F4D-1 Skyray supersonic Fighter Jet

This is a lovely kit of a beautiful airplane. I chose to build mine in a wheels-up configuration. The gear doors fit perfectly, as did all of the other parts in this kit. The only screw-ups were my own. I've built dozens of 1/72 kits, and I can't think of a better one than this. I was grateful for the amazing decals to help with all of the blue surfaces. I thought I might work my way up to some kind of con about this kit, but I just can't do it. You know those times when you're building a kit and you think, Oh, here's the part where I'll be filling and sanding for an hour. Not with this one. Astonishingly good fit. And what about the detail? I paused to take pictures of the panel lines before, during, and after painting. This is a great kit to geek out about, especially since few of us have ever seen one of these birds in person. And who can't love the sweeping lines and elegant curves? Highly, highly recommended.

Having built over 100 1/72 scale kits, I can honestly say that this one is in the top 5%. Molding is flawless, fit is perfect, and assembly easy as it gets. Landing gear is a bit fiddly, but well represented. Instructions are good, and should be followed carefully. Paint callouts abound. Decals are top notch. I would highly recommended this kit to all 1/72 aficionados.

This is an excellent kit all around. Fit of the parts is nearly perfect, with only a tiny amount of filler required. My only fit issue was that the excellent, multi-part ejection seat is too tall to properly close the canopy. This is a pretty minor gripe, since the cockpit is so detailed that you won't want to build it closed. There are molded switches, dials, and buttons on the sidewalls and front console, along with a nice control column. A decal is also provided for the instrument panel, if you would rather use that than paint the dials. The ejection seat has launch rails, release handles, headrest, blast curtain, and seat cushion molded in multiple pieces. The only thing you need to add to make a competition-worthy cockpit is a seat harness. The kit includes a full load of weapons: two rocket packs, two early-model Sidewinder missiles, two large drop tanks, and a NAVPAC, which is an equipment pod which resembles a small drop tank. The decals are superb-clearly printed, colorful, and very durable, they can stand up to being moved repeatedly, and even folded and unfolded. Three aircraft in the standard Gull Grey over white scheme are represented, including the very colorful markings on the box art. Be warned however-the box art plane takes quite a bit of patience in the decalling stage, but the results are totally worth it.