Hobby Master 1:72 Air Power Series Diecast Model

McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II - 67-0362, Capt. Steve Ritchie, 58th TFS, 432nd TRW, USAF, Udorn RTAFB, Thailand, July 1972 (Vietnam War)

1:72 Scale.  Length: 9.75".  Wingspan: 6.25"

On July 8, 1972, while flying MiGCAP for chaff bombers, F-4E 67-0362, crewed by Capt. Steve Ritchie and WSO Capt. Charles DeBellevue, call sign Paula 1, was notified by an EC-121 that MiG-21s were heading their way. Ritchie turned the Phantom and headed toward them. During the aerial combat that followed, the crew shot down two MiG 21s. This was Ritchie’s third and fourth MiG kills of the war and DeBellevue’s second and third. Capt. Ritchie would end his tour in Vietnam with five kills while Capt. DeBellevue would score six, making him the only U.S. Air Force Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) to score six kills during the Vietnam War as well as being the highest scoring U.S. aviator of the war.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom is a two-seat, twin-engine supersonic jet fighter originally developed for the US Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the US Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The F-4 Phantom was used extensively by all three of these services in the Vietnam War, serving as the principal fighter/bomber for the U.S. Navy and US Air Force as well as being important in ground-attack and reconnaissance roles. F-4 Phantom II production ran from 1958 until 1981, with a total of 5,195 built.

The F-4 Phantom entered service in 1960 and continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force; the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy and the F/A-18 in the Marine Corps. It remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. The Phantom was also operated by the air forces of eleven other nations.


Hobby Master offers a wide selection of quality, pre-assembled, diecast model airplanes. Each model is crafted to a high level of accuracy using specifications of the original aircraft. They are constructed with precision-made diecast metal and some plastic components.

This model of an F-4 Phantom II by Hobby Master features: