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The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2010

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  • Member since
    February 2010
  • From: New Jersey
Posted by 68GT on Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:59 AM

No, My Dad did and was in artillery (M108s) out in Ft. Carson.

On Ed's bench, ???

  

  • Member since
    October 2009
  • From: Texas
Posted by Gregbbear on Friday, March 12, 2010 11:36 AM

I haven't made much progress this week.  I was hoping to have some primer on my F-4 by now.  I am waiting on a template and rivet tool from my LHS.  When I was in Hill Country Hobby the other day, I used some of my store credit to pick up a 1/48 Hase RF-4B that someone had put on consignment.  It is very nicely done.  It comes with some extra pieces that will come in handy with my current build too.  It has the sidewinders, sparrows and navy style pylons.  It also has the navy style front gear door.  I have already scratched the main gear doors, so this saves me some trouble.  The extra cockpit pieces would have really come in handy had I not already finished there.  It also has a nice AF style ecm pod.  Spares box I guess.

Cheers,

Greg

- yat yas!

 

   

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Friday, March 12, 2010 3:11 PM

If you build Vietnam era aircraft, you can never have enough ECM pods Greg!

Well the model building muse seems to have escaped me for much of the past three days not to mention a full schedule of family business). After getting my fuselage glued together and then sanded once dry I could not find the motivation to do the scribing. Perhaps during the upcoming week on my next days off.

So here is what she looks like so far.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    March 2010
Posted by eboggs on Friday, March 12, 2010 3:33 PM

stikpusher...what are the white pieces of plastic leading into the intakes? are these extra parts you added? if so why.

Thanks,Ethan

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Friday, March 12, 2010 3:43 PM

Ethan, those are kit parts, the inner faces of the intakes, it is molded behind the splitter plate as a single piece. I have not yet added the outer portions. I painted them white because that is is what the inner faces are supposed to be. I think it just stands out because not much else is painted and the rest of the intake is not yet installed.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: Birmingham AL
Posted by caribwill on Friday, March 12, 2010 10:25 PM

I got the clear and decaling complete.....  I now have an appreciation for just how many tiny decals the Phantoms have!  I will let it dry a few days and then on to weathering.....

All feedback is welcome...

 

 

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/MikeTheModeller/GB_Badges/Badge-3-Phantom2010.jpg

 

  • Member since
    March 2006
Posted by simpilot34 on Saturday, March 13, 2010 12:29 AM

Carabwill that is looking great!!!!! Toast

Cheers, Lt. Cmdr. Richie "To be prepared for war, is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace."-George Washington
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Perth - Australia
Posted by gkicsak on Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:23 AM

Carabwill, I also think it looks great as well.

I should be getting into mine as well this week.  We're expecting cooler temperatures.  A lot better than 41 degrees Celcius.

Once again, great job.

Cheers,

Gabe Wink

When the band stops playing, the entertainment will begin.
  • Member since
    April 2005
Posted by Thunderbolt379 on Saturday, March 13, 2010 6:40 AM

Caribwill -- she looks stunning, a precise, clean build! I have this one in my collection and find myself really looking forward to it! I think I'd better get those badges ready in the near future, I think yours is candidate for the first Rhino on the flightline!

Cheeers, Mike/TB379

http://worldinminiature.blogspot.com/

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley
Posted by berny13 on Saturday, March 13, 2010 9:24 AM

morefirejules08

woop woop, i've found some 1/48 B-61's in resin!!!! only thing is i'd like to have them loaded on the inner wing pylons but didn't someone say in a previous post that they wound need some kind of adapter?

Yes, a SWA (Special Weapons Adapter) had to be used on the inboard pylon so the weapon would be clear of the landing gear door when the gear was retracting.  The SWA would allow the weapon to be positioned far enough forward, the gear door would clear when retracting.  The Phantom could only carry one special weapon at a time.  It would be carried on the centerline, mounted directly to the internal center line bomb rack or on the left pylon mounted to the SWA.  Without going into too much detail because I am sure most if not all of the procedure is still classfied, only one weapon could be released.  With what would be involved in activating and arming the weapon, there wouldn't be enough time to release a second weapon.  Plus, most crews knew the odds of getting to a primary target to release the weapon was very low and trying to get to a second target increased the possibility of a one way flight.

Berny

 Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.  

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale. 

