In-box review of the Tamiya 1/72 Douglas F4D-1 Skyray

 

Unboxing review of:

- Tamiya 1/72 Douglas F4D-1 Skyray -

a peek inside the box.

    Today I have another review for you all. This week it's the Douglas F4D-1 Skyray in 1/72 from Tamiya. A 2nd generation, delta-wing interceptor jet fighter built by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation. It's an interesting example of early jet aircraft design. And one I had no knowledge of its existence until I saw this kit. Without further ado, let's get down to the bench and see if Tamiya did justice to this fascinating piece of aviation history.

Box art

box art front.

    The box art features a completed model of the Skyray with some nice, soft yellow light simulating sunrise or sunset. In all honesty, the box art is a little bit boring, but it still kind of capture the Skyray's features quite nicely. 

    In the top left corner we have the scale of this kit. This is part of Tamiya's War Bird Collection. Below that are the measurements of the completed model with a wingspan of 141mm and a length of 150mm. Underneath that are some specifications of what to expect like detailed landing gear and cockpit.

    In the top middle is the name of the subject in a large font. And in the top we are once again told that this is part of the War Bird Collection and that this is kit number 41 written in Japanese. And next to that is the Tamiya logo.

one of the long edges.

    On one of the long edges are two hand drawings of the F4D-1 Skyray, with some annotations of what some of the components are, Next to that is the Tamiya logo, along with contact info for Tamiya, and a copyright date of 1998 which might or might not also be the tooling date.

the other long edge.

    On the other long edge we have a couple more photos of a finished models, along with the paints you'll need to complete this build from Tamiya's own range. There's also mention of decal solution and plastic cement. Of course you can substitute these with the equivalents from your favorite paint and supplies manufacturer/s. And then we have the Tamiya logo, above it we are told that this kit was manufactured in the Philippines, and below the logo are contact info written in English and a barcode.

short edge.

    On the short edge we have a cropped in version of the box art, along with some off the same information found on the front of the box, and an item number of 60741 in case you wish to buy this exact model kit. This is mirrored exactly on the other short edge so there's no point in showing the other side, and the back is completely blank.

Contents of the box

inside the box.

    Inside the box we have our bag, or in this case bags of sprues, instructions leaflet, decal sheet, and a hints & tips leaflet.

most of the stuff out of the box.

    The contents of the box are quite large to fit all of it on the bench at the same time. But here we have the box, in the bottom of which the health & safety warning is printed in several languages. Next to that are the bags of sprues and then is the rather large decal sheet.

contents of the box.

    With the box out of the way. we have a hints & tips leaflet, the instruction leaflet, the bags of sprues and the decal sheet. So now, let's go through these one by one.

Documentation

hints & tips leaflet front.

    Starting with the Hints & Tips leaflet, this is surprisingly well written, giving you not only techniques but also a list of basic tools needed for scale modeling. It is written in both Japanese and English. The explanations are brief, but helpful. This side talks about everything from removing parts, to cleaning, to drilling holes, and a quick explanation of the different types of glues you might want to use.

hints & tips leaflet back.

    On the back are tips for handling small parts, handling chrome plated plastic parts, a brief explanation of lacquer, enamel and acrylic paints, and using spray cans. Overall this piece of literature is well written with very useful information for beginners. I'd argue that it's even better written than the ones we've seen in Academy kits. Not that those are bad by any means. But I find this one from Tamiya is structured better and includes points that the Academy one overlooks.

instruction leaflet cover.

    The front of the instruction leaflet features a black and white photo of a finished model of the Skyray, s well as some technical and operational information of the real world aircraft, which is always worth giving a read.

instruction leaflet - build steps.

    Opening up the leaflet, it takes up a lot of space, and this is why I hate these types of instructions. I much prefer the book style ones. Anyway, this side contains some quick tips and the build instructions broken up in several more or less logical steps.

instruction leaflet - paint guide.

    On the other side there's a brief painting quick tips section and the painting guides for three different paint schemes. And it ends with some decal application quick tips and a part replacement form.

build quick tips.

    Going back to the start, we have the build quick tips section written in several languages. If you decide to skip the separate hints and tips leaflet, you should at least take the time to read through these if you are a beginner.

cockpit assembly.

    As with the vast majority of aircraft kits we start with the cockpit. We first assemble the ejector seat which comes in three parts; the seat itself and the railing which comes in two halves. We then add the control column to the cockpit tub, apply the decal to the instrument panel decal to the instrument panel and add this to the tub as well. We then insert the completed seat inside the tub, attach the anti-glare shield, then we glue this onto what will become the nose gear bay. Lastly we need to add 5g of weight to the nose before sandwiching the two nose fuselage half sections and cockpit subassembly together.

fuselage assembly.

