Model Forum / General / Models / July 2007

I've just received this sheet today.  I hate it!

Hate it!  Hate it!  Hate it!

Why?  Because it has blown my carefully crafted F-4 building plan right out
of the water!  ;-)  There are two schemes which have gone right to the top
of building list, and at least another three will get built from this sheet.
All these aircraft are from bases in the area of the UK where I live (and
I've seen at least one of them), so I'm interested in them all.

Okay... seriously now...   this is an excellent sheet.

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=X72072

It provides markings for sixteen aircraft, all of them F-4Ds or RF-4Cs.
Three of the aircraft are in a rather odd scheme where the FS30219 of the
standard SEA camouflage is replaced by FS34102 SAC tan/green.  That will
look very distinctive sat amongst a group of F-4s in the standard scheme.

I do however have a couple of minor (very minor) criticisms.  It seems like
there were a number of mistakes made with the instruction sheet. One
aircraft is missed off the sheet entirely, but there is an errata sheet that
includes it. There were also a few mistakes made with the decals themselves,
but again there is an additional sheet that addresses the problems.

The biggest issue that I have concerns one of the aircraft that I wish to
build. The sheet presents this as RF-4C 65-381 of the 1 TRS, 10 TRW, based
at RAF Alconbury in July 1985, in the Euro-1 colour scheme. The big problem
is that no RF-4C serialed 65-381 ever existed. The back page of the
instruction sheet has a number of small photos where this aircraft is shown
as 68-381.  Even that serial is incorrect.  The aircraft is actually an
RF-4C-44-MC, 69-381.  The serial mistake is no problem whatsoever, as there
are plenty of digits that can be used available on the sheet. The colour
profile on the instruction sheet represents the aircraft incorrectly. It
shows the correct rounded nose profile, but omits to mention the ARN-101
mods that should be on the aircraft spine. It also states that the two
greens should be transposed from their normal locations. This is incorrect.
I photographed this aircraft at the Alconbury air show in 1984 and my slide
shows that the two greens are in the normal positions, as does this photo
(which also shows the nose and the ARN-101 mods).

http://www.myaviation.net/search/photo_search.php?id=00958975&size=large

Having seen the problems with this aircraft, I'll be sure to research the
others that I will build (which is probably a good course of action for
*any* decal sheet), but that hasn't put me off the sheet, and it shouldn't
put anyone else off either. The first model, RF-4C 69-381 has already made
its way on to my workbench and F-4D 65-659 in the odd SAC tan/green colours
will be following shortly.

As for the decals themselves, they appear to be of the usual Xtradecal
standard, thin and well printed. I don't anticipate any problems using them.

Thank you, Xtradecal.  Can we please have some more F-4 sheets?  A sheet of
Luftwaffe F-4Fs in the Norm 81 Air Defence schemes would be nice!