Which one is better 1/48 Phantom II Academy or Meng? Observations after building both F-4 kits

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Күн бұрын

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@paulhargreaves1497 Жыл бұрын

You did a great job painting and weathering on both!

@HobRob148 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for posting. I’m interested in both kits of the Phantom (my all time favorite aircraft). Leaning towards the C version of Robin Olds first for historical reasons i.e. Operation Bolo. You did a fantastic job on both. 🙏🏼

@TV-ez4md 10 ай бұрын

Thanks! I guess subject matters a lot, but as you can see both are nice kits. As you like Phantomns you could build the Academy first and then Meng.😁

@d_squared6942 6 ай бұрын

This was a great review.....visuals as you describe the differences; even-handed and objective; allows the modeler to choose which aspects (intakes vs figures, etc) are most important to them so they can make an informed decision. The links to build videos of both is a nice bonus. Well done!! 👏

@sesampley 10 ай бұрын

The F-4C had a ram air turbine, the F-4E did not, so the detail is correct on both kits concerning this feature.

@TV-ez4md 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info!

@alexchubbymclynn6060 5 ай бұрын

Great review, thanks! Both models are built in a very professional way. I build Phantoms all my life long. My personal opinion is that Meng is much better than Academy, no offence. Meng is much closer to Tamiya. I don't like the way the Academy's landing gear is made - you have to install main gear at the very initial phases of the assembly process. As a result I broke half of them... I like old fashion (1976) F-4 from Revell more than Academy. Meng is a great kit. I am working with it now and it is perfect! Thanks for the video.

@TV-ez4md 5 ай бұрын

Glad you liked my video! If you watched my Academy build you see how I install those landing gears at the later stage than in instructions. It require some small cutting thoug. I haven't built Tamiya as I don't have one, but it is tempting. I plan to build old Hasegawa sometime though. Good luck with your Meng Phantom build!

@gta4ever3003 6 ай бұрын

All 2 are cool, but the weathering/wash is on both a bit too dark.

@jkoeberli Жыл бұрын

having build the academy, i will have to say Meng for sure. overall i think tamiya has the best though.

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

I liked the Academy surface details though perhaps not better, but more. I would like to build the Tamiya too as I think it would fall together. Let's see If I get one sometime.

@GeneralKatarn Жыл бұрын

Don't forget you're comparing two vastly different Phantom variants. Not just the kit manufacturer. I believe the Academy kit is a C model while the Meng kit is an E model.

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

As I put into disclaimer those are different variants. However if you have built either of them you know how the other one is after this comparison. If either of the companies sometimes would make the same variant Meng C or Academy E it would be nice...

@GeneralKatarn Жыл бұрын

@@TV-ez4md I agree. Especially an E variant with the bird slicers that the Meng kit is missing...

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

@@GeneralKatarn Yes late E would be nice. But I think new Academy kit would be much more expensive than current C..

@GeneralKatarn Жыл бұрын

@@TV-ez4md to be honest, only the kits with old tooling are the only cheaper options. Anything more recent will make you dig deeper in your pockets

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

@@GeneralKatarn That is true, but some old kits are getting more expensive too as others are still cheap (for example Hasegawa is getting both 🙄depending the box/kit)

@foorcscale 8 ай бұрын

Isn't this a bit like comparing apples to oranges? Both great kits but of considerably different variants.

@TV-ez4md 8 ай бұрын

You can take it lake what you want. These are just some thoughts how these will build up and how different parts look when hey are done. You can also think this as reviw two in one

@j.heilig7239 2 ай бұрын

Apples vs. Oranges, since Academy is a C and Meng is an E. Regardless, both of them suffer from very serious inaccuracies that are to numerous to mention. The only real positive thing I can say about Meng is that, along with Tamiya on their 1/48 F-4B, they are the only company in history to capture the subtle bulge around the rear cockpit area (don’t argue with me that it’s not there, I have the factory drawings to prove it). ZM also missed that detail. But Meng’s windscreen center panel is completely the wrong shape (it looks like an F-14), the weld bead detail on the keel is beyond comical (you can barely feel it with your finger on the real thing), and it has panel lines that don’t exist on the real thing. Academy’s kit is a comedy of errors from nose to tail. Nobody is going to mistake either of them for a 727 or a Spitfire, but they both leave a LOT to be desired if you want an accurate F-4 model.

@TV-ez4md 2 ай бұрын

Thansk for you r comments. Luckily I'm notso much into Phantom, to my eye both look like Phantoms. I still woluld like to have Tamiya Phantom, although it seem that there is no perfect Phantom around here..

@williwass6837 6 ай бұрын

This Vid convinced me to NOT buy the Meng kit!The "more details" on places where you not really see it are not really worth the price and more surface detail where you can see it at first glance is really what counts!Btw,2 really nice builds!But a little toooo much weathering!

@TV-ez4md 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comments! I'm glad to hear this video helped you to decide which kit you like more. I still have Eduard edition of Academy kit in my stash and I'm not giving it up... Both of these kits gave me opportunity to weather a bit heavily and I didn't even take those to my reference picture level...🙂Glad You liked my models too.

@fabiosilva3799 Жыл бұрын

The inside of the Academy's air intakes are poorly finished.

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

Sorry, I did my best., And at least there is no step.. And you really can't see too far down to the intakes

@fabiosilva3799 Жыл бұрын

@@TV-ez4md Hi...my opinion is in relation to the kit manufacturer...that internal part of the air intakes is quite grotesque, the fittings...your F-4 kits are true works of art and the final realism was perfect. ..congratulations!

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

@@fabiosilva3799 😆, ok the manufactuers work.. Yes Academys inkakes are not the best, but you can make those look a bit better as I show. And you really have to align the Academy parts carefully.

@niuchajianfa6222 Жыл бұрын

there's no comparison....Academy is never a first tier model company to begin with

@paulhargreaves1497 Жыл бұрын

Yet it looks better unless you turn it over ....

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

In my opinion Academy does just fine and in end results it is hard to fault Academy. In easy of build Meng is just shake and bake, Academy is as you can see..

@cdpgbc-mw2kz Жыл бұрын

@@TV-ez4md Greetings from Canada. I grew up as a kid in the 70's. People's expectations now are insanely high. You had to hone/develop ones skills with those kits. People want everything easy, now. You did a great review and superb builds.

@TV-ez4md Жыл бұрын

@@cdpgbc-mw2kz Thanks a lot! Those kits that you have to make some effort makes memories more than those that just falls together. But at least I wouldn't like to just build the Airfix Lightning/Starfighter kits from -60 (there is just final reveal videos of those in my early videos) You just want to make Kinetic and enjoy Academy kits and just add some details. Good wihshes to Canada!

@cdpgbc-mw2kz Жыл бұрын

@@TV-ez4md Thank you. I agree. I do not build any of the old kits, anymore. I had my fill decades ago. But I learned a lot from them regarding skills. Happy New Year.