    Next we need to assemble the main fuselage of the F4D-1. First the bottom half will require some drilling if you wish to attach the drop tanks. Then we install the engine intake fan and main gear bay walls. Then it looks like we need to open up a panel on the upper fuselage half. After that we can glue together the fuselage halves.

nose section to fuselage assembly.

    In step 3 we need to add the cockpit subassembly to the main fuselage and add the air intake fairings to either side of the aft of the nose section.

exhaust, arrester hook, and skid wheel assembly.

    In step 4 we move to the back to attach the exhaust nozzle, the arrester hook, skid wheel (which prevents or at least dampens tail strikes during landing) and the skid wheel door.

landing gear assembly.

    Next we need to assemble the landing gear. The nose gear comes in three parts comprised of the wheel, the strut and a small part to create a cradle to hold it in place. I'd suspect that with careful glue application, you could have the nose wheel rotate freely. The main landing gear also comes in three parts; the wheel, the landing strut and actuator.

attaching the landing gear to the model.

    Then we need to install the landing gear into the landing gear bays. We also need to add two small parts fore of the main landing gear. I suspect these are antennas of some sort but I'm not sure, if you have any idea, please let me know in the comments below.

attaching the gear bay doors.

    Next we need to attach the landing gear bay doors to the model. This looks like a fairly simple affair, with half of the doors being in the closed position when the gear is fully deployed and locked.

canopy and vertical stabilizer assembly.

    Then we need to add the canopy to the cockpit. There is a small frame that needs to be attached to the bottom of the main canopy. There doesn't seem to be an option for an open cockpit. But I assume that with some modification it could be done. In front of the cockpit we also need to add a pitot tube. Then we need to install the vertical stabilizer which comes in two halves.

weapons and external store assembly.

    Lastly we need to assemble the various weaponry and external fuel tanks, first to their respective pilons and hard points, then to the underside of the F4D-1 Skyray.

painting quick tips.

    Turning the leaflet over, we have the painting quick tips, and this talks about how U.S. Navy aircraft were painted after February 1955. Which is the exact same scheme I used on my F-4J Phantom II. It also mentions that many aircraft had unique color variations depending on the unit. This is pretty basic information, but still very useful for the uninitiated who might not know how to paint a U.S. Navy aircraft, or how precise the color needs to be.

VF (AW)-3 paint scheme.

    The painting guide is printed in black and white which is far from ideal. It's not a massive problem here as the aircraft mostly a white underside, with a light gull gray on the top and a semigloss black nose. But even so, having the guide printed in color would be a lot more helpful.

    Anyway the first paint scheme, and the one I'm most probably going to go for, simply because it has the most unique markings, is for VF (AW)-3 (All-Weather Fighter Squadron Three). 

VMF (AW)-144 paint scheme.

    The next paint scheme is for VMF (AW)-114 (Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 114). This has more generic markings, with the most unique parts being the tops of the drop tanks and the playing card symbols on the tail of the aircraft.

VMF (AW)-115 paint scheme 1.

VMF (AW)-115

    The third and last paint scheme is for VMF (AW)-115 (Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 115) known today as VMFA-115 (Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115), is the only squadron that still exists today, and it also has the most generic markings of the three. But I guess it's nice to include a less colorful option for those who prefer them.

Decal sheet

decal sheet in bag.

    The decals come inside in a protective bag, just like those from Academy, but for a bit of added protection, Tamiya also added a sheet of nonstick paper to prevent the decals sticking to the bag in case of any moisture buildup. This is a really nice touch and I really appreciate it since it add little extra cost to the manufacturer to do this.

decal sheet overview.

    With the decals out of the bag and with the paper removed, the printing looks really nice. The colors are all vibrant which is very appropriate for an aircraft of this vintage. The decals are made in-house by Tamiya, and whilst I've never worked with Tamiya kits and by extension Tamiya decals before, these look really good at a first glance and I don't think they should pose much of a challenge to apply.

roundels and tail markings.

    The roundels look really good, the printing is crisp, the colors are nice, everything is in register. Nothing looks out of place and that good to see. Same goes for the tail markings and the tops of the other markings visible in this shot.

tail markings, wing markings and intake stencils.

    The quality of the print continues as we go down the sheet. This is truly a joy to behold.

more tail markings.

    The story continues even onto the blue tail markings for VF (AW)-3. There's not a single blemish or misplaced pixel anywhere in sight. The color is consistent throughout, all the colors are in register. It's really near perfect.

more markings and tail numbers.

