The McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom II needs no introduction, so I’ll skip over the history of this famous aircraft and simply specify that the F-4E has an extended nose to house an internal M-61 Vulcan cannon. The “E” was the most built variant, with almost 1400 units completed. F-4Es, in addition to use by the USAF, were sold to Germany (as the F-4F), Greece, Iran, Israel, South Korea, and Turkey

Minicraft’s F-4E comes in a small, sturdy, top-opening box. The cover illustration is of an F-4E from the USAF 57 FIS, Keflavik, Iceland. Inside are three sprues, two in light gray, and one in clear. There are thirty-three light gray parts and one in clear. As would be expected with the low parts count, the instructions are simple and clear, with assembly broken into eight basic steps. Two large diagrams cover the paint and decal schemes. Model Master paints are called out.

This is a nice little (very little) kit that has great potential as a vignette or diorama accessory. This kit is not for the faint of eyesight or those with more than their share of thumbs, but can be a nice one or two day build. The kit is a challenging ‘craftsman’ type build, but that adds to the enjoyment for an experienced modeler.

History

The first real consideration of making floatplane fighters out of the Spitfire and Hurricane came during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign, and work began on both aircraft at that time. At the end of the campaign, development ended, and the Hurricane project was stopped. Known as the “Narvik Nightmare”, the Spitfire project languished until just before Pearl Harbor, when work was reinstated, this time with the Mk. Vb airframe. This time, instead of Blackburn Roc floats, specially designed Supermarine floats were used, along with additions to the vertical fin to offset the aerodynamic effects of the floats. The result was a highly successful conversion, with excellent flying and water handling characteristics. In fact, it turned out to be the fastest floatplane fighter of World War II.