Rando Autor
VF-161 might just be my favorite Phantom scheme, so the box art sold me on this one. I need to enjoy a state-of-the-art kit and I hear Fine Molds is excellent. I got some masks and missiles on order but otherwise just a nice simple OOB here.

Rando Autor
This kit is awesome. I'm already on to the main fuselage assembly and I'm not even rushing—it just falls together. Instructions say to paint (and decal?) after the fuselage and wings are attached

DerMattes
Watching 👍

Tommy Agne
Count me in! Watching👍!

Dave Flitton
Nice start, count me in.

Ekki
Following.

Patrick Hagelstein
Following! 👍🏼

Rando Autor
And then there were two! Building a Hasegawa 1/72 Phantom as a quick fun holiday ornament while I take my time on the Fine Molds paint job. Using DXM decals for a festive F-4J.

Thanks for following friends, was on a bit of a hiatus to work on some household projects.

Nicolas
Nice start, count me in.

Rando Autor
Back to work now that it's warmer at the bench, and had to fix some warts on the paint scheme. Got the black stripe painted on the nose…excited to get to the decals

Rando Autor
This kit is awesome, everything fits together so that any seam is covered/not visible somehow. The decals are nice too, the data stencils are clustered in groups of the same carrier film so it's a lot less work getting everything on. One flaw with the option I picked: the long black decal on the spine can't be applied until the metal tail part is attached, and the instructions tell you to paint/decal before that.

Andrew P.
Nice work. Following

Martin Weinpold
nice!

Rando Autor
Hi gents thanks for visiting. Doing crazy metal masking stuff on the Phantom tailpipes. Doesn't exactly look right, I might try to darken the lighter metal somehow

Sergej I
Looking great so far 👍! What's the other Phantom you are building in parallel?

Rando Autor
Thank you Sergej! That was actually a Hasegawa F-4 that I threw together as a Christmas tree ornament. I just decided to build it on a whim since I had this great sheet from DXM with a funny Christmas scheme. I actually really liked the Hasegawa kit, went together super well and the gear doors fit perfectly in a closed position. I'll definitely build one again
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Phantom - Merry Christmas! | Album by Rando (1:72)

Rando Autor
Finished the seats and test fit the canopies. Almost ready to put it all together

Dave
Can't wait to see your phantom put together, this looks great so far.

Erik Leijdens
Looking awesome Rando.

Rando Autor
Thanks friends! And she's done, I'll get some beauty shots after I clean my bench and set up my new light box. Decided I want to up my photography game…stay tuned

Nick Dragone
Very nice job. This kit reminds me of the old 1:48 Monogram F4 which in my opinion still holds up well after 40+ years.

Rando Autor
Thanks Nick, indeed I have a soft spot for old Monogram kits. The only 1:48 F-4 in my stash is the Tamiya, but I won't say no to the Monogram someday.

Nick Dragone
Rando, good luck with the light box. I have one from MicroMark that I bought years ago. It's big enough for a 1:48 scale WWII fighter and most 1:72 scale planes and 1:700 scale ships but nothing larger. I need to start using it again as it adds to posts on this website.

Mark K
Looks great!

Rando Autor
Thanks Mark! And thanks Nick, I actually got one that's 2 feet wide, since I wanted to make sure it fits a 1:48 F-101. Until now I've been taking photos with sheets of paper in my spraybooth and it feels kinda amateurish. Still have to set it up, but hoping to this weekend

Nicolas
Very nice result. 👍