 

    This consistency continues further down as well. Again, all the colors are in register, the tone and hue is consistent, text is legible, nothing to complain about.

tail numbers, fuselage numbers and stencils.

    And it just doesn't end. The quality of the printing really is remarkable.

instrument panel decal.

    The instrument panel decal is also very well printed. I can pretty much tell what gauge is what, and given the size of it, that's pretty much incredible.

tail marking and squadron insignia.

    Taking a quick look at some off the smaller decals, especially the squadron insignia and the small decal below that is telling that Tamiya care about quality. There's some really fine detail inside the insignia, and the WADF text in the black marking is less than a millimeter tall. These decal sheets are silk screen printed, making the amount of visible detail even more amazing. To me at least.

The plastic

bags of sprues.

    There are two sprues molded in a light gray plastic and a small sprue with the transparencies. Each sprue is packaged separately which is really clever, as this prevents parts from breaking off during transport. Honestly this is nice to see.

sprue A overview.

    With the sprues out of the bags, let's take a closer look at each one in closer detail and see if Tamiya did justice to this interesting early jet. First up is sprue A. This only has a handful of parts; the fuselage halves, the vertical stabilizer, gear bay walls, nose gear bay, air intake fairings, engine intake fan, and three smaller parts, I'm not quite sure what they are but one of them goes on the inside of the upper fuselage half and the other two smaller parts (which I assume are antennas of some sort) go underneath the aircraft. Anyway, let's take a closer look at this sprue.

bottom fuselage half.

    First up on this sprue is the bottom fuselage half. The molding is really good, with nice crisp recessed panel lines and rivet detail. 

bottom of right wing closeup.

    Going in a bit closer, we can see a myriad of panels, a refueling cap near the tip of the wing, stabilizer fins, the gun ports beneath the leading edge, the spent casings ejector ports, and even the elevon (a combination of elevators and ailerons common on delta wing aircraft) actuators are really nicely molded. The amount of detail is almost incredible.

bottom of left wing closeup.

    The molding is just as good on the opposite side. And this goes to show why Tamiya are so revered. 

left main gear bay wall.

    Moving on, next we have the left main gear bay wall, again really nicely detailed, there are visible rivets and a host of beams and spars making up the framework of the aircraft.

nose gear bay and intake fairings.

    The same goes for the nose gear bay, we even have some hydraulics molded inside the nose gear. The air intake fairings are also nicely molded.

air intake closeup.

    Taking a closer look at the air intake fairing, the shape looks pretty much spot on, and there is also a small detail molded on the outside, I guess this is some sort of duct to divert some of the air to some internal systems, I'm not quite sure, but it's nice that it's there. Most manufacturers wouldn't have bothered with this, especially not at this price point.

right main gear bay wall.

    The right main gear bay wall is also nicely molded. I'm more and more impressed with the quality of this kit as we go.

engine intake fan.

    Next we have the engine intake fan. The detail here is not mind blowing, but for a part that will barely be visible the molding of the individual blades is astonishing. I wouldn't be surprised if the correct number of fan blades are molded for the Pratt & Whitney J57-P-8 engine present in the Skyray. 😁

top fuselage half.

    The top fuselage half is also really nicely molded, there are fewer panels here but that's accurate to the real Skyray. But there is still quite a lot of detail here.

top of right wing closeup.

    Getting in a bit closer, the amount of detail becomes a lot clearer, even with the glare from my light we can still see rivets and individual panels.

spine closeup.

    The detail on and around the spine of the aircraft is just as good as everywhere else. Loads of access panels and hatches. This whole kit is a super detailer's playground.

top of left wing closeup.

    And the story continues, the detail of the molding is really good on this side as well. One thing I haven't mentioned yet, is the surprising lack of flash and sink marks. There's none to be seen anywhere on the model. At the very least not on this sprue. We still have two more sprues to go through, so it's still possible for these to crop up. But so far, there's no sign of flash or sink marks, and that makes me happy. 😄

vertical stabilizer left half.

    The detail on the vertical stabilizer presents some access panels, the actuators and a host of rivet details all nicely molded.

vertical stabilizer right half.

    Moving on to the other half of the stabilizer the quality continues.

small unidentified parts.

    Then we have 3 small parts on this sprue, I'm not entirely sure what they are. Number 7 I think are antennas, and number 6 I really don't know. Regardless, they are still nicely molded.

small unidentified parts reverse side.

