This is my build of a Royal Navy Phantom F4K in 1/32 scale – a build that requires quite a lot of adaptation of the venerable Tamiya F4J kit.

In 1964 the Royal Navy replaced its Sea Vixens with a modified version of the Phantom F4J. The original General Electric engines were replaced with Rolls Royce Spey turbofans to allow operations from US carriers. The larger Spey engines required subtle but significant changes to the airframe – primarily larger intakes, a broader body and larger exhausts. They also extended the nose wheel to increase lift on take off, but as this Phantom would be in-flight that wasn’t relevant here.

There are a few builds of this across the internet that go into massive and precise detail, but I have never been one for measuring panel lines and outlets etc. We weren’t looking for an exact replica, but we did want the Phantom to look right…

I started off with the excellent conversion kit from Aeroscale. They are keen to point out that this is not a full conversion kit, and it does leave a lot for the modeller to do – but it gives a really good starting point to work to, and takes care of the key detail.