Model Aircraft Magazine MDFSD-02 Phantom Back Issue

RAF and Royal Navy F-4 Phantom FG.1, FGR.2 & F-4J(UK)

MDF Scaled Down #2
By Andy Evans with Gary Hatcher

You can almost feel the ground shaking as the twin Spey turbofans of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom send orange plumes shooting down the runway, propelling one of the icons of the Cold War into the blue. The F-4 Phantom served with both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy as a carrier based fleet protector, and as a ground attack, reconnaissance and air defence fighter from the 1960s into the early 1990s. The Phantom remains one of the world's most popular aircraft, and it was chosen to serve as part of the UK’s defence strategy as a result of the cancellations of home-grown projects and foreign purchases. What made the Phantom such a good choice was its versatility, and the ability, it was thought when outfitted with British engines and systems, to make it a better all round machine than its counterpart then in US service. These changes, however, came at a price, and compromises meant that the the F-4K and F-4M Spey engined Phantom never realised its full potential, yet it became one of the most effective aircraft to serve with the RAF and Royal Navy, and whether being flung from the waist catapult of Ark Royal or on Quick Reaction Alert out over the North Sea, the British F-4 gave years of sterling service.

The full story of the British Phantom is now brought to life in this latest action-packed MDF Scaled Down book, and contains details of the F-4 in UK service, and looks closely at the type's genesis, and the resulting Royal Navy Phantom FG.1 and the Royal Air Force Phantom FGR.2, and the stop-gap purchase following the Falklands War, the F-4J(UK). With colour and mono images, many hitherto unpublished, colour side profiles, walkarounds, a comprehensive kitography and tips on how to model the British Phantom in popular scales, this is a one-stop ‘must-have’ publication for the enthusiast and modeller alike.