxing has an option for a Marine F-4J from VMFA-451 in the BiCentennial USS Forrestal markings the unit wore for carrier qualifications, but the actual deployment was scrubbed.

 

Kit

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/tam/kit_tam_60306.shtml

 

The kit decals aren't at all bad but Zotz have done some spectacular stuff recently.

 

Tony

[ziggyfoos]

So both kit's can be equiped with bomb's if neccesary.

 

Out of the box, no. Bombs,MERs/TERs, only provided in the Marines boxing. The non-Marines titled boxing can only be built OOB with the wing tanks integrated with the outboard pylon, the Marines boxing provides the seperate pylons so ordnance can be mounted.

 

The instructions, including sprue layout,for both are available in pdf at www.tamiyausa.com - search for the two kits and click on "manual" in the red bar section.

Edited October 2, 2016 by ziggyfoos

[ziggyfoos]

The kit decals aren't at all bad but Zotz have done some spectacular stuff recently.

 

Plug... AOA has new J decals too.

[Jasta 14 addict]

Out of the box, no. Bombs,MERs/TERs, only provided in the Marines boxing. The non-Marines titled boxing can only be built OOB with the wing tanks integrated with the outboard pylon, the Marines boxing provides the seperate pylons so ordnance can be mounted.

The instructions, including sprue layout,for both are available in pdf at www.tamiyausa.com - search for the two kits and click on "manual" in the red bar section.

So maybe it's better to opt for a Marines boxing, i surely would go for aftermarket decals.

Thank's Ziggyfoos for the heads up.

 

Another question guy's :

 

I saw that there are seamless suckers available from GT resin. If i'm correct they only sell via ebay.

Are there guy's among you who allready used this stuff, and would you recommend them??

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[Zero77]

I saw that there are seamless suckers available from GT resin. If i'm correct they only sell via ebay.

Are there guy's among you who allready used this stuff, and would you recommend them??

 

Greetz

 

Danny

 

I do recommend GT resin stuff.

You can also order directly as you can send a PM to Gary here. But he said he's going to have a knee surgery in November so he wont be able to cast orders at this time. Some items in stock will be available on Ebay, but when they'll be gone, one will have to wait for Gary to fully recover before he can cast new items.

 

There are also several others AM seamless intakes for the F-4 : Rhino, Cutting Edge, Sierra Hotel.... I'm not able to say if one is better than the others !

Edited October 3, 2016 by Zero77