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale.  F-4 Phantom Group Build. 

 

  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: Nebraska, USA
Posted by CallSignOWL on Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:07 AM

caribwill: thats nice looking Phantom! I really like the green tail. It contrasts nicely with the greys on the rest of the plane. Thumbs up!

------------------------

Now that I'm here, where am I??

  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: near Nashville, TN
Posted by TarnShip on Saturday, March 13, 2010 3:51 PM

the Green and Gold sure jumps out at you, nice job

Berny, is there anything we might be familiar with in plastic that we could make an Stores Adapter with?

if something like "the front half of a Sidewinder rail" ,,,,or some such,,,,I'd cobble one up on a pylon with a B61 on it, and post a pic in this thread

now that the 28, 43, 57 and 61's are available,,,I'm sure modelers are going to want to know how to hang them on their F-4's

almost gone

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Between LA and OC, SoCal
Posted by oortiz10 on Sunday, March 14, 2010 12:42 AM

Progress, not matter how small is, still progress, right?  Well, if that’s the case, I’ve made some. 

 

I had some furlough time away from school a couple of weeks ago but as luck would have it, I didn’t get much done on my builds.  Then, last week I went in for an emergency appendectomy.  I’ve been off from work and school since the 2nd, but even with all this free time on my hands, little progress has been made.  Turns out it’s been uncomfortable to sit upright for long periods of time.  All the time I want but no desire to sit at my bench…

 

Anyway, since my last post, I’ve gotten the fuse halves and wings assembled on all three jets.  When I mated up the fuse, I didn’t glue the seam that ran under the wing assembly.  I remember hearing from different builders that I may have needed to spread the fuse halves a bit to get a tight seal at the wing root.  As a matter of fact, I had to do just that with all three builds. 

 

Here’s what the Hasegawa wing root looked like:

 

 

 

 

Instead of using a sprue “spreader bar” like some builders had done, I decided to use a small piece of scrap as a wedge…  

 

 

As I pushed the “wedge” forward, it spread the fuse halves enough to give me a nice tight seal at the wing roots.  

 

 

I used the same procedure for all three jets.

 

 

The Revellogram Phantom had its share of fit problems beyond the wing root.  One of its issues was a huge gap just forward of the nose wheel bay, where the wing assembly joins the fuse.

 

 

I used some scrap card to fill the gap.  Once it was trimmed and sanded, it looked fine.

 

 

 

Another gap I ran into was on the right intake.  In order to avoid a step where intake mates to the fuse and wing assembly, I had to fill a void where the splitter plate joins the fuse.

 

 

I sanded it flush with the contour of the intake, and once covered with paint it’s hardly visible.  What you may notice is that I left the splitter assemblies off the kits until after paint.  That way I can get paint coverage in the area back behind the splitters.

 

After I learned that Revellogram’s stabilators had the strengthening plates molded on, I had to sand ‘em off since the real jet didn’t have ‘em.  A nasty side effect was the elimination of all the raised panel lines.

 

 

As a fix, I drew all the lines back on with a pencil…

 

 

Then used Archer’s details to restore what was erased.

 

 

I’m sure that if I knew what I was doing with Archer’s panel lines, I could make it look like the kit’s original detail.  We’ll see how it looks under paint.

 

 

The wings and fuses were finally assembled on all three jets.  Then, I pulled a Homer.

 

While working on the builds, one of the Hase jets, the one that will be a –B model, got snagged on the sleeve of my sweatshirt and took flight from my bench.  Since I can’t make any sudden movements (stupid surgical staples), all I could do was watch the jet fall to the floor.  At first I didn’t notice any damage, but then I noticed that the tail had a big chunk chipped out of it.

 

 

Since it was the –B version, I didn’t have to worry about replacing the oval ECM pod.  So, figuring that I could do without the conical fairing along the top of the tail, I carved out a nice 90 degree corner along the top of the rudder line…

 

 

And faired in a piece of styrene with CA and green putty.  (Under paint it doesn’t look too bad.)

 

 

I tackled one last detail before the jets got their primer coats.  On the Hase Phantoms, I trimmed off the canopies locating tabs, and filled in their corresponding slots with some stock.

 

 

 

This helped everything line up a little easier. 

 

Finally, the major assemblies got a coat of grey.  The left and middle jets are the Hase –B and –N respectively, and the right’s the Revellogram –J.

