RF-4C Phantom II - NE ANG 155th TRW

Photo of the subject aircraft

This kit looks excellent, with finely molded recessed panel lines and lots of crisp detail. The cockpit is molded very nicely. Instrument panels are smooth, but the Esci decals look phenomenal. I think this one will look great out of box with no aftermarket parts or scratch building.

The cockpit has smooth panels but the Esci decals look excellent. The Martin Baker Mk.7 seats look usable, but will need some work since I want this one to be open cockpit.

Ejection pin holes were "fun" to remove!

Found some True Details photoetch parts to detail the ejection seats.

The inside cockpit walls needed help. The air intake shape was recessed, so I filled the part that will be visible with green putty. I added some True Details radio face photoetch parts so it isn't bare... but admittedly not true to life. I'm not going to drive myself crazy on a 1/72 cockpit!

This cockpit has flat panels but the Esci decals are really nice. I swapped the seats with the ones from my Fujimi kit because they are shaped better, and this will be an open canopy build. I used True Details photoetch and masking tape belts to improve the seats.

Installed a camera window and masked it with kapton tape (a yellow transparent tape typically used for electronics insulation).

Installed the wheel bay/cockpit piece. I learned to mask windows before assembly the hard way! Sometimes when you burnish that masking tape down, the clear glue gives way and your tiny window pops inside your model! Even if you can retrieve it, it's virtually impossible to reinstall.

Main assembly complete! I'm a little concerned with the seam, but should be workable. Seeing the form of the F-4 is making me happy, great memories of this jet!

Polished the canopy pieces and dipped them in Future floor wax.

Installed the clear parts in the nose section. Filled deep ejector pin marks in the gear doors. Need to wait overnight to mask and sand these parts.

Masked the interior of the intakes and then assembled. References say the camouflage color extends 32" into the intake.

On looking at this canopy under magnification, I realized only the Esci kit of the three Phantoms I am building had engraved canopy sills.

I don't always prime my models since I normally use enamels or lacquers that bite into the plastic. But since this kit was molded in a very dark green, I hit it with a coat of Mr. Surfaces 1000 if only to make pre-shading easier. It did reveal I have some seam work to do on the nose section and drop tanks.

Preshading done.

Sprayed on the first color of the wraparound SEA camo used on this aircraft.

Album info

The Nebraska ANG flew the RF-4C from 1971-1993. It went through four different paint schemes, but the one I recall most clearly was the iconic wrap-around Southeast Asia (SEA) camouflage pattern used from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s. I clearly remember looking up at the camouflage-painted underside of a RF-4C roaring directly over me at what could not have been more than 100 feet above ground, a memory that lasts to this day. I can even recall the smell of the black jet exhaust rolling off the ground! This awe-inspiring event made the F-4 my favorite aircraft. Capable of Mach 2+ speed, the RF-4C was known for creating "speed is life" sonic booms throughout the area. I was actually disappointed when supersonic flights were discontinued in the early 1980s, due to ranchers in my area complaining of cattle stampedes, broken windows and cracked plaster walls.

RF-4C Phantom II (Nebraska ANG)

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