1/72 McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, Jolly Rogers – Carrier Aircraft GB

[dirkpitt289]

Username: Dirkpitt289
Name: Dirk
Category: Beginner
Scale:1/72
Manufacturer: Fujimi
Extras: Quick Boost Phantom Ejection Seats

The biggest, fastest, most powerful, most expensive. The list of superlatives for the F-4 Phantom goes on and on. The Phantom was - we would like to say is, but the past tense is apt - the standard against which every fighter of its era was judged. Everything else in the air had to contend with the almost impossible challenge of defeating the Phantom, and nothing ever did.

Here is my entry for this group build. A Fujimi F4B Phantom II of VF 84. The VF Fighting 84 lineage dates all the way back to WWII and is still around today.





The Kit



The kit is molded in gray with engraved panel lines and has 106 injection molded parts, five of which are clear plastic for the canopy. The instructions are well illustrated, and include supplemental drawings to show the proper positioning for open canopies, as well as the proper angle for the rear stabilizers and a paint guide for the missiles. Overall, this appears to be a very good kit.



Fujimi’s jet intakes are of good quality, with engraved detail on the ramps. Like the much older 1/72 Revell F-4E, the Fujimi version features intakes that curve around to meet the ramps on top and on the bottom, covering a full 180 degrees on a vertical line. This is a big plus, since some other manufacturers (namely Monogram) feature intakes that do not cover a full 180 degrees, meeting the bottom edge of the fuselage, and require a lot of putty, sanding and patience to hide an ugly seam that never appeared on the actual Phantom. With the Fujimi Phantom this is not a problem.

The kit’s exhaust nozzles seem to follow an industry standard of providing good external detail, and fairly good molding representing the turbofan at the end of the shaft.

The kit’s missiles are noteworthy mainly because they bear engraved panel lines, something I have rarely if ever seen on a kit.

The kit decals are crisp and all completely in register with no bleed-over or blurred lines. *There are two versions: *The first is for VF-84, the “’Jolly Rogers” that features two different versions of the skull and crossbones tail insignia, both of them white, but one with a black background that is reminiscent of the flag of 18th Century pirate ships. *The VF-84 version looks impressive and includes markings for the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Independence. *My only criticism is that the particular shade of yellow in the diagonal band across the fuselage does not ring true. *The second version of decals is for VF-213, the “Black Lions,” and does not appear to have a vessel designation – overall a much plainer looking aircraft bearing little more than aircraft and serial number designations.





The cockpit features decals for all instrument panels, and seats of fair detail that offer separate parts for the pull handles triggering the ejection sequence. The pull handles are not particularly detailed, but at least an effort is made to represent them. Many manufacturers do not bother with this part. If you care about this aspect of the build, you can do what I plan to do and use aftermarket parts.

[A4K]

NICE Dirk!

[Lucky13]

Nice one Dirk!!

[Airframes]

Was wondering when we'd see a Phantom! Any background on the aircraft/unit being modelled?

[Wayne Little]

Nice one Dirk!

[brucejscott]

Good one Dirk!

[rochie]

i was also hoping for a Phantom, wanted to do a RN one myself but the kit is so expensive !!!

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent!, and in my favorite F-4 markings.

[dirkpitt289]

Thanks guys, one of the reasons for me jumping in was because there was no Phantoms. Seemed almost sacrilegious to have a carrier GB without one.

For those that remember me you know I usually have some long winded history to go with my builds.

I'll see what I can do.

[dirkpitt289]

History

VF-17 was one of the first Navy fighter squadrons to receive the F-4Us, they wanted a squadron insignia which would live up to the Corsair name--hence the famous skull-and-crossbones were born. After the disestablishment of VF-17 in April of 1944, the VF-61 became the new Jolly Rogers. In 1959, VF-61 was disestablished and the then VF-84 Vagabonds requested to carry on the name and insignia of the Jolly Rogers. Approval came down in April 1960 and the skull-and-crossbones were soon adorning their F-8U Crusaders.

VF-84 traded their F-8Us for F-4Bs in 1964 and subsequently they had also flown the F-4J and F-4N variants of the venerable Phantom. The squadron began its transition to the F-14A in early 1976 and after the transition was complete, they embarked on their first major cruise with the new aircraft aboard USS Nitmitz [CVN-68] in December of 1977.

The Jolly Rogers have always sported some of the most recognizable squadron markings in the world: Sinister white skull-and-crossbones on all-black tails, with gold bands wrapped around the tip of the tail fins, and black bands with gold V's run down the sides of the forward fuselage (these were from the Vagabonds days).

The squadron's prized mascot is a set of skull and crossbones enclosed in a glass encasement. "Passing of the bones" from the outgoing skipper to the incoming skipper is a time-honored Jolly Rogers tradition. The bones are supposedly the remains of ENS Jack Ernie of VF-17. Ernie was killed during the Okinawa invasion in World War II, as his flaming aircraft spiralled towards earth, he made one last radio transmission asked "to be remembered with the skull-and-crossbones". Ernie's family later presented the squadron with the set of skull and crossbones and asked the squadron to fulfill Ernie's last wish. He may be lost fifty some years ago, but ENS Jack Ernie's spirit lived on until this day.

I'll see if I can find some more interesting info as the build progresses.

[ccheese]

Good choice, Dirk...

Charles

[meatloaf109]

Great plane, great markings!

[woody]

Nice one Dirk.

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice one Dirk, can't go wrong with a Phantom.

[parsifal]

I really dig the F-4. Hope the build goes well (sure that it will)