    Flipping the sprue around doesn't reveal the identity of these parts, but I can see the first small issue, the two small hook-like parts which I still assume are some sort of antennas, have some ejector-pin marks. Not a big deal as they don't seem deep, but some sanding will be required to bring them up to standard.

sprue B overview.

    Sprue B contains the majority of the parts, here we have all the landing gear, cockpit, weapons, drop tank components and exhaust nozzle. As well as the nose of the F4D-1.

landing gear actuator, wheels, skid wheel, gear bay door.

    Getting in closer, we have the main landing gear actuators on the left, with a surprising amount of detail for the size. The wheels are also beautifully detailed. Even the anti-tail-strike or skid wheel is really nicely molded.

main gear actuator, gear bay doors and canopy framing.

    The gear bay doors look really good as well, there's no flash in sight which is really surprising. The frame that goes in the bottom of the canopy also presents some nice detail.

nose wheel, second set of main gear bay doors.

    The nose wheel too is really nicely molded. One of the main gear doors seems like it has a crack in it, but I assure you that is not the case. My guess is that the line we see across the middle is just a sign of slightly poorly mixed plastic. Hopefully that won't affect the integrity of the part.

nose gear landing strut, actuator and pitot tube.

    The nose gear landing strut is also nicely molded with a nice amount of detail. There is a very tiny amount of flash, the first time we see this in this kit, but that should be easily removed with a sharp knife. The actuator for the nose gear is also nicely molded, so is the small pitot tube that goes in front of the cockpit.

tail hook, and skid wheel door.

    The arrester hook and skid wheel door are also nicely molded. They are a bit simplified, but they still look really nice. There's a bit more flash here. But again, nothing a sharp blade can't deal with.

pilons and weapon racks.

    The pilons and weapon racks are nicely molded too, with some nice access panels visible.

rocket pod and AIM-9 sidewinders.

    Slightly disappointingly the rocket pod is molded with the aero shrouds on. I would have liked the option to have them without the shrouds, But I'm certain there are aftermarket replacements for that. Next to that are two AIM-9 Sidewinders which are nicely molded as well.

instrument panel, control stick and anti-glare shield.

    The instrument panel is very nicely detailed as well. A bit on the simpler side, but there's still a lot of detail. Although not visible in this shot, even the screws that hold each individual gauge in place are molded. The flight stick is also really nicely molded, so is the anti-glare shield.

cockpit tub.

    The cockpit tub also presents a lot of detail, with a host of knobs, switches and buttons present. The rudder pedals are also molded in and we even have the canopy mechanism nicely molded.

ejector seat railing halves.

    Next we have the ejector seat railing, there's no detail here, but that's understandable as we are looking at the inside where the two halves need to be glued together.

pilon and seat.

    Then we have another nicely molded pilon. Below that is the seat, which looks a tad bit chunky, but it should still be serviceable.

NAVPAC.

    Next we have the NAVPAC, a bomb shaped navigation package used on the Skyray for enhanced navigational capabilities. And it goes without saying that this is nicely molded as well.

rocket pod.

    The second rocket pod is molded the same way as the first. Again, If you want to display the aircraft with the aero shrouds removed from them you will need to get aftermarket parts. Alternatively, you could probably modify the existing ones if you feel so inclined.

nose gear bay doors and exhaust nozzle.

    The nose gear bay doors look nice too. The exhaust nozzle looks nice as well albeit a bit simplified. There are some scratches on the exhaust, but they are on an area that won't be visible at all, so it doesn't matter much.

left landing gear strut.

right landing gear strut.

    The main landing gear struts are again nicely molded, with a decent amount of detail. Even the brake calipers are present, giving plenty of room for detailing and weathering.

drop tanks.

    Moving on to the drop tanks and as expected, these are also nicely molded, with nice panel lines and refueling caps visible.

nose section halves.

    The nose of the Skyray, is also nicely molded. There's a lot of detail to be found here as well, from access panels to vents, rivets and everything in between.

left half of nose section.

right half of nose section.

    Taking a closer look at the nose, the details are even more visible. I am having trouble finding any major fault with this kit.

nose gear bay door interior.

    Flipping the sprue around the tone shifts somewhat. Looking at the gear bay doors, we can see a nice amount of detail. But there are some ejector-pin marks on the smaller door, in an area that will be quite difficult to access and sand down. Luckily, the landing strut will obstruct this somewhat, but it's still not ideal. We can also see some of the interior detail of the exhaust nozzle here.

first set of main gear bay doors.

