AlbertD

I see this one has two props too. Nice.

An embarrassment of riches. Who ever thought we would see two of these come out within months of each other. I have the Roden kit but will have to get this one. I have a soft spot for the Stearman having been taken for an aerobic ride in one built in 1937.

Not easy but I found the PE rivet guide you linked to. It's coming from China to the US so it will probably take a couple of months but it will be a great tool. Thanks for your help. Your beautiful build has moved my Tamiya F-4J up to next in the queue to build.

Thank you. I will have to get one.

Can't wait to see it with some paint on it. Looks great. May I ask what you are using to add rivet detail? Are you doing them one at a time? The look perfect and very uniform.

The Eduard kit is expensive but a thing of beauty. Great detail, no aftermarket needed and a bunch of marking options with fantastic decals. Worth every penny in my opinion.

Thanks, I just put in an order. I picked up a bunch of the WWI colors too. Now if I could find 2 or 3 bottles of Light Gull Grey for my Tamiya F-4J. I have plenty of time anyway. I haven't even started the beast.

I've been trying to purchase the MRP SEA colors for the last few weeks but everyone seems to be out. I've tried to order directly but it looks like they don't ship the solvent based paints to the US. They must be having production and shipping problems due to the current situation. Since I discovered MRP lacquer paints I haven't bought anything else. They are the most forgiving paint I have ever used. They spray great.

Wow, the detail and workmanship is just amazing. Thanks for taking the time to post your build.

I've seen that one and it seems to go for big bucks. I just found the in detail & scale book on USN & USMC Phantoms and purchased it for pretty little money.

I have used the Lock On books and looked for that one but when it's available seems to cost a fortune. I think the cheapest I saw it for was $75. I don't mind spending money on books but that seems a bit steep. It looks like I have a lot to learn. For me that's as much fun as modeling though.

I never knew anything like this was available. It's an amazing resource and I'm looking forward to reading through it. Just quickly looking at a couple of pages I came across this: "The versatility in ordnance loads carried by the Red Devils Phantoms was instrumental in producing a large BDA as well as gaining a favorable· 1m .. pression by the Forward Air Controllers. Particularly noteworthy was the configuration consisting of four (4) MK 20 Rockeys II cannisters, four· (4) five-inch Zuni rockets with anti-personnel warheads, two (.2) MK 8.2 LOOP five hundred pound bombs with extended fuses, and two (.2) MK 8.2 LDGP standard five hundred pound bombs. This load was effective· against all targets; armor, personnel and reinforced structures. The Zunies fired from the LAU 33/A, two shot pod, were used as an effective flak suppression weapon, when attacking active gun sites because of the capability to fire them during the same delivery run as the bombs or Rockeys II cannisters. Rockeye has shown to be one of the, most effective , deadly, weapons carried. By nature of its design, it is ideal against all types of targets. Two specific missions flown during November will serve to illustrate the effectiveness of this ordnance configuration:" Thank you very much for the link. It will be used a lot.

I'm doing my Tamiya F-4J as a ground based USMC plane and want it set up for ground support. I'm doing VMFA-232 Red Devils 1971-72. I'm planning on 2 Zuni pods on each inboard pylon, an MER on centerline with some type of free fall weapons. Maybe Mk82s, Cluster Bombs or Napalm and fuel tanks on the outer pylons. Did they do the ground support mission without any defensive weapons incase they were jumped by Migs? Would they have flown in a group with planes set up for air to air? I'm waiting for a couple of books to come in the mail so I can do some reading but can you guys make any recommendations for good books? I ordered Spirit in the Sky and the Osprey book USMC F-4 Phantoms of the Vietnam War.

Thanks for posting your build. I'll be following this to the finish.

I’ve been doing research and buying aftermarket for this same kit. I’ve been buying books, looking at online images and videos. I plan to do mine as a land based USMC plane too. That seems to give us more options than a ship based plane. We can load em up pretty heavy where it wouldn’t work off a carrier. So far I’m thinking of putting 2 Zuni pods on each inboard pylon, MER’s on the outboard pylons loaded up with probably Mk 82’s and a centerline fuel tank. I have seen pictures of this configuration with or without 2 sidewinders on each inboard pylon and 2 sparrow missiles on the aft positions. its surprisingly hard to find good pictures of loadouts. There always seems to be something in the way of a clear view of everything.