Monogram 1/48 F-4J Mig Killer **Showtime 100** Finished!

bondoman wrote:

AMM that is a great model. Inform me, wasn't that Cunningham's a/c and if so why didn't it have his name on the canopy? Notice, I'm not questioning the the model, oh H*ll no!!, just always wanting to learn more.

Bondo,

As you know pilots rarely get the fly the planes they get their own names on. The story goes like this....  

Duke and Irish where assigned the CAG's plane that particular day, May 10th 1972 when they got thier 3rd, 4th and 5th kills. Cunningham's and Dricols plane was actually Showtime 112 or NG112 which had been assigned to another pilot and his RIO that day and flew wingman Duke and Irish. Showtime 112 lost an engine and was sent back to the carrier. I am sure that Cunningham and Driscol got chewed out for losing the CAG's plane but thier own A/C did survive. 

"On the wing folds I tried to simulate oil staining along it with thinned water base ink. The Sanford Liquid Expresso pen is great for this. It turns a green/brown oil color when thinned with water."

  That's very interesting. Great build and report.

 Thanks for sharing, I never grow weary of seeing everyone's work.

                                                       Kent

Very nice looking Phantom.  Just for your information to be filed away for future projects, remove the wedge shaped beef up plate on the horz stab.  These were not present on Navy/Marine F-4's. 

You did a great job on the kit.  Considering all the problems you had with it, it turned out very good.   

Very nice work.  Thanks for sharing.

Regards,  Rick

Gents, Thanks for the kind words!

Berny, A SPECIAL thanks to you! If it hadn't been for your awesome advice throughout this build I would have trashed this kit a month ago. Another SPECIAL thanks to Eddie Miller who saved my six sending me a spare canopy from his Mad Modeler Lab. You guys ROCK!

Bravisimo, Rand!!!! Great job on pulling this one out of the dumpster!!!!

You'll have to tell me what and how you used for the natural metal on the tail. I'm gonna be doing a "C" model for my son's Air Guard unit and I have never had very good luck replicating that look.

Again..........Great build!! You da man!!!!

Awesome fella, Top marks

...Guy

chopperfan wrote:

Bravisimo, Rand!!!! Great job on pulling this one out of the dumpster!!!! You'll have to tell me what and how you used for the natural metal on the tail. I'm gonna be doing a "C" model for my son's Air Guard unit and I have never had very good luck replicating that look. Again..........Great build!! You da man!!!!

Randie, Marc, Mike and Guy, Thanks for your kind compliments and encouragement. I really appreciate it!

Randie, I used Tamiya Metallic Gray on the tails section by brushing it on in the direction of air flow. Then I stained the blast panels aft of the burner cans with a heavy coat of thinned down dark gray that was almost black to simulate exhaust staining. On the afterburner cans I started with Tamiya Gun Metal outside and inside flat black. I followed this up dry brushing Tamya Flat Aluminum over the "feathers" outside on cans and then again gave a heavy staining with dark gray for the feathers and recesses. The stabs I painted the midddle torque bar again with Tamiya Metallic Gray painting up and down against airflow and then followed this with more Tamiya Flat Aluminum painted on either side of torque bar in direction of airflow, The contrast of metal colors came out because Tamiya Metallic gray is the closest color to Titanium and this what the tail section and stabs torque bar where made of.  

Very, very nice work.  You can certainly be proud of that one.

Darwin, O.F.

Randy,

An outstanding job on Showtime!  Had you not related your troubles, I would never have guessed.  The work is magnificent, the shading and wash perfect!  Thanks a million for sharing!

Brian 

Yard, Brian, Aggie, and 707,  Thank you for your kind words.

Bondo, Now ya know. This is why I feel research is important when building a particular plane that became famous.

I am definately going to have to follow up his bird with a Marines F-4J and then an Air Force F-4E both of which I have in my stash. Later down the road I think I will indeed buy another Monogram 1/48 F-4J Mig Killer kit (no Resin Detail kits, H3ll NO!) and build it up into VF-92 which also got a Mig kill that day and was VF-96's sister squadron aboard the Connie.

Air Master Modeler wrote:

Gents, Thanks for the kind words! Berny, A SPECIAL thanks to you! If it hadn't been for your awesome advice throughout this build I would have trashed this kit a month ago. Another SPECIAL thanks to Eddie Miller who saved my six sending me a spare canopy from his Mad Modeler Lab. You guys ROCK!

 You are very welcome Rand. I knew you would make the best of the situation and I was right. Outstanding work. Looks really good!

   Eddie

That metal on the tail section looks awesome, among other things.  They should make a decal sheet for Steve Ritchie and Debellevue.  Their F-4E could make a great side-by-side piece with Showtime 100.

Dave 

djrost_2000 wrote:

That metal on the tail section looks awesome, among other things.  They should make a decal sheet for Steve Ritchie and Debellevue.  Their F-4E could make a great side-by-side piece with Showtime 100. Dave

Dave,

Thank you for the compliment. Actually Steve Ritchie and Debellevue flew an F-4D for all thier Mig kills. On the same day that Showtime 100 got thier 3rd, 4th, and 5th, kills Steve Ritchie and Debellevue flying thier F-4D, call sign "Oyster 03" shot down two Migs getting thier 3rd and 4th kills. Four months later in the same F-4D they got thier 5th kill and became the first and only U.S. Air Force Aces of Vietnam. 

