Greetings Andrew! Nice review of a nice kit. I like Academy pretty much, but as a F-4 Phantom fan, I should say it is not my favorite one.) The kit is great, I built several of them. The plastic is good for scribing and sanding, the seam lines are not that horrifying, the mold is good. But Navy version is made out of plastic of three colors - white, grey and black and it seems to me that it differently reacts to glue... May be I am imagining things but none the less. The other point that really drives me crazy and that I can't understand is that one has to instal the main landing gear at almost the very beginning of the assembly process! From then on one has to be extremely careful since that landing gear breaks off easily. I break it off permanently.))) It is not that good for priming the model and painting. As for the rest - the kit is outstanding! Not an easy one but really worth building. I love, really love the quality of decals, they blend so damn neatly! Thanks for the review! My warmest regards to you!
It’s the Revell kit repackaged by academy. Nice decals, but not at all worth the price. Just buy the Revell kit and a decal set from anybody for half the price.
Hi Andrew, that was a excellent review, if I had the room I would like to sneak one home, that box did seem to be a little iver sized for what was inside, thanks again.
reboxed revell plastic nothing wrong with that but the price is a little much. seems that they should have thrown in some resin pieces like they have in other kits to spice it up. great review and how do i get a beard as luxurious as yours?
Thanks for the unboxing. It's odd that Academy would go this route vs. releasing their own F-4E in 1/48. Also, it's disappointing that with as much room as they've left in the box, they'd not "plus up" the existing molding by adding their own moldings for intake trunks and a few other goodies to make it worth the price. The Revell kit is a good foundation, though, and GT Resins make lots of resin bits to accurately backdate it to a Vietnam bird.
been looking for (assembled) 1/32 & 1/48 scale miniature models of F-4E Phantom II (Block 50+) multi role interdictor strike fighter with functional features like opening cockpit canopy, retractable front & rear wheeled landing gear, movable flaps & rudder, under wing weapons hard points etc . . . please note I'm interested in the internal gun variant of the F-4E Phantom II (Block 50+) multi role interdictor strike fighter that was built into the starboard side forward lower fuselage section, as the airframe upgraded over time . . . please advise . . .
The only thing with value here is the decals. I just cant understand why academy used the old revell mold? It has nose shape issue and most parts are rudimentary.
This is an overpriced revell kit from the 90s. Which was a nice kit, but not worth what a tamiya one is. Make your own molds academy. Remember the passion of the 32nd f/a-18! Get that back!
This is nothing more than the reboxing of Revell's molds from 1995. Revell produced a series of F-4J & F-4E in 1/32 in the early 1970's and they had very poor detail and very poor fit. Then in 1995 Revell released a new version of their 1/32 Phantom, basically a new kit, all new tooling all new molds. Then in 2014-2015 timeframe Revell issued the 1995 molds again this time with added parts to make Wild Weasel. And NOW... Academy appears to have gotten ahold of Revell's 1995 molds and reboxed it, and Jacked the price up 5 times. SMDH. All one has to do is get the 1995 Revell kit or the 2015 Revell kit and have the SAME as this kit for a fraction of the cost.
This is a reboxing & redecaling of the old crappy Revell kit that is impossible to build an accurate phantom from . It would take a long time to recount the long list of errors in this abortion of a kit , so in summary let me just say , RUN ! , it's a pig in a poke , Run ! or you'll be sorry , Run !!
NICE KIT BUT NO SINGLE PROPER ASSEMBLY RECORD YET SO FAR (BY PROMINENT MODELLERS OUT THERE.) I GUESS FOLKS STLL WHREELIN & GRUELLIN ON TAMIYA'S CLASSICS!!!!!!!!
Nice!.. I know Revell had a 1/32 F-4E Phantom in the 70's 👍✈️
Greetings Andrew! Nice review of a nice kit. I like Academy pretty much, but as a F-4 Phantom fan, I should say it is not my favorite one.)
