F This: 1/48th Hasegawa F-4E Phantom II (converted to F)

The 1/48th Hasegawa F-4E Phantom II kit dates back to 1983. It has been re-released over the years in many different markings. My kit version was 2001 "Shark Teeth" release. The Hasegawa moulds are holding up fairly well and, despite it shortcomings, it still produces a good looking display aircraft out of the box.

Notable Kit Features:

• Decent cockpit details and ejection seats

• Two seated pilot figures & one boarding ladder included

• Finely engraved panel lines with crisp surface details

• Generally well fitting parts (with some exceptions)

• Slatted wing version with long or short nose gun muzzle included

• Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles included as well as three fuel tanks

• Thin, clear glass with separate canopies, which can be displayed open or closed

• Separate RHAW tail antenna and TISEO pod provided

• Four USAF decal options with aircraft from either Clark (Philippines) or Ramstein (Germany) based aircraft
  

Build Inspiration:

I has wanted to include a German F-4F Phantom in my line-up for a while and had started looking for suitable decal options. Many of the Luftwaffe camouflage patterns would provide something different from the USAF schemes I already had, which is what I was looking for. During that search I came across this lovely example of JG 74s experimental paint schemes worn between 1977 and 1982. The reference photos I found mentioned two aircraft that had the scheme: 37 + 92 with black numbers and 37 + 07 with black & white numbers.

Heads-Up Report:

• The ejection seats have no harnesses (but the pilots do)

• The intake interiors are not particularly good, (there is no ducting) with gaps at the joins and little depth, so you will have to deal with the shallowness of these intakes by either ignoring or improving them. I filled the gaps and painting the rear of the intakes black. (I have heard of putting a photo of the interior intakes at the back of the inlet to replicate the engine face but haven't tried that as yet.)

• The fuselage of the aircraft is a bit of a challenge to get a great fit without sanding (which results in challenging re-scribing) I glued it up in sections taking care to align it as best I could along the way

• The front underside fuselage to wing join typically has a bit of a step and a gap to be dealt with - I usually use pieces of very thin plastic card to shim and fill here

• Some pin ejector marks are visible especially on the gear doors

• I find the small pin fittings of the horizontal tail planes to the fuselage a bit inadequate

• The main gear actuators are too short to allow the gear to extend to 90 degrees

• The multi-piece canopy is complex (by F-4 design) and the fit is only OK (and fiddly if open - not especially well fitting if closed)

• Thankfully the way Hasegawa has designed the kit, you can glue on the intake splitter vanes post painting to make painting behind the plates easier

• Ideally you should also fill the back-side of the splitter plates as they are hollow on the kit
  

Kit Additions / Modifications:

• For simplicity, I just moved the main gear actuator mount inboard to get the gear to sit at the proper 90 degree mark

• The horizontal stabilizers on the F-4F were the non-slotted style (The F4E kit has slotted) so I picked out a spare pair from one of my previous Academy F-4 builds (admittedly not great replacements but adequate) After I finished this kit I came across a set of resin F-4F tails... go figure - so I bought them figuring I may use them later

• Used decals cobbled together from my spares stash to get the markings
  

Finishing:

I knew going in that this special scheme German F-4F paint job would require a lot of precision masking in order to look the part. The camouflage colours were presented as RAL 9005 Black / 7012 Dark Gray / 6012 Olive, over a custom Light Gray (blend of RAL 7035/7001) which also served as the "Cloud" pattern in the upper camouflage. As per usual, this paint was weathered some by spraying variations of paint tone (darker along the panel lines and 'patched areas') for each paint colour. A gloss coat was then sprayed using Pledge floor finish to prepare for decals and washes. After the decals were applied I added some additional paint weathering (done by brush method using thinned paints), especially on the "Cloud White" paint to closer match the weathering level found in my reference photos. Once I was satisfied with that level I proceeded to flow on the various (gray & brownish) panel washes followed by the traditional wipe-down with the airflow to gain the final paint weathered detailing. Once cured, a Model Master matte coat was sprayed over everything to seal the decals in and complete the dull finish.

Attention was then turned to the metal exhaust areas, which were done utilizing about four different metal shades to get the proper effect of afterburner use exhausts. This wear was done by adding a selection of black, brown and red to the (Vallejo) metal paint base to get various tones. A sealer coat of clear was used between the different coats of metal. Some final darker tones were smudged onto the burner cans to complete the hard use look.

The finishing build parts (that are deemed to fragile to add when the instructions would have you) were then put on and the cockpit/canopy area finalized (which on these jet types seems to take weeks!) with all the gear details, antennas, canopy components and stores.

The After-Build Report:

The 1/48th Hasegawa F-4E Phantom II still builds up into a nice model with adequate detail. Hasegawa kits have since been eclipsed by more detailed models, however they still have their place when a lower price point is desired. In 1/48th scale the Zoukei-Mura SMS F-4E is most likely "King of the Hill" now, but you will have to decide if it is worth the extra cost for your project. I realize Hasegawa did produce an F-4F kit however seeing as I already had an E and it only takes minor modifications to get you the F, I went this route. There are many great Luftwaffe schemes out there so I will probably end up doing another in time.

Completed build #300 - May 2026 using the 1/48th scale Hasegawa #09383 kit.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers