Small Scale Military Headquarters

Here is a photo of similar paint scheme: http://www.vfa154.navy.mil/gallery/history/phantom.jpg

Should be a Christmas release!

......... like I said on the previous page ,.. "if it ain't camo'd , I'm not buyin' it. Simple as dat .



- MG

Here is an identical paint scheme: http://www.vfa154.navy.mil/gallery/history/phantom.jpg

Should be here in time for Christmas!

MG-42 wrote:......... like I said on the previous page ,.. "if it ain't camo'd , I'm not buyin' it. Simple as dat .



- MG

>>> and here is an identical post


- MG

Would have preferred an Air Force camo scheme, myself.

Something quite different and think the 3 tone camo looks bad ass.

Not sure if the USAF flew the J variant, as I am not an expert on the different Phantom variants, and who flew what. But I would prefer that BBI give us an accurate model, and scheme, rather than a livery that the variant never flew in.

Not a bad choice, but not the best choice, in my opinion.








Would have preferred a Black Aces, Sundowners, Tomcatters, livery, but nothing wrong with the Black Knights.

Just happy that BBI has finally decided to release another 1/32 Phantom.

Although I don't collect planes, the phantom in question looks neat. Livery looks good.

Very cool and I'll buy it but I would rather have had an air force version.

Nah Snake, the USAF never flew the "J"; it was exclusively Navy and Marines and 15 sold to UK.

VF-154 Black Knights?!?!? WTF?!?!

BBI could not have picked a more boring and un-striking scheme! Sure they flew J's so this would be correct (they started with "B" variant...only for a short time. They were better known in the "J" variant) , but seriously, with all the awesome schemes available in the J or S Phantom variants they picked the one that required the least amount of creativity to adorn it?

They started the 1/32 Phantom Phever by knocking a 3 run homer out of the park in the VF-84 Jolly Rogers scheme and for their encore, they produce a bloop single?? They could have easily hit a game winning grand slam by choosing any of the bad@$$ schemes available in the J or the S variant.

I can only logically assume BBI must be trying to cut costs severely. From the much simpler tampo printing pads required and the small amount of custom paint needed, I guess they can produce this a little cheaper with regards to the cosmetic aspect. But geez, give me a plain unpainted F-4J and I could quickly take some masking tape, a small amount of paint in my airbrush to produce those red and black stripes and voila! I'm done.

I'm definitely not buying one even if the cost of the thing is lower then the Jolly Rogers years ago.

I wish them success so the hobby will progress and we can see more great subjects produced.

Signing off

Kind of agree, BlackLion.

And starting to see that the "J" version was not used by USAF.

That still leaves lots of Navy, and Marine squadrons that could be done.

Probably at least half of them have a more interesting scheme than this Black Knight livery.

Not sure why they went with this squadron, and not one of the more colourful, and famous squadrons.

Trying not to be negative, but would have preferred at least half a dozen squadrons before VF-154.

But still happy to see another 1/32 F-4, as my JR was getting lonely.

A list of US F-4 squadrons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_ ... _operators

I'm not trying to get everyone uptight about alignment between livery and Phantom variant. It's just that the main and most important visual difference between the J & the S variants as opposed to the B & N variants in the Navy (Marines had them too) (and the C/D for the USAF) is so blatantly obvious that it would mesmerize me how any company could get let's say a Sundowners scheme or USAF camo livery on a J or S variant. Yes there are other differences like wing thickness, ECM fairing on top of the vertical stabilizer, short vs long exhaust petals length; but those are minor.

The B,C, & D's have that in your face IRST sensor sticking out from under the nose whereas the J & S do not.
It's not quite in the same "oh my gosh obvious" category as single seat versus tandem seat F-15 Eagles, it's more like....F-14A versus F-14B (eh, and thrown in the "D"). The A Tomcats have the curvaceous, dark, and smoky looking P&W exhaust nozzles whereas the B and the D Cats have the handsome and shiny GE nozzles.

Century Wings and Hobby Master are the best in diecast at getting it as close to 100% pertaining to variant details matching a livery within a certain time frame/period for the subject. On average I would give CW a 99% rating and HM a 91%. Those are very acceptable numbers. BBI has improved steadily in that department. 21st before they went under improved as well.

As I said, I believed along BBI would do another Navy (or even Marines) J variant. It's just that VF-154 would have been on the very bottom of my list if I was BBI's marketing manager for this model.

