Hasegawa

1/72 RF-4E Phantom II IDF

Kit Number: 00823

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $41.95 Thanks to Dragon Importers and Hasegawa for providing this review kit. The Aircraft: The F-4 Phantom has been around for a long time, serving in a number of air forces in the last 45+ years. The RF-4 is interesting in that it is purpose-designed for reconnaissance work. Even in Bosnia, we found that satellites couldn't give us all the detail, or were not positioned correctly, or were not overhead at the moment they were needed. The need for an air-breathing recce asset still exists, and since the retirement of the Canberra, other aircraft equipped with photo pods now carry on. My experience with the RF-4 occurred at Volk Field Wisconsin, during an exercise called "Sentry Independence" in 1991. The 173rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was part of the exercise, with RF-4Cs. I am in the photo below. We were set up in the wooded area, between the white N and the road. Except for the POVs parked along the road, we were pretty well camouflaged. Also note the shadow of the RF-4, visible to the left of the road. The F-15s are from the 159th FG, New Orleans, LA. The Model Upon opening the box, I was taken aback at the sheer number of parts. There are (conservatively) a bazillion tiny little parts on all those trees. But it's all toward a purpose. Hasegawa has come out with a new and improved Phantom, and the basic mold will produce just about any version ever to roll through the doors at McDonnell or Mitsubishi, except for the Spey engined F-4K/M. The rear fuselage is a common assembly, but with changes in the front fuselage, stabilators, outer wing (slatted, non-slatted), wing (bulged or not) exhausts, fin cap, intakes, and wheels, the various versions from the B through S can be produced just by putting the correct sprues in the box, adding the correct instructions and decals, and putting the correct lid on. Brilliant! The RF-4E (IDF) requires sprues A, C, D, F, J, O, P, Q (2 ea), S (2 ea), and W. It's pretty obvious that there are other sprues with the different parts to build the other versions. I wouldn't be surprised if one of those sprues not included has the rear fuselage with Speys for the RAF / RN versions. Additionally, the RF-4E has choices of camera noses, either the early or later, more streamlined underside windows. IF YOU BUY THIS KIT READ THIS… In the review kit, both sprues Q had a problem. The seats (part Q26) had a seat back, but no horizontal seat part. For some reason the parts were not complete. Again, Dragon's excellent customer service came through in the most wonderful way, and I had two new sprues within 3 days, via USPS from California. Thanks Alain! If you get a badly molded part, don't bother contacting Hasegawa. Dragon handles these problems here in the US. They are aware of the seat problem. Go to www.dragonmodelsusa.com, click on "Dragon Care" at the very bottom of the page (It's NOT easy to find!) and open a trouble ticket. They will ask where you bought the model, as they've gotten wise to the "The decals were missing" scam. They will then send you correctly molded sprues. Construction: Construction is pretty straightforward, with subassemblies being put together, then mated to finish the entire aircraft. Because there are so many possibilities, and so many small parts, it's necessary to really pay attention to part numbers. There are 4 possible fin caps. Be sure you get the right one, or as sure as you're breathing, when showing off your masterpiece, some yahoo with a bit of knowledge will bring it to everyone's attention that you used the wrong part. As a result, this model doesn't just fall together. It requires a rather slow and plodding pace. I thought I was done with the fuselage, but when I looked it over, there were two blank spots on the bottom of the wing, at the wing roots just behind the intakes. The instructions don't get to this until step 12, the finish, but there are parts for either a blank or the attachment points for the catapult bridle. The E model uses the blanks. Because the Israelis use a different weapon pylon, and it has additions, the pylon assemblies consist of 8 parts. Again, careful assembly is required, as they are different for left and right sides. This also qualifies as a multimedia kit. The Israelis have their Phantoms set up for the "probe and drogue" system, like that used by the US Navy. Because the RF-4E doesn't have a probe, one was added. In the kit, it's a metal part. My experience aligning type on the ancient typebar typewriters came in handy here, as the part had to be formed (bent) to fit to the fuselage and to stick out at the correct angle. You just cannot rush through this model. But where on the contest entry form does it ask how quickly you finished this kit? Did you notice on the scan of the seats that the ejection seats include the pull rings for the face curtain? Tiny little parts, requiring time and care to get them right. And the clear parts are just that; so clear you can see into the cockpit, even with the canopies closed. If you decide to have the canopies open, the hydraulic openers are included. Even though there are a LOT of parts, almost all fit cleanly. I used only a couple of spots of putty and Mr. Surfacer on the underside of the rear fuselage, behind the exhausts, and on the camera nose. I had to use the sanding stick on the side camera windows to get a good fit. Painting was helped by the fact that both color schemes were shown in 4-view drawings, left, right, top, and bottom views. The side views were reduced 65% from 1/72 scale, and the top/bottom views were reduced 50%. Very handy if you need to make masks, just scan, resize and print the instruction page. Because this is a US-built aircraft, most of the colors have FS595 references. All colors also have Mr. Color references, and those without FS numbers also have GSI Creos Hobby Color references. Decals: You get decals for 3 aircraft, 1 in the "3 tone" scheme, 2 in the "ho hum grays". So I had to do the 3 tone. I have heard that Hasegawa decals are thick. These weren't. The only problem I had with these decals was that they were thin enough that they wanted to fold when I slid the marking off the backing paper. Fortunately they're not so thin that they can't be carefully handled and straightened. Overall Assessment This is an excellent kit. No mold flaws (except for the seats), no ejector pin marks, super fit, great detailing, straight from the box. I was impressed that the pitot probe on the nose actually has the correct "step" with a smaller diameter toward the front. Also, the hole in the nose cone fit the tube exactly, with no messing around trying to enlarge the hole or shave the tube to fit.

If you're looking for a weekend project, this isn't your kit. But if you want a state of the art model of the Phantom, with all the little details correct, this is for you. There are no compromises made in the detailing of the RF-4E, IDF. It appears that at no time did anyone think "It's only a small detail, who'd notice?" We would! There are enough guys out there who have worked on or flown F-4s, and they know the little differences. Thanks to IPMS/USA, Dragon Models (the US distributor) and Hasegawa for a good build.

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