Construction
I’ll start with owning up that I’m not a Phantom ‘Nut’ but having seen the ‘D’ model in the box I was really impressed with the kit so when I was offered this particular kit I absolutely jumped at the opportunity to build it. The plan was to try and build the model with as little aftermarket detail as I could but as you can see from the list above I did end up using some items that I felt were necessary to get the best final result.
I have tried to build this kit in the sequence shown in the instruction booklet and with that in mind I have used screen shots of the instruction booklet throughout this review with photos to explain each particular build stage. I have done this as at first glance the instruction booklet is very comprehensive, almost to the point that to an inexperienced modeller, it could be considered intimidating and put them off building the kit. This is due to the amount of information being presented but on closer inspection each stage is relatively simple as I hope the photographs will illustrate. All the extra detail is just additional information about that particular stage with views from different angles, paint call outs and listings of what the parts are on the real aircraft – ignore this and the actual build information is very simple and straightforward.
Before you start the build it’s worth noting one of the options that is available. You can build the aircraft in the catapult launch configuration (elevators angled up, flaps and slats down and the extended nose gear) but this decision needs to be made early on as there is some major surgery required at the rear of the fuselage to insert new tail locating slots. The detail about this option is in the final construction notes at the end of the booklet so have a look at this before you start construction if you want to do this option.
So, with this in mind let’s get on with the build.
Stage 1 – Ejection seats
These are OK from the box but are missing any form of seatbelts either in the form of moulded detail or PE. I therefore opted to use a set of Eduard’s pre-painted Steel belts. In addition, I replaced the oversized ejection seat handles with twisted wire and added some “Remove Before Flight” tags from Eduard to give a busier look to the seats.