Zotz | ZTZ32 076: F-4C/D Phantom II in the Vietnam War

Reviewed by Kevin Williams

As are many in the world today that have a love of aviation, I too am a confirmed Phantom Phanatic. I can still recall the days when I first began to see the Phantoms flying around here in St Louis, being eventually flown in force by the 131st TFW, MOANG. My initial reaction was, what an ugly beast, but as time wore on, I learned to love the old girl, and began to really appreciate her unique style. Unbeknownst to me, she was destined to go down in the historical record as a truly remarkable and capable air frame, being pressed into service for fighter, interceptor, reconnaissance, tactical bomber and close air support missions, all roles where she was regularly flown with great success.

This newest sheet from Zotz, being dedicated specifically to the C/D models of the Phantom, are welcome additions to the decal market, as there have been precious few sheets (in my opinion), dedicated solely to the SEA C and D series air frame versions of this iconic workhorse aircraft, a product of the fine folks at McDonnell Douglas, here in St Louis, Mo.

Two large decal sheets are included, and they look very comprehensive. Initial reactions are quite favorable, as opacity and thinness seem to be to an acceptable standard, and printing also seems to be perfectly in register, with minimal carrier film where allowable. A fair amount of fine detail stenciling (but not general air frame data) and other miscellaneous bits are also included, including turbine warning stripes, national insignia and slime lights. No mention is made of where these decals were printed, or by whom, but I think it's a safe bet to assume they were printed in Mexico.

The instructions seem well detailed with research contributions being noted. These are printed on very heavy gloss stock, and are very nice, adding a certain element of class to the overall presentation. Painting, stencil and decal placement details are included where relevant. Information pertaining to individual aircraft and detail notes, are provided where applicable. These markings are bound to be popular for use on the big Tamiya kit. With such a huge selection of markings (13 different schemes, (4) Cs and (9) Ds) , I doubt that modelers will need to look any further for aftermarket decals for their C/D type Phantoms!

The Sheets

The Aircraft

No less than thirteen different air frames are depicted on this set, those being (in no particular order):

66-7550 F-4D, MiG Killer
66-7554 F-4D, MiG Killer
66-7601 F-4D, MiG Killer
63-7713 F-4C
63-7708 F-4C
66-7767 F-4D
63-7680 F-4C, MiG Killer
66-7748 F-4D, MiG Killer
64-0704 F-4C
66-8763 F-4D
66-8727 F-4D
66-9723 F-4D
66-8777 F-4D

Instructions/Profiles

Note: At this time I must confess that I’m reviewing these without having consulted any references, as I would typically only do that when undertaking modeling a particular subject from the sheets, which I will do when the time comes, so I cannot comment upon any inherent accuracy errors, if indeed any are present.

Overall, I’d say that if you have a 1:32 F-4C/D in need of some seriously cool decals, and enjoy the SEA paint schemes (I certainly do), then I can highly recommend using this set as a great addition to your Rhino.

My review samples compliments of Eli at Zotz. Thanks, Eli.

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