With over 5,000 produced in a variety of versions, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom was one of the most popular military aircraft of the Cold War. Originally used by the United States Navy and the United States Air Force, the F-4 also found use with the United States Marine Corps and a host of other NATO countries, some of which are still using the aircraft. The aircraft was also used by the United States Navy Blue Angels and the United States Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration teams. Considered modern and advanced during the Vietnam War, the F-4 soldiered on in the US Inventory until the 1991 Gulf War, when the Phantom finally flew its last combat sorties. The Phantom is still in service with the USAF, who use the retired airframes as remote controlled target drones in missile tests. A select few F-4's are used to showcase the aircraft and its storied service in Vietnam in the USAF Heritage Flight Program at airshows, but eventually even these lucky machines will get shot down by USAF fighters in missile tests.
The latest model in the Elite Force Series produced by BBI is a repaint of the F-4J mold BBI had released previously in a Vietnam era VF-84 Jolly Rogers scheme. The repaint of mold represents an aircraft from VF-154 "Black Knights" based on the USS Ranger near the end of the Vietnam War.
BBI began releasing its 1/18 aircraft repaints in a newer box that eliminates the troublesome and often easily damaged plastic window. BBI has taken that box design to the 1/32 line with the new repaint of the F-4J. This box is much more sturdy and professional looking than the previous window box BBI used.
Upon opening the box you find the fuselage of the F-4J, secured with wire to the bottom of the box. This is the only wire used throughout the package. The smaller accessories and parts are neatly secured in the white boxes. All of the smaller accessories are wrapped in foam and plastic bags to insure safe shipment. No parts were broken on my model upon unpacking everything.
These are all the parts that come with the model. The parts are exactly the same molds as used from the S1 version with a small exception. It appears the missile rail tabs for the Sidewinder missile attachment are smaller. This allows them to fit into the wing holes easier. All the parts are nicely painted and molded. It is interesting to note that on the S2 version, BBI did not do the stenciling on the Sidewinder missiles that will be on the inside rails. The missiles also are slightly different colors than the S1 version. The S2 version of the plane also has slightly different antiglare coloring and more stenciling than the S1 VF-84 Jolly Roger version.
The Phantom assembles easily. The fit on all my parts was excellent as was the finish. Nothing needed trimming or adjustment. All parts fit tightly enough that nothing needed gluing. The hardest parts to put on are the missiles for the underside of the aircraft. The fit is tight and use caution not to break the fins. The pilots are also tough to get into the cockpit, especially the guy in the rear seat. Overall appearance of the model is good for a prebuilt plane. My only complaint is slight overspray around the cockpit area but this was also an issue on my VF-84 S1 plane. The VF-154 colors are much sharper and eye catching than the promotional pictures lead you to believe and really set the model off nicely.
Another view of the assembled Phantom. One improvement for the Phantom that would be nice would be wingtips that would LOCK once they are in proper position. This would prevent the uneven look you can get trying to position them properly. The colors on this plane are very eye catching. The flaps, stablizers and wingtips move and the canopies open and close. The landing gear is plug in and can be swapped for a "gear up" look. The weathering around the nose cone is a bit odd and I don't know if it is meant to look like this or it was a BBI paint error on my model. I may end up getting some matte black and changing that. It is not a deal breaker though at all. (TURNS OUT THIS WAS SOME GRAY COLORED DIRT AND WIPED OFF)
The Phantom is displayed with some of its many working control surfaces in use. As stated the cockpits open, the flaps open and the vertical stablizers move. In addition, the tailhook deploys and the gear doors function as well, though the gear is swapped instead of being retractable. The folding wing hinges are well designed and durable. They seem a bit stronger than on the S1 version. The weapon load is suitable for the model. It is important to note that versions of the F-4 were entirely dependent on missiles as they lacked any gun as a secondary weapon. This is probably the reason BBI opted for a large load of missiles. You will also notice in this picture the gray debris on the nose have been wiped clear and the F-4 looks much better now around the nose area.
The VF-154 Phantom is joined by the VF-84 S1 Phantom BBI produced. Both models are different enough in color scheme they are worthy of being in a collection together. Though I went into buying the VF-154 version thinking the VF-84 version was better, I honestly like the flashy look of the VF-154 version. They are two beautiful Phantoms and I am glad to have both of them.
My VF-154 Phantom is sharing a shelf with my BBI Dauntless for the time being. Interesting to see how large the F-4 is to the World War II era Dauntless.
Just for fun the VF-154 Phantom in action above the skies of Vietnam. This edit was accomplished by putting the F-4J on cloud posterboard then shooting the picture from above. Added black and white, some noise and blurring to make it have a bit more realism. I like the F-4J looks as if it in a high performance climb the way this worked out.
Overall, the Black Knights 1/32 Phantom is a model worthy of a collection. In typical BBI tradition the model is well built, features good paint quality, nicely fitting parts and is a good presentation. Some improvements for the future would be locking wingtips, slightly better stenciling (particularly on those inside missiles) and better paint quality around the cockpit area. These minor issues do not detract from what is otherwise a wonderful model of a legendary combat aircraft. I hope BBI follows this model with a rerelease of a Dauntless and Wildcat and maybe more 1/32 aircraft in the future.
