SPA Modeler

Stikpusher wrote:We’ve been in Afghanistan for 19 years now...

Yep.

April to December... I've got 'nowt in the stash for this GB but I'm undoubtedly going to get something...

April to December sounds good. But not a 7 year Group Build, Lyle.
Time to go shopping for a Skyhawk and AM decals....

I don't know if I responded here before but I think I have something for this Group Build. I'll check...

I'd be in for an F4 Phantom. My Uncle Steve was an Air Force mechanic in Nam. He worked on F4's almost exclusively.

That's cool!

My Uncle Steve is the coolest guy. He was the father I didn't have at the time. Back in 97 when I was leaving to go live in Baltimore he dropped off a gift for me. The old stereo he had while he was stationed at Peas AF base back in the late 70's. In the box were mint Sansui AU-717 and TU-717 pices and a brand new set of Bose 901's. I also got the Nakamichi reel to reel and a new Denon CD player. He said he no longer had use of them and I would enjoy them. I use this gear all the time except the Bose. Those I kept in the boxes as I'm not a big fan of anything Bose. I recently bought a set of Tekton Lore speakers and those are just amazing with this set up.

Back in the late 70's he taught me how to drive in his Mercury Capri and took me to the base to see Phantoms and F-16's. I got to sit in a Phantom since they were being phased out and Steve was an officer and could basically do what he liked. Phantom's are still my favorites of all time.

Who makes the best kit? Larger scale please.

Cool stories! As for Phantoms, Zoukei-Mura and Academy make the best Phantoms in 1/48. I'm building the Academy F-4J right now and it's not a bad kit at all. It really depends on what version of the Phantom you want.

In 1/32, you can get Phantoms from Tamiya and Revell. Both are good kits, but the Tamiya kit is better detailed, primarily in the cockpit. Tamiya does the F-4C,D, E, and J, while Revell does the RF-4C, F-4E, F, and G. The Tamiya E kits are the older hard wing, while Revell offers the later slatted wing.
I have a Revell G that is sidelined but will resume later on once my display room with adequate space for it is completed. It is BIG!

I saw that Revell kit at Hobby Lobby before. It's a Biggun. Might be a tad too big. Tamiya is almost always a winner, so I may check out their smaller scale offering.

As for version? I'll have to ask Uncle Steve what fighter wing he was with. I'll build up something he was associated with.

Thanks guys...