The Phantoms were the go-to bird of the free world when I was a kid.. the Navy flew 'em, the Airforce, Marines.. and in every Role the military could dream up. Before long they wound up doing yeoman duty in the service of more nations than I could name offhand. While it earned the tag 'Worlds Largest Distributor or Mig Parts' (400 mig kills world wide), other terms of endearment were 'Flying Anvils' and "Luftverteidigungsdiesel" (Air Defense Diesels).
While I doubt it could be considered 'pretty', I never never thought of it as ugly.. it was business-like; a warbird that looked like one. A competent machine (after teething) and in the hands of competent agressive pilots properly schooled in how to use it... a damn fine bird in all it's roles.