1/32 Revell RF-4C Recce Phantom

by Steven De Mulder

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Kit: Revell 04072, built straight out of the box apart from some extra detailing in the cockpit.
Glue: mainly Zap-A-Gap, both super thin and gap filling. White glue for the clear parts.
Putty, polishing compound and masking tape all from Tamiya.
Decals: Airdoc 32006.
Paint: Humbrol enamel 125 and 128, Testors ModelMasters metalizers.
Sealing: Johnson's Future.
Airbrush: Badger 150
Wash: artist's oil paints thinned with turpentine.
Weathering: artists chalks and pencils.
Varnish: Humbrol Satin 135.
Documentation: Daniel Soulaine's Phantom Guardians, Verlinden's Lock On n° 8, Gulf Air War Debrief and Detail & Scale vol. 1. Of course the internet and the following newsgroups: alt.binaries.models.scale, rec.models.scale and rec.aviation.military

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A key factor in the successful outcome of any conflict is good intelligence. Long in the tooth but still effective, the sharkmouthed RF-4C Phantoms from the Birmingham based Alabama Air National Guard made sure the allied forces were well served in this area. Stationed at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain (aka Shaky Pizza) the 18 aircraft from the 106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron were the only LOROP (Long Range Oblique Photography) aircraft in the theatre. By the time Desert Shield turned into Desert Storm, the Alabama crews were already replaced by guardsmen from Reno, Nevada. During Operation Desert Storm the RF-4Cs carried out daytime only tactical reconnaissance, including searching for facilities associated with mobile Scud missile launchers.

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I built this kit over a period of five months, starting the project early December 2002 and ending it at the end of April 2003. During this time span there were several weeks of inactivity when I had more urgent matters to attend to!

You'll find more models on my website:
Plastic Wings

Steven

Photos and text © by Steven De Mulder