    The first set of main gear bay doors are also nicely detailed, but once again, we can see ejector pin marks which will need to be sanded down. Unfortunately, that will remove the fine rivet detail. I do have a riveting tool to address that, but I don't think a wheel with the correct pitch to replicate the spacing. It remains to be seen how I'll tackle these parts.

second set of main gear bay doors.

    The second set of main gear bay doors also present a nice amount of detail. But once again, there are some ejector pin marks. Thankfully, these are only opened on this aircraft when the landing gear is in the process of being lowered or retracted, so they won't be visible, but it's still a black mark against an otherwise near flawless kit.

exterior sides of ejector seat railing.

    Lastly for this sprue we have the ejector seat railing. There is decent detail here, but once again there are some unsightly ejector-pin marks which will need sanding.

Clear parts

sprue C overview.

    Moving on to the final sprue in this kit which contains our transparencies. And I'm pleased to say that they look really nice. The photo's I've taken are not going to do justice to just how good these are. But I was having a lot of difficulty getting the camera to focus on them. Yes, that's how good they are 😁. They are still not the best I've ever seen, but they are definitely up there among the best.

front canopy closeup.

    Taking a closer look at the front canopy half, the framing is really nicely. Tamiya opted to go for more realism, so the framework is a bit on the shallower side. I'd recommend using a fresh blade if you plan on creating your own masks. Alternatively, and perhaps the better option would be to look for precut masks for this kit.

main canopy closeup.

    The main canopy also looks really nice. Again the framework is a bit shallow in the interest of scale accuracy. Again a really sharp blade, or precut masks will be key here to get them to look right. I think I'll get some precut masks myself. I'd hate to ruin the canopies with a blade. There are some nice looking ones from MH Models if you are interested product code X72074.

front canopy transparency demonstration.

main canopy transparency demonstration.

    This is where I had the most trouble taking good photos. The camera kept wanting to focus on my fingers instead of the transparencies. But in my eyes, that's a good sign. It shows just how well Tamiya maintain their molds.

transparencies side view.

    The side view is probably the most revealing to the quality of the mold here. I cannot overstate how well these pieces are made. And given the copyright date of 1998, these are quite old molds. And still the quality is undeniable.

The good and the bad.

    Instructions.

        Pros:

• nicely paced build steps
• clear annotations where necessary
• easy to read and follow instructions

        Cons:

• instructions are a bit crowded in places
• black and white paint guides never ideal

    Decals.

        Pros:

• beautifully printed
• crisp, vibrant colors
• all colors in register
• fine details visible

        Cons:

• none that I could find

    Main sprues.

        Pros:

• beautiful, crisp panel lines, rivet detail and other detail
• virtually no flash in sight
• no sink marks whatsoever

        Cons:

• seat slightly chunky
• ejector pin marks in difficult to access areas

    Clear sprue.

        Pros:

• transparency is near flawless
• in scale framework

        Cons:

• masking may be tricky without precut aftermarket masks.

Final verdict

    This kit is really a good example of why Tamiya kits are so loved. For an entry level mass production manufacturer the quality is really outstanding. The kit doesn't come without flaws, but the overall quality overshadows any drawbacks of this kit.

    The tooling for this kit was made back in 1998, the same date as the copyright date. And for a kit of this vintage, the quality is even more incredible. It shows that Tamiya care about the experience of the consumer and that's more than can be said about a lot of the other entry level kit manufacturers.

    At the time of purchase I paid €10.59, and given the quality of the kit, I think that is a very fair price.

    Tamiya are also known for making kits that are rather easy to assemble, making this a very good choice as a first kit. Although I myself have yet to build a Tamiya kit, given the amount of praise their kits receive, I have no reason to doubt that this will come together really nicely.

    In terms of alternatives, there are a few out there in various scales from Airfix, Testors, Aurora, FROG, Addar as well as a few others. But as far as I can tell Tamiya's offering is one of the newer ones. Making this kit or the 1/48 version which was also tooled in 1998 probably the best choices.

    All in all, I'm really pleased with how this kit presents itself out of the box. At a first glance I can't see any difficulties during the building process, but that will become apparent the moment this kit makes it's way onto the bench once again.

    I really hope you found this review helpful and insightful. Please let me know whether you are planning to get this kit and build it for yourselves, or indeed if you already have built this kit. If you did build it, let me know what your experience was. I'm also curious to know whether this review swayed you either towards getting this kit or if it put you off.

    That said, I'm really looking forward to building the F4D-1 Skyray. It looks like it will be a really fun build.

    Please leave a like if you enjoyed this article, share it on social media, and consider subscribing to get informed of future posts. That is it from me, I hope you all have a wonderful day and happy modeling everyone. Cheers!! 😁