F-4 Phantom Jet Exhausts

'Late Style'

Eagledesigns

Review by Dale Smith

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

Recently I began the construction of Hasegawa's 1/48 scale kit of the F-4J. It was during the separation of the parts from the sprues that I noticed a lack of detail in the kit parts that were supplied to cover the afterburner cans. The kit parts for this area were bland with no detail in their interior, and were definitely in need of replacement or super detailing. They just had to go!

Come to the rescue 'HyperScale'.

I placed an article in 'Plane Talking' as to the availability of some replacement parts, and was recommended to try the 'Eagledesigns' range of resin replacement items from Italy as well as a number of other suppliers. After checking their website at www.eagledesigns.50megs.com/home.html and contacting them direct, 2 weeks later I had in my hot little hands a set of the nicest burners for a jet aircraft I have yet to see.

The jet exhausts come supplied in a small snap lock bag and are cast in a white resin, with each exhaust supplied in 3 parts. The first part is the turbine face, then comes the afterburner area, followed by the variable nozzles. Molding plugs on each part are minimal and easily sanded/removed. The variable nozzles were separated from the molding plugs with an 'Exacto' razor saw, and then cleaned up with a small amount of gentle rubbing on some 240 grit sand/emery paper. The afterburner area comes with the afterburner rings already cast as part of the molding, so only a small amount of circular sanding, and some gentle cleaning up with an 'Exacto' no.5 blade was all that was required. A handy hint from the manufacturer is to place a small timber dowel inside this part when sanding to keep the afterburner ring flat against the sanding surface and reduce the risk of breakage. If like myself, you cannot find a piece of suitably sized dowel, just sand carefully, checking repeatedly and you should be OK. Only a minimal amount of sanding was performed or needed on the reverse side of the turbine faces. These 3 pieces then glue together with superglue, and thats about it. Oh, you will need to paint the interiors as well before gluing. I painted my set with Gunze Steel, and then dry brushed them with a little silver and some very light grey and the detail stood out perfectly. After they dry properly, I'll probably put on a dark wash of a dark grey or black, to give them some depth, and that will be about it.

The detail that is supplied on these castings is superb. All of the parts are cast very cleanly, with no deformities or casting flaws, and no air bubbles were present. All in all, these items are very well manufactured. Check out the scan of the parts that is supplied with this review and there is also some pictures of the sets on the manufacturers website.

These jet exhausts come in 2 versions for both the early (F-4 B,C/D etc) and late (F-4 E,F,G,J etc) styles. The early style is suggested for the Monogram kit with the late style suggested for the Hasegawa offerings. I'm fairly sure that either version could be utilised , irrespective of the kit used with only a small amount of fitting. An added bonus is that they can also be used for F-104s, and a set will do 2 aircraft, not one as is the case with the F-4.

I purchased my sample from the manufacturer direct due to the fact that no supplier is available in Australia, however they have advised that supplies can be purchased from the following outlets.

USA: Victory Models at www.victorymodels.com

Canada: The Old Soldier at www.oldsoldier.com

The Netherlands: Luchtvaart Hobby Shop at www.lhshop.nl

Singapore: MyAirfix at www.myairfix.com

One point that surprised me, and I clarified it with the manufacturer, is that the sets come with no instructions or painting tips. The set is so simple, that really no instructions are needed, and in most cases, the modeller will most probably have reference photos of the aircraft or the jet exhaust areas for painting. It also ensures that costs are kept down. A small bit of info on painting colours and basic preparation may have helped the more junior or inexperienced modellers amongst us.

This set is the first I have purchased from this manufacturer, but I am very impressed with these items and look forward to having them fitted to the F-4J I am in the process of doing. They provide a huge increase in detail over the kit supplied parts, and are simple to prepare for use. Now if I can just scape up a little bit more money into the modelling fund to purchase a few more sets for my other F-4 and F-104 kits........

Recommended.

Review sample supplied courtesy of my wallet. Many thanks also to Luca at 'Eagledesigns' for his patience with my order and my many questions.

Review Copyright © 2002 by Dale Smith
Page Created 12 August, 2001
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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