Double Monogram Phantom WIP - Finally Completed

Some really great work going on here.

Really nice work so far.  Cant wait to see these birds finished.

Thanks gents. I lost the nose gear retraction arm on July 30 and spent several hours looking for the not so small part. I finally gave up and grabbed one from another kit in the stash.

Fast forward to today, August 26, almost 30 days later and guess what was sitting on the middle the room? I have no clue where it came from. For those who will say the seat, well, that was the first place I looked at and inspected every inch of it. It's an office wheeled very simple chair with nothing fancy. 

1. I don't know how I missed this but wow! Nice work!!

2. Any airplane nut has got to love Phantoms.

3. I have had the indignity of finding fallen parts on my shoe and pants leg.       I just can't seem to belly up to my workbench. Others I am sure were           eaten by cats.

Thanks freem. Just shot several coats of Aqua Gloss on both Phantoms. I usually brush on several coats of Future but that takes a lot of time specially working on two F4s. I also got all the weapons painted. Decals and weathering is next.

Thanks dog. Got most of the decals on both. It's very time consuming adding those tiny stencils that I have to go hunt thru several left over sheets in my spares box.

That tail art looks wicked awesome. I will be replacing the plastic pitots with thin brass wire.

also shot the FOD covers red

Still have to stencil/decal the bottoms of both and work on the weapons.

I love F-4's plastic junkie. You are doing a great mob on those kits friend.

Thanks salty!

Sweet mercy,  PJ, those look great!

Your Phantoms keep getting better and better.

Wow - Some seriously nice work there junkie.  I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for that kit.

Chris

Thanks gents for your kind words. 

Chris

These old Monograms require lots of tlc specially around the intakes. Academy has some VERY nice F4s that go together very easy, have excellent details and have tons of extra weapons. As a matter of fact, the MER, Winders, Sparrows and Mk. 82s being used in this build came from leftover weapons from one of my Academy Phantoms.

Hi Junkie,

A few years back I built the Accurate Miniatures 1/72 Phantom kit that I heard was a re-pop from old-but-still-good Monogram molds.  From your photos it looks like the 1/72 kit had the same issues around the intakes that your 1/48 kits had.  Its gotta be a complicated geometry to mold.

I'm a big fan of 1/72 scale Academy kits - and I've seen their line of 1/48 Phantom kits - they look awesome.  What it boils down to is that I'm really cheap.  I don't mind a little grunt work to save a few bucks.  $4 is a steal for a kit like that !

Chris 

Chris

The old Monogram 1/72 F-4s are scaled down versions of the larger 1/48 one. They have excellent detail.

I did this 1/72 Monogram a while back as a comission. They are small enough to save you display space but big in details. The new tooled Revell 1/72 Tomcats are fantastic too with great details yet small in size.

I always found it interesting that Monogram got the aft cockpit sidewall correct on their 1/72 F-4J, but never bothered to fix (or add to) the 1/48 version...

DDonSS3

I always found it interesting that Monogram got the aft cockpit sidewall correct on their 1/72 F-4J, but never bothered to fix (or add to) the 1/48 version...

 

Beautiful work so far! If I will critique, it's about the Sidewinders- the 9J was an Air Force version never used by the Navy or Marines. They used D/G/H in the same time frame.

Good catch stik so thanks for the heads up. No biggie as they are attached with Aleene's and came right off the rails with no damage. They will go into storage for a USAF Phantom future build.  Back to the spares for Winders. 

plasticjunkie

Good catch stik so thanks for the heads up. No biggie as they are attached with Aleene's and came right off the rails with no damage. They will go into storage for an USAF Phantom future build.  Back to the spares for Winders. 

 

Phew... glad it was so easy to fix for ya! I like using a couple drops of CA for mounting ordnance as a final step after decals, topcoates, weathering, etc.

Between the AIM-9B and AIM-9L, the Navy and Air Force went down separate development paths on Sidewinders and used their own types. Until the "all aspect" L was developed, then both services (remember the Marines are part of the Navy, as much as they hate to admit it) returned to a common missile. Although both services refined & improved and continued to use up stock of the older types. And certain airframes such as the F-111 could not mount the newer L due to the wider front fin wingspan and instead had to use the improved J, the P. And of course there is the newest X model for the current superfighters with helmet mounted sighting systems.

Thanks tj, glad you like them.

stik

Lots of great info in your post. 

You should try Aleene's to attach the weapons. The glue is thick and tacky and much stronger than regular white glue. It dries strong and clear.  I only used two small dabs and they held on needing a firm tug to remove them. The residue comes right off with tweezers or by using your finger nail to pop it off and doesn't damage the finish at all. Heck you can even swap around loads if you want to. 

Finally got both Phantoms done. Besides taking care of the intake cover gaps, they went together very easily. The FOD covers were a little finiky to put together but otherwise a fairly simple scratch work detail.

mississippivol

Oooohhhh, yeeeeaaaahhhh!!!!!!!

 

Very Sharp !  Particularly nice job on the canopies - crystal clear !

Chris

WOW Ernie you knocked theses outta the park !  One could hardly tell that the  markings are decals.  how do you do that ?

Thanks guys.

Chris

I polish the clear parts inside and out with Simoniz Swirl Remover with a q tip. Once polished out they get a dip in Future. This process creates super clarity on the parts.

Jay

I polish out the surface and then gloss it up to prevent silvering. To make sure I get a great bond I use Solvaset decal solution to snuggle down over every bump and curb.  

plasticjunkie

. . . polish the clear parts inside and out with Simoniz Swirl Remover with a q tip. . .

Something new for the toolbox.    Thanks !

Chris