[John Youngs]

Another shot (one provided by Don Scott, a friend & former Skipper of VF-51, Screaming Eagles (& the guy who came up with the paint scheme for the squadron!)) of the real plane & one of the Armour/CDC model. Trying like crazy to find one, but very hard to locate! The few I've seen were not "N.I.B." If I'm gonna settle for a $300+ plane, it's GOING to be "N.I.B."!! Anybody got one for sale, or know of anyone with one for sale, please let me know via pvt. msg! Thank you! - JY

PS: The pix below of the Armour VF-51 Screaming Eagles F-4 came from Ranjet - with much appreciation & thanks!!

[flyXwire]

Very cool looking scheme for the F-4...I see why you like it!

[STARMAN 352ND]

One of these birds was on ebay Canada last week i remember seeing one .
JP

[John Youngs]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

One of these birds was on ebay Canada last week i remember seeing one .
JP

FlyXwire & Starman352nd - My biggest concern herein is the same as it was for my newly-acquired B11D750 (Japanese 302 Hikotai F-4EJ Phantom - fortunately, I found out before purchase, it was made with pad-printed graphics), and my old B11B459 R.N. FG.1 Phantom which was terribly done - a real "rush" job by Armour; and that is: Did they use water-slide decals combined with a matte-finish paint scheme or did they utilize pad-printed graphics? If water-slide decals are used in conjunction with gloss paint and a clear coat on top, then that works out well. But with same said decals on top of a matte finish paint scheme, then that's a botch-job waiting to happen! It then just becomes just a matter of time before the decals begin to "silver" and then start to separate from the painted surface(s) to which they were initially installed. In this case, a real pretty plane - yes - but the use of water-slide decals (remember, this particular model was one of the last of the original "Armour/CDC" models put out before FM took over) ruins the desirability of the (die-cast) model in question, in my opinion. They (Armour/CDC) tended to do things differently back then - not all of it good. The fairly wide-spread use of water-slide decals being one of them. I'm trying to find out from someone who's got one of these models to see how they were finished, before spending a "collector's ransom" to acquire one. To me, it makes a difference! - JY

[Armour Addict]

Bad timing John...

One got sold on ebay Australia for a very good 120 AUD.

I'll keep my eyes open.

Cheers,
Stephan

[Fly Navy 75]

I saw the same one, AA. That was 2 Screamin' Eagles Phantoms on EBay in a week. Interesting...

[TopHat]

I've had three pass through my hands. Two had serious decal issues (crazing of the decals) and one had a crooked main gear strut but good decals. I kept the one with the slanted strut and fixed it. All three had decals and gloss paint. Of the three, the one I kept was old CDC in the red/tan box (the others were in the non-window silver/blue boxes).

The oldest one had the best decal job.

[John Youngs]

Originally Posted by TopHat

I've had three pass through my hands. Two had serious decal issues (crazing of the decals) and one had a crooked main gear strut but good decals. I kept the one with the slanted strut and fixed it. All three had decals and gloss paint. Of the three, the one I kept was old CDC in the red/tan box (the others were in the non-window silver/blue boxes).

The oldest one had the best decal job.

Many thanks there, TopHat... - You just told me what I wanted to know! I'll just have to look for an original CDC, then. - JY

[STARMAN 352ND]

They were water slide decals...You can tell...They look yucky...I don't like them that way either.
I like Pad print tampo's on my Phantoms ...
I'll keep my eyes opening for you ...So far i have only seen water slide decals on these Screaming Eagles.
You must look for an original CDC if you want to get a good one.
JP

[markko]

Phantom Phans-----If I remember correctly, the VF-51 Screaming Eagle Phantom was one of CDC/Armour's earliest Phantoms released and also one of the first to be discontinued (at least 12-18 months before Franklin Mint assumed ownership). I seem to recall one of my suppliers telling me back then, that the reason the run was ending was the difficulty in getting quality decal applications on such an "involved" paint scheme. The model sold relatively well but there were so many returns to retailers and then to distributors due to faulty decals that CDC decided to discontinue the model. Having said that, this F4 is my personal favorite of the 23 1/48 scale Armour Collection Phantoms that I own. My VF-51 Phantom is kept in a display cabinet located in a low light room, and I must say that the decals/finish have stayed true to the condition of the model as received when purchased 8 years ago. My Phantom came in one of the early red/tan boxes--however even my later CDC decaled Phantoms have held up really well, probably due to the display conditions. I just wish that FM would offer more of these colorful USN/USMC Phantoms from the 60's-70's; the choices are virtually endless, and I personnally know of one Phanatic that would buy every example offered. --------Happy Collecting, markko