Are there any kits of the F-4D in 1/72 that are either out or forthcoming? I have ordered the Cutting Edge sheet for the D and would like to do a pair of Ds. Hasegawa supposedly has done the D and Fujimi as well, are there any out there? TIA.
As near as I can tell, none are currently in production. Both Fujimi and Hasegawa did kits in the past. They can still occasionally be found on eBay (but if they're available outside the US, you're going to have to outbid me for them :-) Monogram also did an F-4D, which is also still available via eBay, but this kit has raised panel lines, so if you're allergic to those this kit is not for you. As far as I can tell, all three kits will build into a nice model.
Rob
I didn't realize Hasegawa had done 1/72nd F-4C/Ds. I did have a Fujimi kit and it was very nice. I also have a couple of Monogram kits and they are nice, too. They're somewhere in my storage unit in one of the multitudes of BIG boxes, or I'd find one for you. I think in 1/72nd scale the raised panel lines aren't that big a deal. A coat or two of paint "tones" them right down.
Don McIntyre Clarksville, TN
Its not the panel lines, its the combination of raised panel lines and anything but perfect fit that will result in headaches. Just image the seam between the fuselage halves needing filling and sanding, in the presence of raised panel lines. Once you sand off some lines, there's no way to reconstruct them, and your best option may well be to sand them all off just to maintain a constant finish. Some brilliant people may be able to sand between the panel lines, leaving them intact, but my skills aren't up to that. Of course, sanding off the panel lines might be best in 1/72 scale in any case.
Rob
There are a couple ways that work quite well. You need a NEW xacto blade to do it. Once all sanding is complete, cut a line where the panel line should be. Use a bit of pressure to get a nicely defined cut. This will open up a narrow V-shaped cut in the plastic. Once you paint, the paint will build up slightly in the V and stand proud of the surface. The line will be hard to tell from a regular raised panel line. Another way is to glue stretched sprue into the V. Liquid glue will instantly melt the sprue into a raised panel line.
The other option is to as you mentioned, sand off all the panel lines and then either use a sharp drafting pencil to draw in the lines you want, or use slight variations of the paint colour(s) to show the panels. The paint trick works best on solid colours; it might get a bit tricky if you're doing SEA cam : )
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