My Navy Phantoms were covered in posts #1 thru #4, so it is time to switch to the USAF versions of the Fox Four. Hasegawa was the first, I believe, to market a decent 1/72 Echo version of the Phantom. It had a few problems, especially in the cockpit, but it makes a pretty decent model. This would be my first effort at air brushing a camouflage paint job. I loaded the plane with 12 CBU-52 750 lb cluster bomb units along with 4 AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Then to give in to my urge to be different, I cut the wing tips loose and glued them in the upright position. This kit comes with a 4 piece canopy, so posing them open was pretty easy. The seats are very basic and the rest of the cockpit is pretty much none existent. This model depicts one the first batch of Echo Phantoms to be sent to South East Asia. It was assigned to the 34 Tac Fighter Squadron of the 388 Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. [alien]
