Good Kit But Has Its Flaws
Decent kit with clean sprue and good detailing. The parts’ fit during building left a few gaps, but a bit of putty sealed them - I suppose that’s what happens when the manufacturers design kits that require more assembly of the ‘core body’ aircraft/vehicle/etc. with more parts to make the build more of a challenge, instead of a simple two-part body. Speaking of parts... One gripe is you’re paying for a high parts count, but many of those won’t be used depending on the variant you’re building, which is even worse for me because I prefer to build airplanes unencumbered by extraneous add-ons and ordnance, so now I’ve got an entire sprue and a half of various missiles, bombs and cannons I’ll never use. But I paid for ‘em, like it or not. As for the paint schemes, if you choose the black one (I did) it'll take several airbrushed coats of paint to properly obscure the light grey plastic. However, if you choose the camo scheme, you’re looking at having to apply over 300 - yes THREE HUNDRED - tiny decals to complete the kit, which will take many many hours. No thanks.
BOTTOM LINE: Good kit, but its cons outweigh the pros. Go for it if you’re a Phantom fan, otherwise I’d give it a miss.
NOTE: I’m an average skill modeler at best. Usually I leave non-permanent fixtures (bombs, drop tanks, etc.) off my kits because I’m interested in the airplane, not extraneous add-ons. I use the following for all my models • Harder & Steenbeck CRplus with a 0.2mm nozzle - it’s way above my ability level but was a birthday present from my wonderful partner • AMMO by Mig and Vallejo Air acrylic paints - I never use oil-based paints or washes because who needs the toxic fumes and cleanup hassle • Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and Tamiya Plastic Cement • Walthers Solvaset to apply and set decals • EZ-Line Fine for rigging • Vallejo Mecha Satin Varnish to coat finished models - if you’ve ever seen a Spitfire or B-25 or whatever in real life, they have a slight gloss sheen to them and are not matt at all.
