Black Box 1/32 F-4D (LORAN) Phantom II Cockpit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Black Box has been turning out some of the most impressive aftermarket cockpit sets for over eight years. I remember the jaw-dropping details in their first releases - a 1/48 A-6E Intruder and a 1/32 F4U Corsair - both of which raised the bar on cockpit detail light years beyond the competition of the time.

Since that debut, they've continued to raise the bar on their cockpits as casting materials and technologies improve. A few years ago, Black Box debuted the Combat Series of cockpit sets, which are the high-end (more detail/fidelity) cockpits in their line.

This release is a complete make-over of Tamiya's 1/32 F-4C/D Phantom II. The kit cockpit is really nice out of the box, but you can definitely see the difference when you compare the styrene parts with this new set!

The conversion consists of 45 beautifully cast resin parts which provide the front and rear cockpit tubs, new sidewalls, bulkheads, ejection seats, control sticks, throttles, instrument panels, the upper rear of the rear instrument panel (visible from above), etc.

The only conversion work required on the Tamiya kit is to remove a small portion of the canopy sill, the center and rear decks, and an alignment tab on the top of the nosegear wheel well.

The rear cockpit tub is glued to the rear of the front tub, and if you look at the front of the front tub, you'll see the same mounting stub as the kit cockpit so that the resin tub can be screwed into place inside the fuselage (I'd still use cyano to make sure it stays there after installation).

As with any of Black Box's offerings, this set will transform that bland cockpit into an eye-popping scale replica. These sets are highly recommended for modelers with at least some experience working with resin detail sets.

My sincere thanks to Black Box for this review sample!