1:48 McDonnell-Douglas FG.1/FGR.2

An American airframe with a British heart

When the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force ordered the F-4 in the United States, they pushed through a fundamental change: instead of the original engines, the machines were given British Rolls-Royce Speys. These were bulkier, so the rear fuselage had to be widened and the intakes enlarged. The result was an aircraft with better thrust at low altitude but with higher drag up high. The naval version was designated FG.1 and the version for the Royal Air Force FGR.2.

Six machines, twenty years of service

The list begins with XV571 of No. 43 Squadron from Leuchars in Scotland in 1989 and goes on with XV403 of No. 6 Squadron, which moved to Malta in 1969. Next comes XV422 with a nickname recalling the shooting down of a Jaguar of their own, caught with No. 19 Squadron at a training range in Sardinia in 1989. The run closes with XV399 of No. 29 Squadron from April 1980, XV485 of No. 23 Squadron from May 1981 and XV401 of a conversion unit at Wattisham in 1988.

From gray-green to a single gray

The span of years the sheet covers is at the same time the story of British camouflage. Machines from the end of the 1960s and from the 1970s wore a contrasting green-gray pattern on top with a light belly, whereas by the close of the 1980s a single darker gray finish suited to air combat had come to prevail. The markings on the sheet therefore have to be paired with a finish matching the year.

Gluing it down

Level the base with gloss varnish and on the more pronounced relief areas, such as the joints of the weapon pylon covers, use a decal softener. Smaller lettering is better applied once the large areas have dried, so that it is not damaged while they are being moved.