McDonnell-Douglas F-4J Phantom
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Kit Review by Steve A. Evans
Zoukei-Mura are now well known to most modellers as producers of very fine, if complicated model kits. The Super Wing Series has encompassed mainly WWII subjects but this time they have pushed the boat out and given us one of the all time classic jet combat aircraft; the Phantom II.
The box it comes in is large (42cmx29cmx11cm) and has some neat digital art by J.Boucher on the glossy lid. There are some pictures of a finished kit on the sides and plenty of warnings about how this isn’t for kids or people with weak hearts (I made that bit up).
In the box you get 9 sprues of medium grey plastic and 1 sprue of clear bits, with a single large decal sheet, a fold out full colour paint and marking guide and a very substantial instruction booklet.
The plastic is beautifully moulded, all very crisply done with just the tiniest bit of flash on a couple of smaller parts. The clear bits are superb, with ripple free plastic and nicely defined canopy framework. The external detail is neat, engraved panel lines with a very good balance of rivet detail; not too over done. You get a full missile weapon load of 4 Sparrow and 4 Sidewinder as well as the centre-line tank and the Sgt Fletchers for the wings. No bombs for this one but that’s not a problem with so many after market sets available for it, if you fancy.
Options in the box are the re-fuelling probe extended or retracted, separate control surfaces and the canopy comes in a single piece for closed, or multiple parts for open.
There are two full J-79 engines to build and a set of display stands if you want to leave them on show. Thankfully, this kit doesn’t have a mass of internal structure detail to build, concentrating more on what the finished article looks like, than how it was constructed. There are 278 parts in the box so it’s not a simple kit by any means but without the full-on structural build of some other Z-M kits, it gives the impression of being a more straightforward effort.
The instructions are very comprehensive, with 28 pages of bits to read and take in, building the kit over 46 stages. Each one has multiple warnings, little detail pictures and directions to follow, so please read the instructions carefully before beginning. All the colour indicators during the build are placed on each page and are for Vallejo acrylics, with FS numbers quoted where appropriate.
There is only 1 marking option in the box, which is a little surprising in this day and age but it’s a stunning option so I have no complaints and if you think about just how many decal sheets for Phantoms there are out there, there’s no shortage of choices. Cartograf prints the decal sheet, so quality is assured and it looks lovely, with deep colours and perfect printing. There is the option for using decals for the instrument panels on the sheet as well but the moulded detail on these items is lovely, so painting is the preferred option.
Verdict
A slightly surprising release from Zoukei-Mura as they seem to be focused on late WWII subject more than anything but it’s welcome nonetheless (actually, the Phantom is the Presidents' favourite aircraft type - RAF). The level of detail is exceptional with plenty of the neat touches we’ve come to expect from them. Usually their kits build really well as although they’re complex, the mouldings are very accurate and fit isn’t a problem. With the slightly simpler build offered by this kit compared to some of their other ones, I suspect it’s going to be a joy to put together. One thing to note is that this kit comes with unused parts and details that don’t belong on the ‘J’, which can only mean than Z-M are planning other versions? Excellent!
Our thanks to Zoukei-Mura for the review sample.
Zoukei-Mura are now well known to most modellers as producers of very fine, if complicated model kits. The Super Wing Series has encompassed mainly WWII subjects but this time they have pushed the boat out and given us one of the all time classic jet combat aircraft; the Phantom II.
The box it comes in is large (42cmx29cmx11cm) and has some neat digital art by J.Boucher on the glossy lid. There are some pictures of a finished kit on the sides and plenty of warnings about how this isn’t for kids or people with weak hearts (I made that bit up).
In the box you get 9 sprues of medium grey plastic and 1 sprue of clear bits, with a single large decal sheet, a fold out full colour paint and marking guide and a very substantial instruction booklet.
The plastic is beautifully moulded, all very crisply done with just the tiniest bit of flash on a couple of smaller parts. The clear bits are superb, with ripple free plastic and nicely defined canopy framework. The external detail is neat, engraved panel lines with a very good balance of rivet detail; not too over done. You get a full missile weapon load of 4 Sparrow and 4 Sidewinder as well as the centre-line tank and the Sgt Fletchers for the wings. No bombs for this one but that’s not a problem with so many after market sets available for it, if you fancy.
Options in the box are the re-fuelling probe extended or retracted, separate control surfaces and the canopy comes in a single piece for closed, or multiple parts for open.
There are two full J-79 engines to build and a set of display stands if you want to leave them on show. Thankfully, this kit doesn’t have a mass of internal structure detail to build, concentrating more on what the finished article looks like, than how it was constructed. There are 278 parts in the box so it’s not a simple kit by any means but without the full-on structural build of some other Z-M kits, it gives the impression of being a more straightforward effort.
The instructions are very comprehensive, with 28 pages of bits to read and take in, building the kit over 46 stages. Each one has multiple warnings, little detail pictures and directions to follow, so please read the instructions carefully before beginning. All the colour indicators during the build are placed on each page and are for Vallejo acrylics, with FS numbers quoted where appropriate.
There is only 1 marking option in the box, which is a little surprising in this day and age but it’s a stunning option so I have no complaints and if you think about just how many decal sheets for Phantoms there are out there, there’s no shortage of choices. Cartograf prints the decal sheet, so quality is assured and it looks lovely, with deep colours and perfect printing. There is the option for using decals for the instrument panels on the sheet as well but the moulded detail on these items is lovely, so painting is the preferred option.
Verdict
A slightly surprising release from Zoukei-Mura as they seem to be focused on late WWII subject more than anything but it’s welcome nonetheless (actually, the Phantom is the Presidents' favourite aircraft type - RAF). The level of detail is exceptional with plenty of the neat touches we’ve come to expect from them. Usually their kits build really well as although they’re complex, the mouldings are very accurate and fit isn’t a problem. With the slightly simpler build offered by this kit compared to some of their other ones, I suspect it’s going to be a joy to put together. One thing to note is that this kit comes with unused parts and details that don’t belong on the ‘J’, which can only mean than Z-M are planning other versions? Excellent!
Our thanks to Zoukei-Mura for the review sample.
