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Rafi Ben-Shahar
366 articles

Academy 1/48 F-4B Phantom II

December 7, 2023 · in Aviation · · 31 · 404

Although it has some fit issues and 3 colors plastic part trees, 's Phantom is superior to the venerable Hasegawa kit. It boasts with nicely detailed surface texture and has the full armament arsenal of the F-4B variant.
In the end, it makes an impressive model like Phantoms do.

Reader reactions:
15  Awesome 3  3 

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.


31 responses

  1. Fully armed & ready for battle. Rafi...Well-done build & finish.

  2. Great work, Rafi. You really nailed the grunge on this one.

  3. Rafi, you're correct. That IS one impressive model. Very nice build. @blackmopane

  4. Nice work, Rafi. Love the racks & rails fully-loaded, outstanding weathering and the decals on your Phantom are fantastic!

  5. Well done, Rafi (@blackmopane). You have really captured the look of the real thing. My first assignment in the Air Force was at the base where we trained all of the pilots for the F-4C. I used to see Phantoms every day.

  6. Nice Phantom Rafi! Looks awesome! U have a soft spot for F-4s. When I was in the Army National Guard in Niagara Falls NY, I was an engine mechanic on UH-1Hs and the Air Force unit across the runway had unit had F-4s. They would give e us nickel rides sometimes.

    When they transitioned to F-16s, they did a full runway pass with the F-4 at about 15 to 20 feet off the deck with an F-16 trailing each wing. At the end of the runway, the two F-16s off hard to the right and left, and the F-4 pulled straight vertical with full afterburner until he was out of sight. Our whole unit was out on the flight line to watch, I'll never forget that, it was awesome!

  7. WOW! Looks fantastic!

  8. 🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
    Nice job on that model Rafi, one can never have enough Phantoms.

  9. Excellent job and amazing result, as always, Rafi! Love the weathering, gives the model the exact look of a Phantom. We still fly upgraded examples here, a joy to watch.
    Congratulations!

  10. Those fully loaded Phantoms do look really mean, Rafi @blackmopane
    With this weathering you gave it a perfect finish.
    Must have taken you ages to get all those stencils on.

    • Thank you John.
      Phantom's stencils are a chore because they may require additional work because of the silvering effect. Nonetheless, they are the heart of the realistic impression of the model.

  11. Double bonus for the viewers - for me in particular!
    My favourite jet dressed in my favourite scheme with the Sundowners tail and the Sharkmouth nose, can't get any better.
    Amazing work, Rafi.

  12. Super impressive effort and result. You set a really high standard on all of your kits. Keep it going!

  13. Beautiful! I'm a huge Phantom fan (100+ in the stash). This is one of my favorite Navy schemes, and excellently weathered. Love it!

  14. Rafi, Thanks for sharing, this looks great. I really like the paint work and weathering, giving it a very realistic look, and loading it up makes it look even better.

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