• Aerobonus; Wing pylons for F-4B/N/J/S (U.S. NAVY version); # 480055; $8.95
• Aires; F-4B/N Phantom II wheel bays; # 4579; $21.95
• Aires; F-4B/N Phantom II auxiliary air intake; # 4578; $12.95

Aires has released several nice detail sets for the new Academy F-4 series, and these three sets go a long way to enhancing the look of the Academy kit. With each of these pieces, as with all Aries work that I’ve ever come across, the engraved lines are petite and the detail is crisp.

The Aerobonus pieces that replace the kit’s intermediate pylons are specifically the Navy’s “pointed” version. The attachment to the pylon has a single set of sway braces that would hold something like a single 1000 or 2000-pound bomb.

With the kit’s wheel bays, Academy has you assemble each of the main gear bay’s sidewalls from several pieces, and attach them to the inside of the upper wing surface. The same assembly process goes for the nose gear bay, attached to the bottom of the cockpit bottom. The Aires set replaces the kit’s main and nose gear bay parts with single, beautifully detailed units, and also includes all the gear doors. The improved level of detail is exponentially greater than what comes in the kit. With a bit of sanding, the main wheel bays fit snugly into place between the inner wing halves. While there is no attachment hole for the base of the main gear leg, the extensions on the leg fit comfortably into the sidewall slots. You can either drill out the attachment hole, or butt-glue the base of the leg in place. Fitting the nose gear bay requires sanding off the limited “detail” from the underside of the cockpit tub to ensure a proper fit.

The Auxiliary Air Intakes provide extra detailing not found in the kit. The openings for the intakes are there on the fuselage bottom, and the Aires parts fit easily into place inside the fuselage. The set also provides replacement doors and door actuators. As with the wheel wells, the level of detail is superb.

The Academy F-4B is a great addition to the Phantom II family of kits now on the market. If you want to turn one of them into a real showstopper, then this line of resin upgrades from Aires and Aerobonus will certainly do the job.

Thanks to Aires Hobby Models and IPMS for providing the review samples.