McDonnell-Douglas F4J Phantom II

[Bob S]

Yikes!  thanks Ryan - Where do you reckon I could find the same size Marine Corp insignia decals?

[Ryan K]

Triple Trash, the only Nam air to air kill for a Marine unit.  Was shot down right after that kill.

Looks good, the EGA next to 5526 should be on rudder IIRC.

[Bob S]

The F4J Phantom II is a long-range supersonic jet interceptor/ fighter/ bomber originally developed for the US Navy in 1960, but quickly adopted by the US Marine Corp and the US Air Force. With a top speed of Mach 2.2, it could carry over 18,000 lbs of weapons on nine external hard points.

I used the 1/32 Tamiya kit to replicate the jet as it was used by the US Marine Corp squadron VMFA 333, attached to the carrier USS America in the Vietnam War.
(This was the same carrier that my squadron was first attached to during Desert Storm - serving both sides of the Arabian Peninsula)
The fuselage & wings were sprayed with Tamiya Insignia White acrylic, then rivets and panel lines were washed & wiped with Floquil Tire Black. Warning Red at the ailerons was brush-painted with semi-gloss acrylic. For the exhaust dump, fuselage was masked off, and dump was sprayed with Tamiya Light Gunmetal.
The variable exhaust nozzles were first sprayed with Light Gunmetal, then washed with a mix of Testors Bronze and Jet Exhaust enamels. The insides of the nozzles
were lightly rubbed with soot-colored powder pigment. Decals were applied on fuselage and wings, then everything got a coat of Krylon Satin Clear.
The cockpit was paint-detailed and decaled per kit instructions.  I build very few aircraft, and maybe I'm easily impressed, but I thought the Martin-Baker ejection
seats were little works of art by the Tamiya company...so much nice detail for something that would never be seen when finished!  The pilots uniforms were brush-painted with flat acrylics, and their helmets are finished in high-gloss clear. Refueler is semi-gloss warning red, and support arm is flat aluminum.
Landing gear and struts are gloss white, with a little soot pigment added for a grimy look, and a few streaks of clear yellow for fluid leaks.
Tires were first painted with flat black, then washed & wiped with German Gray acrylic.
I loaded here down with every piece of armament Tamiya provided because I don't like left-overs.

I really want to build a Vietnam diorama for this plane, and I can picture exactly what I want to do, but I can't find any 1/32 figures!  Any ideas fellas?