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revell F-4G wild weasel


Pat McKee

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Hi guys just joined the forum, this might be a male menopausal thing but I'm coming back to this hobby with money and enthusiasm that I could never have when I was younger!

 

So please forgive me if the question sounds stupid, but if you don't know, you should always ask!

 

I have a brand new F4G that i got for under £30.00, now I think the Revell kit is a really good base. The money I saved not buying say a Tamiya kit kit I wanted to spend some of this on enhancing it. Ive already bought Eduard Brassin 632001 1/32 McDonnell F-4C/D/E/F/G Phantom seats and wanted to add a new resin cockpit and some of the other corrections such a new tail pipes.

 

One big I'm struggling with is getting a Revell resin cockpit, do you think I can use one designed for another kit? if so which one would you recommend.

 

Or am I wasting my money and the Revell kits OK?

 

The other thing I wanted to do was the nose and a radar enhancement to be honest im not that good at scratch  building other than doing pipes and boxes!

 

Folks your thought please.

 

ThanKS Pat McKee 

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Hi Pat :post1:  Gary produces the most accurate readily available cans, he also produces a cockpit set for the Revell F-4G, I'd suggest you send him a PM, ask his advise.

 

The Tamiya F-4E comes with a radar, which might fit, if you ask in the Traders Board - though you need to post a certain number of times before you have permission to - someone may well have one going spare.

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Welcome Pat!

 

The Revell kit has shape issues so I'd just build it and enjoy it.

 

You said £ so I'm guessing you have the European boxing - European One green & grey camo - in which case the stores are good but you might want a resin ALQ-131 ECM pod. 

 

If you have the two-tone grey Hill Gray II version you'll need to replace the included missiles with AGM-88 HARMs and an ALQ-184 ECM pod.

 

HTH

 

Tony

 

postscript:

 

From Sprue Brothers:
 
AN/ALQ-131 ECM pod used by Spangdahlem F-4Gs:
 
 
AN/ALQ-184 ECM pod used by George F-4Gs:
 
 
The postage is what hurts European buyers. I bought my own pods from an AMS distributor in Germany, which mitigated damages, but Harold would need to chime in with an update on where the pods might be found in the Pound/Eurozone.
 
HTH
 
Tony 
Edited by Tony T
to add links.
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Hi guys thanks for the welcome to the forum, yes its the green grey F4G from what I can see the hobby has moved on in leaps and bounds.

 

Thanks for the great advice I remember the day when you used to do this on your own and just enjoyed it, its great to have such a great font of knowledge to dip into and to admire the work of others.

 

Thanks again for the welcome a soon as I make a start i'll post some photos and get some feedback from you.

 

Again thanks for the welcome 

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The Revell F-4G nose is also whacked, though a well shaped replacement is available from GT Resin, available from Sprue Bros.

The fin top pod is also slightly undersized in diameter, though less noticeable and m ore amenable to a sanded sprue replacement.

 

To my eye the wheel bay bulges on the Revell upper wings are too sharp edged and need to be rounded off with some sanding.

The nose landing gear leg is also too skinny, and while I hesitate to recommend SAC white metal gear, it's an option if you don't feel up to scratching one from brass tube.

 

As pointed out above, the weapons load is of 1980s vintage, and AGM-88 HARMS could be seen on Euro 1 schemed Spangdahlem Phantoms.

Probably the simplest solution is to borrow from other kits. Mine has an AGM-88 from a Revell Tornado ECR and an AGM-65 from the Revell Hunter F-58 set aside,

but 2 or 4 HARMS are also possible from Academy kits.

Or none - two wing tanks and two travel pods were a common fixture at European airshow visits during its period of service.

Just for larks I put together the attached montage for another board to illustrate all the colour choices for the Weasel.

 

F-4G Wild Weasel V camouflage evolution 1976 - 1996

43563059911_e0a62b0cbe_o.jpg

Edited by Chek
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Welcome to the forums and back to the hobby.  I did the same thing years ago and went nuts buying kits I never could afford, or was available 45 years ago.  Now I'm looking at 200+ kits in the stash, so that guarantees I'll live to 125 years of age to build them all.  :D

Do yourself a favor and go get a set of Rhino Models intakes off eBay.   Revell canopies are known to be too flat in profile as well, building with open canopies helps hide that defect.  

 

Phantoms are one of my favorite subjects.  Already built 3 Tamiya J's and have probably 7-8 more Tamiya's in the stash.  (And 4-5 Revell's as well)

 

EDIT:. Rhino only has Tamiya intakes.  I think GT Resin has Revell intakes.  

Edited by ScottsGT
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The kit missiles don't need replacing for a European One green/grey subject.

AGM-78 Standard ARM was retired in 1986-87 as the rocket propellant was time expired. 

AGM-45 Shrike remained in service until 1991. 

 

European One was introduced in the summer of 1983 and superseded by Hill Gray II in 1987. However, because of a 54 month interval between PDM rework and complete resprays, it was possible to see Vietnam wrap-around as late as ~1987 and European One as late as ~1991.

 

The best available F-4G is undoubtedly a mix of the Tamiya F-4E and GT Resin G Weasel conversion set, but if you have the Revell then just enjoy it without going overboard. 

 

Tony 

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Welcome!

 

I personally wouldn’t get too caught up with the shape issue with the kit. It does look that part and builds up to a nice looking Phantom. Especially if the canopy is left open not closed. 

 

Enjoy the build. 

 

Ron

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