The kit is great, I built several of them. The plastic is good for scribing and sanding, the seam lines are not that horrifying, the mold is good. But Navy version is made out of plastic of three colors - white, grey and black and it seems to me that it differently reacts to glue... May be I am imagining things but none the less. The other point that really drives me crazy and that I can't understand is that one has to instal the main landing gear at almost the very beginning of the assembly process! From then on one has to be extremely careful since that landing gear breaks off easily. I break it off permanently.))) It is not that good for priming the model and painting. As for the rest - the kit is outstanding! Not an easy one but really worth building. I love, really love the quality of decals, they blend so damn neatly!
Thanks for the review! My warmest regards to you!
Thank you for the review. I built this kit from Revell/Monogram in 1999. It's nice for $45, but not for the $140 USD I saw at the hobby shop today.
It’s the Revell kit repackaged by academy. Nice decals, but not at all worth the price. Just buy the Revell kit and a decal set from anybody for half the price.
I just got this one from Korea. Thing is a beauty.
Academy has very nice F-4B, F-4C/D and an F-4J in 1/48. Why didn't they do the F-4E in 1/48?
Ugh. Sorry. Very nice review.
Hi Andrew, that was a excellent review, if I had the room I would like to sneak one home, that box did seem to be a little iver sized for what was inside, thanks again.
reboxed revell plastic nothing wrong with that but the price is a little much. seems that they should have thrown in some resin pieces like they have in other kits to spice it up. great review and how do i get a beard as luxurious as yours?
Through sheer neglect and a covid lock down!!
Glad you liked the review
I think this is made with the same tooling as a Revell model of the same plane used to be... The nose cone (radom) is the same irregular shape :)
Thanks for the unboxing. It's odd that Academy would go this route vs. releasing their own F-4E in 1/48. Also, it's disappointing that with as much room as they've left in the box, they'd not "plus up" the existing molding by adding their own moldings for intake trunks and a few other goodies to make it worth the price. The Revell kit is a good foundation, though, and GT Resins make lots of resin bits to accurately backdate it to a Vietnam bird.
been looking for (assembled) 1/32 & 1/48 scale miniature models of F-4E Phantom II (Block 50+) multi role interdictor strike fighter with functional features like opening cockpit canopy, retractable front & rear wheeled landing gear, movable flaps & rudder, under wing weapons hard points etc . . . please note I'm interested in the internal gun variant of the F-4E Phantom II (Block 50+) multi role interdictor strike fighter that was built into the starboard side forward lower fuselage section, as the airframe upgraded over time . . . please advise . . .
Hey! with working features like those you have listed, diecast will be the best option for you.
Looks like a REVELL kit, it's disappointed when compared to their F-18 line :(
The only thing with value here is the decals. I just cant understand why academy used the old revell mold? It has nose shape issue and most parts are rudimentary.
This is an overpriced revell kit from the 90s. Which was a nice kit, but not worth what a tamiya one is. Make your own molds academy. Remember the passion of the 32nd f/a-18! Get that back!
"pee toe" 'pitot' nice review :)
This is nothing more than the reboxing of Revell's molds from 1995. Revell produced a series of F-4J & F-4E in 1/32 in the early 1970's and they had very poor detail and very poor fit. Then in 1995 Revell released a new version of their 1/32 Phantom, basically a new kit, all new tooling all new molds. Then in 2014-2015 timeframe Revell issued the 1995 molds again this time with added parts to make Wild Weasel. And NOW... Academy appears to have gotten ahold of Revell's 1995 molds and reboxed it, and Jacked the price up 5 times. SMDH. All one has to do is get the 1995 Revell kit or the 2015 Revell kit and have the SAME as this kit for a fraction of the cost.
No slatted stabilators once more…
This is a reboxing & redecaling of the old crappy Revell kit that is impossible to build an accurate phantom from . It would take a long time to recount the long list of errors in this abortion of a kit , so in summary let me just say , RUN ! , it's a pig in a poke , Run ! or you'll be sorry , Run !!
NICE KIT BUT NO SINGLE PROPER ASSEMBLY RECORD YET SO FAR (BY PROMINENT MODELLERS OUT THERE.) I GUESS FOLKS STLL WHREELIN & GRUELLIN ON TAMIYA'S CLASSICS!!!!!!!!
Glad I watched this. Very disappointed in Academy. No way I would pay that price for such a low quality kit. C'mon Academy.