Black Box

1/48 F4-E Phantom II cockpit set

Product # 48029 for Hasegawa kit

Product Article by Mike Reeves

 

 

 

This is Black Boxes newest release the F-4E cockpit update for your Hasegawa 1/48 kit. The set includes 21 sharply cast cream colored resin pieces to dress up that Rhino that you have been waiting to build.  The masters for this set were made by the very talented Mike Kirchoff.

You get a superbly cast cockpit with excellent detail and all of the trimmings such as: control panels, MB MK.7 seats, control panels, sticks black boxes, side panels, rudder pedals and throttles.

This is one of Black Boxes best looking sets that I have seen in a while. Of course accuracy is all subjective when you are talking F-4E's.  When looking at pictures of different F-4s from different eras or during mods, they can almost all be somewhat different! This one sure looks the part though. I am very impressed with the level of detail on all of the parts. They are all clean with no flash or bubbles.

I have done some test fitting and I can say....thin the sidewalls and make sure you get as much of the casting block off of the cockpit tub as you can to make it fit. That pesky nose wheel well is a pain to get the cockpit over.  The seats are very well casted as well. I wish that Black Box would also just cast their seats separately without belts so the modeler doesnt have to have two seats with matching belts in the cockpits of their station wagons.  I really like the wiring on the back of the rear instrument panel. Care must be taken not to lose it when assembling this part of the set.

Rear instrument panel.

Overall this set is a very welcome addition to my ever growing Black Box collection. Yes they have had a couple of "disappointments" lately but that can be due to several factors. I think that their resin quality is still among the very best and I for one will continue to buy their sets in multiples! We need companies like black Box to continue to flourish and this is one set that will help them do that.

I will recommend this set to anyone who wants a NEW pit in their old Hasegawa Rhino. My thanks to Black Box and North American Hobbies for the review sample!

Mike Reeves

2 ejection seats with belts folded differently. 

 

(click on pictures below to bring up full screen pictures)

Instrument panel Front cockpit tub Rear cockpit tub.

 

Various consoles for front and rear. Sidewall panels for front and rear. Various remaining parts.

 

Photos and text © by Mike Reeves