If it was going to be another F-4J, I would have chosen Duke Cunningham's "Showtime 100".....

Thanks for the simplified "Phantoms for dummies" explanation, BlackLion.

I have both XPlus{ CW} Phantoms, as well as about a dozen HM and Gemini Aces{ British} F-4's.

Some collectors are extremely detail sensitive, shall we say, when it comes to F-4's, F-16's, F-18's etc. Most of the minutia escapes me, especially some of the very obscure stuff.

But think that BBI should stick with squadrons that flew the 'J" version, just for accuracy. If that means, no USAF variants, that is fine by me. I want accuracy, rather than a "hybrid".

Lots of squadrons from the USN, and USMC to choose from.

VX 4 had some cool paint schemes. An all black with a Playboy bunny on the tail. Also had a bicentennial that was nice.

Just saw the pre-order up at Theflyingmule.com. looks pretty good.

............ not for a $100.oo bucks Sheesh ! ! !



- MG

I'm going to pass on this one...
I would have preferred a Camo Phantom.

USAF F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers of the Vietnam War Page 4


Btw: What ever happened to the BBI Camo F-104?

Not as excited as I thought I was going to be.

Kudos to BBI for choosing an accurate scheme for that type of plane and I understand why there couldn't be a USAF cammo version as its the wrong type of F-4 model, but still... I've got a Navy F-4 and could really use a USAF one. Wouldn't there have been a way BBI could make minor adjustments to the tooling to make it a different model? They did that with the Blackhawk and a couple other 1:18 items afterall!

What this model could do for some collectors is offer an interesting 1:18/1:32 pairing - this could go well with the JSI Black Knights F-14, just as the S1 F-4 sort of pairs with the S1 JSI F-14.

At present, I think I'll likely pass on this one and my VF-84 one will still reign supreme in my collection.

MG-42 wrote:............ not for a $100.oo bucks Sheesh ! ! !



- MG

Looks like I'll be missing out on that one as well.

$100 for 1/32 BBI F-4

$160 for 1/18 BBI F-18.

Think the new 1/32 Phantom is priced a little high.

And not the best scheme.

Was pretty excited by this news, but think BBI has missed the mark a bit with this Black Knights F-4J.

tmanthegreat wrote: Kudos to BBI for choosing an accurate scheme for that type of plane and I understand why there couldn't be a USAF cammo version as its the wrong type of F-4 model, but still... I've got a Navy F-4 and could really use a USAF one. Wouldn't there have been a way BBI could make minor adjustments to the tooling to make it a different model? They did that with the Blackhawk and a couple other 1:18 items afterall!

I'm not familiar with rotary aircraft like fixed wing so I can't offer any insight to the Blackhawk.

As for tooling this Phantom to make a USAF scheme, to closely pass it off as either a C or D variant, it would require the nose first and foremost. It would need an IRST underneath. There's no more prominent feature that differentiates F-4 Phantoms than the nose. [That includes even getting into the E, the F, and the G variants]

Secondly, the USAF had different engines. Not only shorter exhaust petals, but they looked a little different.

After that the minor differences that could be ignored would be: making thinner wings [ they also had different forward slat design], either placing or removing certain ECM blisters, add-in the dual cockpit controls for the rear seat, and alter the landing lights. To casual fighter jet enthusiasts you would never notice those just mentioned.

I feel for what you get quality and detail wise from BBI the price of $99.00 is right in the ball park...but, I hate to say this because I want to support BBI for their effort and really wanted to pick up a 1/32 Phantom... not in this livery…display space in my house is very limited and for me, any new small scale military purchase needs to be not only of a subject of importance (the F-4 Phantom ROCKS!) but also historical and aesthetically pleasing….If I bought this version as is, I would end up stripping it and repainting it. Too much work and time for the admission price and by the time I finished, with my luck, “SHOWTIME 100” would be the next paint job anyway…so I will sadly wait it out. If BBI decides to release a more interesting livery I will buy it.

yep msrp is 99.00

JR 1/32 F-4 on ebay = 300$

new 1/32 F-4 retail = 100$


still complaining about prices?
It's easy to see why these companies don't bother putting stuff out.
Your getting 2ft of pre-painted, strong, articulated plastic for 100$
It's a steal.

.......... that's easy for you to say , but it still ain't what the majority wants.



- MG

I wonder if the reps of any of these companies ever check out this forum or others like it? It certainly does not appear so.