Zoukei-Mura F-4J Phantom II Navy 1:48 – MM build review

Feature Article with Manuel Magrinho

---

A note from Geoff C…
I’m so pleased to welcome Manuel back to SMN with his build of the superb Zoukei-Mura (ZM) F-4J that you can see below – great job Manuel!

Here’s how it all turned out…

And we have several other builds of the ZM Phantom II in it’s various forms in the usual place here in SMN for all completed ZM projects: Aircraft-Finished Now-Zoukei-Mura – well worth a look.

Over to you Manuel for your story on this one…

---

The Kit

First impressions…

The Zoukei-Mura F-4J is without a doubt the best kit I have built so far. Kit with amazing details and perfect fit in excellent quality plastic, presented in an imposing box, with well thought-out sprues and quality decal sheet and careful instructions, although with some flaws (by omission) in relation to painting small details.

Note that the painting instructions have images in real size of the model, so that the modeller more easily determines the areas to mask. Too bad I did not notice it until late 😉

Note, however, that the kit does not forgive any errors. Virtually all parts must be worked, ensuring that there is no mould line, flash or even paint that prevents a perfect fit. That is, dry-fit is absolutely mandatory. In addition, the kit’s own engineering ensures that the fittings are usually located on panel lines that, as they are practically perfect, do not require putty.

Painting scheme…

The kit only comes with a painting scheme (for a CAG bird) and respective decals, so if you want another one, you should look in the aftermarket.

In my case, as I really liked the proposed version, I did not even need to consider another one. The colours anticipated a beautiful model, it just remains to see what am I able to do. Furthermore, it was my first Zoukei-Mura and I decided to do it completely out-of-the-box to be able to evaluate the result (as a matter of fact, I ended up buying some belts for the ejection seats as the kit does not bring any).

CAG bird
From wikipedia: “CAG bird is a specially painted aircraft, officially flown by the commanding officer of United States Navy Carrier Air Groups. Every carrier-based aircraft squadron of the United States Navy has such an aircraft that wears modex usually ending with the ’00’ numbers. Due to their striking, colourful paint schemes, enthusiasts such as modellers and aircraft photographers show great interest in these aircraft.”

Easy choice, don’t you agree?

Building…