Hasegawa 1/48 F-4S Phantom II 'VF-161 Rock Rivers'

Hasegawa has had a love affair with the Phantom II family. Their 1/48 scale Phantom II kit line-up features almost all of the F-4s ever produced, and is the most extensive of any model manufacturer. You can choose from the F-4B/N, F-4C/D, F-4E, F-4EJ, F-4F, F-4G, F-4J, Phantom FG.1 and Phantom FGR.2. In addition, Hasegawa released a number of Phantoms in their 'Hi Grade' series, including the beautiful F-4J 'Vandy 1', the Blue Angels F-4J, the Transatlantic Phantom FGR.2, and an F-4S 'Vandy 75'. Until now, the F-4S has not been available in the regular Phantom kit lineup. Until Tamiya released their awesome F-4C/D and F-4J in 1/32 scale, the Hasegawa 1/48 Phantoms were the best F-4 kits in any scale. Nonetheless, these kits remain the leaders in 1/48!

On a historical note, since World War 2, the US Navy had not retained a fighter in operational service more than a decade before replacing it with a better machine hot off the drawing board. As the Vietnam air war was spinning up, the mainline fighter of the day was the F-8 Crusader, though the F-4B was entering the fleet. Soon the mainstream fighter was the F-4B, but quantities were still not sufficient to support all of the Carrier Air Wings AND the Marine Air Wings. The Navy started to modify and extend the lives of existing aircraft to support longer term mission requirements, and the F-8 was rebuilt and improved several times until the Phantoms were finally numerous enough to replace them.

The F-4J was next off the production line, designed to exploit improvements in engine and radar technology. But even as the F-4J was entering service, the Navy was already seeking a replacement for the Phantom. They became engulfed in political and budgetary battles and their new fighter was directed by the Pentagon to be the F-111B! Fortunately, out of the ashes of the failed F-111B concept came the F-14 Tomcat. Unfortunately, the delays in getting the Tomcat into the fleet dictated that the existing Phantoms had to be modified to keep them combat capable. The F-4Bs were given an avionics rework and redesignated as the F-4N. The F-4Js were younger, so in addition to their new avionics, the F-4J was refitted with leading edge slats similar to the late model USAF F-4Es. While the slats reduced their top speed, the slatted Phantoms had better low-speed handling and better air combatmaneuvering than the unmodified Phantoms. These modified F-4Js were redesignated as the F-4S.

The first thing you notice about this kit is the beautiful full boxtop photo of a VF-161 F-4S in its natural element. As might be expected, the engineers at Hasegawa mixed and matched sprues to arrive at this kit. The fuselage parts are F-4J, while the wing is F-4E. With the exception of a few very minor details, the combination is very accurate.

The kit is beautifully molded with no flash and very minimal ejector marks. All details are finely scribed. Also included in the kit is the rear cockpit sidewall that distinguishes a Navy Phantom from its USAF cousin. The kit is armed with four decent AIM-7s, four crude AIM-9Bs (replace them!), one centerline tank, two wing tanks, and Navy pylons. The canopy included is not from the new line of ‘one-piece’ canopies. The one-piece canopy is handy if you are going to model the aircraft either in-flight or parked with the canopies closed. Note: the Phantom kits that are released out of the ‘one-piece’ line still include the multi-part canopy for displaying the kit canopies up. As always, the Hasegawa canopies are crystal clear and beautifully molded.

While Hasegawa did not include any of the 'Hi Grade' parts in this kit (white metal landing gear and wheel hubs, rubber tires, and photo-etched parts), they did add one photo-etch 'sprue' that is critical for the F-4S. Evidently, the F-4Js were starting to experience fatigue problems in the main spar/wing box area and McDonnell Douglas reinforced this area during upgrades. The photo-etch sprue shown below corrects the kit wing to the 'bandaged' configuration.

Hasegawa also provides markings for two VF-161 aircraft. One is the 'CAG' aircraft and the other a normal squadron bird. Both aircraft reflect the 'low visibility' paintschemes used near the end of the F-4S's service with VF-161. Don’t feel constrained by the kit decals! Many USN and USMC squadrons flew the F-4S for varying periods of time until sufficient F-14s or FA-18s were available. Many of the aftermarket decal sheets that depict "low-vis" F-4J Phantom II aircraft livery will be correct for the F-4S. Check your references!

I highly recommend this kit to any modeler. It is not a difficult model to build. For Phantom lovers, however, this bird is a ‘must have’ because it represents the last of the breed!