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John Healy
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1/48 Phantom FG.1 (Group Build)

August 13, 2016 · in Aviation · · 28 · 5.4K

This is the kit built OOB with the exception of the decals, which came from Aeromaster. The 48 FG.1s built for the Royal Navy are the most unique Phantoms of all. The RR Spey engines necessitated a redesign of the fuselage. The intakes are 25% larger then those on J-79 powered F-4s and are squarer in shape. The rear fuselage is a bit deeper, and the a/c required two aux. air intakes on each rear fuselage side. Unlike Spey powered RAF Phantoms, the 48 FG.1s were equipped with the tall, telescoping nose gear seen on my model. This increased the angle of attack to get these big birds off of the smaller British carriers. In the end, only 892 Sq. ever operated the a/c at sea due to budget cuts. This model represents one of the planes that was "zapped" overnight by USN squadron VF-171 on a visit to NAS Oceana in 1978. Unique look to say the least! I included a couple of pics with plane parked next to it's Sea Vixen stablemate. Now we need a Scimitar and a Gannet! I painted it with Mr. Color and Tamiya lacquers, along with Humbrol enamels. Thanks to Greg K. for getting the group build going and giving me an excuse to build this one!

Reader reactions:
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11 additional images. Click to enlarge.


28 responses

  1. Nice build John, I saw one of these fly over us at an airshow, back in the early 70`s, made a damn racket then.

  2. Awesome build sir. I was at Oceanbanana when they hosted part of the Ark Royals air wing in 1975, Phantoms and Buccaneers, The Brits were hard to keep up with on liberty.

  3. Beautifully finished, John...sure is nice - I like it a lot!

  4. I am quite impressed, truly.

  5. Lovely model John.

  6. Brit schemes are so wonderful

  7. Very nice build, very interesting markings, Yes, I like it. Well done !
    I also enjoyed your write up on the differences the Brit Phantoms.

  8. Hi John,
    A superb clean and mean killig machine.
    I have been looking for this machine on many modeling events, but no luck. It seems to be a collectors item.
    Brings back memories from a Royal Navy that still could rule some waves.
    But with the introduction of the two new carriers, some of its glory will return.

    • Thanks Dirk. The decal sheet was Aeromaster "Smokers, Pt.1". The number escapes me right now. It, along with "Smokers, Pt.2" were dedicated Brit Phantom sheets that came out in 2002. Try Hannants. If anybody has it, they do. They also pop up on E-bay from time to time and aren't overly expensive.

  9. Nice Phantom in unusual colors, good job!

  10. Great looking Phantom. I knew they sat up higher on that front stilt, but MAN, this is the first time I've realized just how high that front fork really is! I've got a Brit Phantom in the stash but haven't tackled it yet...

    Nicely done!

  11. Beautiful Brit Phantom, i like this original plane.

    Well done,

    Eric

  12. I like the Navy colours on this one, great build.

  13. great work

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