Air Master Modeler wrote:

Yard, Brian, Aggie, and 707,  Thank you for your kind words. Bondo, Now ya know. This is why I feel research is important when building a particular plane that became famous. I am definately going to have to follow up his bird with a Marines F-4J and then an Air Force F-4E both of which I have in my stash. Later down the road I think I will indeed buy another Monogram 1/48 F-4J Mig Killer kit (no Resin Detail kits, H3ll NO!) and build it up into VF-92 which also got a Mig kill that day and was VF-96's sister squadron aboard the Connie.

Come on man, I told you when I gave you that resin cockpit it is going to be a Chit load of work!! You can not knock it tell you have done one or two. Resin is hard to work with but it pays in the end........... You just had to have the canopy Removable, I told ya to open it up.  My first resin set sucked @$$ but I did not give up on it..........Hell all of my birds have resin in them now. I make good money with it to, I've sold 6 birds 1 for $500 4 $300 and 1 for $280.

 But Resin pays off in the end, yours looks good do not give up on it!!!! 

Sarge,

Just to be fair, yes, you did warn me and I was prepared for that and I did stick with it and worked out the problems. What I was not prepared for was ruining parts trying to make them fit such as the kits entire canopy assembly. For this reason alone I will avoid ever using the Legend 1/48 F-4J Resin detail set again on any Monogram 1/48 F-4J. I will still use Resin detail sets I just will NOT use that particular one ever again. The problem it caused are simply not worth using it again but that is my opinion of it. I am sure there are a few folks out there that have used it and did not have the problems I did. The fustration is simply not worth it to me to use that set again.

Dont get me wrong I really do appreciate that you helped me out with it and this no reflection on you at all. Also, thank you for the compliment.

Air Master Modeler wrote:

djrost_2000 wrote: That metal on the tail section looks awesome, among other things.  They should make a decal sheet for Steve Ritchie and Debellevue.  Their F-4E could make a great side-by-side piece with Showtime 100. Dave    Dave, Thank you for the compliment. Actually Steve Ritchie and Debellevue flew an F-4D for all thier Mig kills. On the same day that Showtime 100 got thier 3rd, 4th, and 5th, kills Steve Ritchie and Debellevue flying thier F-4D, call sign "Oyster 03" shot down two Migs getting thier 3rd and 4th kills. Four months later in the same F-4D they got thier 5th kill and became the first and only U.S. Air Force Aces of Vietnam.

Actually, Ritchie and DeBellevue did fly the F-4E on two of their MIG killing missions.  They flew an aircraft from the 58th TFS, ser no 67-362, for Ritchies 3rd and 4th kill.  Just three days before that, they flew my aircraft and fired three missiles and missed.  One of the AIM-7's would not tune (bad missile).  With only a gun and four Sidewinders left, he ran for home at the speed of heat, leaving his wingman behind.  Ritchie wrote up everything but the paint job when he got back from that mission.  The aircraft they flew on their MIG killing mission was down for over two weeks going through a major over G inspection. 

DeBellevue later got his 5th and 6th kill, making him the top ace of the war with six kills.  Another WSO, Jeff Feinstein, is also credited with five MIG kills.

Berny,

You never cease to amaze me! I was looking this up in my copy of The Great Book of Modern Warplanes and they did not write up that Ritchie and DeBellevue flew an F-4E, just the F-4D so I went online to look and did infact find a few web sites that did say they also flew the F-4E also after I posted my reply.

I stand corrected!

EDIT..... I just looked over my Monogawa 1/48 F-4E and I indeed have the decal markings for 58th TFS, ser no 67-362 included on kit decals. Now with this in mind that is what I will build it up as, Ritchie and DeBellevue's F-4E Mig Killer. 

Air Master Modeler wrote:

Berny, You never cease to amaze me! I was looking this up in my copy of The Great Book of Modern Warplanes and they did not write up that Ritchie and DeBellevue flew an F-4E, just the F-4D so I went online to look and did infact find a few web sites that did say they also flew the F-4E also after I posted my reply. I stand corrected! EDIT..... I just looked over my Monogawa 1/48 F-4E and I indeed have the decal markings for 58th TFS, ser no 67-362 included on kit decals. Now with this in mind that is what I will build it up as, Ritchie and DeBellevue's F-4E Mig Killer.

Load out on that mission is as follows.

Two 370 gallon ext wing tanks on outboard station.

One MDD 600 gallon centerline fuel tank.

Four AIM-9J's, inboard station.

Four AIM-7E's fuselage stations.

One AN/ALQ-87 ECM pod on left inboard station.

One AN/ALQ-101 ECM pod on right inboard station.

After landing all that remained was the four AIM-9's and both ECM pods.

Very nice work, Rand.  The weathering looks great.

Mark