Accurate Miniatures 1:72 F-4J

Rant of the day.

I know that the Accurate Miniatures 1:72 Phantoms are re-pops of the old Monogram kits, but I ordered one of their -J kits, if for no other reason for the decals options.

The instructions are a stapled booklet like most AM kits and include some historical background on each of the decal marking options. A nice touch.

The problems start with the actual assembly instructions. The instructions obviously reflect a USAF cockpit: they have you install a control stick in the rear cockpit and refer to the backseater as a ‘WSO’ instead of the correct ‘RIO’.

I laid out the sprues next to an original Monogram release of the kit. They’re exactly the same. The rear cockpit sidewall inserts for a Navy -J are on the sprues but not mentioned anywhere in the AM instructions.

I think it’s a shame that AM could do such a sloppy job, especially after Monogram made the effort to tool an accurate kit in the first place. Especially when they’re charging three times what the original kit sold for. I feel like I just paid $30 for a $10 kit with a set of $20 decals and an inaccurate set of instructions.

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better now. :wink:

Mark