 

 

Anyway, that’s it for today.  Hopefully, since I don’t have to be back at work until Wednesday, I can get a little more done and some more progress posted.

 

Be sure to drop your two cents in the bucket on your way out. 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Cheers,

-O

 

 

 

 

-It's Omar, but they call me "O".

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: El Dorado Hills, CA
Posted by IBuild148 on Sunday, March 14, 2010 11:27 AM

oortiz10,

I always wanted to build an F-4 and couple of weeks ago I went to my LHS to see what they had and the only 1/48 was this Revell F-4F Phantom II,

 

Then last week I stumbled across this GB and since I have no expertise about Phantoms other than seeing them in the USAF and always liking them I decided to read what the experts had to say and so far i have learned a lot.

And now today I see your post for I guess a similar kit.

So far I have not encountered any fit problems but I do appreciate your heads up idea on how to get a  "tight seal at the wing root" and to watch out for intake issues if I have them. Also I will have to look to see if I need to do the same thing with strengthening plates.

I hope you heal soon from your appendectomy and to bad about the unplanned flight!

Its always something in this hobby!

IBuildOne48

Teach modeling to youth!

Scalefinishes.com

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww122/randysmodels/NMF%20Group%20build%20II/Group%20Badge/NMFIIGBbadgesmall.jpg

 

  • Member since
    October 2009
  • From: Texas
Posted by Gregbbear on Sunday, March 14, 2010 3:23 PM

As for two cents...

Stikpusher, your RF is coming along good!  Your panel line scribing looks really good.  Mine is covered with whoopses.  So, I can really appreciate what you've done.  Aren't those True Details seats awesome for the money?

Caribwill, nothing I can say that hasn't already been said.  Your bird looks spectacular.  As a former Marine, I am really partial to anything with a USMC on it.

- yat yas!

 

   

  • Member since
    October 2009
  • From: Texas
Posted by Gregbbear on Sunday, March 14, 2010 3:33 PM

Somehow, I managed to post my reply before I was finished.

O, you are the man!  Great progress on three builds at once.  I can't seem to hardly get anything done on my one F-4.  Although, I am also working on a 1/72 Junkers Ju-290 for the battle of the atlantic build, I am not getting that much done on it either.

This GB has been very informative though.  I have learned a lot about one of my favorite birds.

I hope all have a great weekend.  Weather here in Texas has been awesome!

Cheers,

Greg

- yat yas!

 

   

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Sunday, March 14, 2010 6:52 PM

Caribwill- Looking Phantastic!!!

Stikpusher,Oortiz- Coming along great!

I finally got the canopies on mine masked and painted- my least favorite thing about doing aircraft.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: El Dorado Hills, CA
Posted by IBuild148 on Sunday, March 14, 2010 7:04 PM

Gamera,

AMEN to canopy masking be the least favorite thing. 

I spent close to a total of 3 hours Saturday...taking breaks here and there masking the 4 pieces of the interior canopy then priming and last painting them black.

I am waiting for my better half to leave the house so that I can remove the masks and in the event of any failure scream outloud!!!

IBuildOne48

Teach modeling to youth!

Scalefinishes.com

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww122/randysmodels/NMF%20Group%20build%20II/Group%20Badge/NMFIIGBbadgesmall.jpg

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Monday, March 15, 2010 1:33 PM

I've been thinking of building nothing from now on but drones like the Predator that don't have canopies... Big Smile

Anyway I did use the Eduard pre-cut masks here and they worked out great! Still they take a little adjustment to get them just right.

At the same time I'm doing a Pe-2 for the Soviet GB and I picked up a set of canopy masks for the Italeri kit of the aircraft but they don't fit the Historic kit! So I'm doing it all with Tamiya brand tape. Now that's turning my hair grey.....

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley
Posted by berny13 on Friday, March 19, 2010 4:10 AM

TarnShip

Berny, is there anything we might be familiar with in plastic that we could make an Stores Adapter with?

if something like "the front half of a Sidewinder rail" ,,,,or some such,,,,I'd cobble one up on a pylon with a B61 on it, and post a pic in this thread

now that the 28, 43, 57 and 61's are available,,,I'm sure modelers are going to want to know how to hang them on their F-4's

I must have seen several hundred SWA hung on the Phantom but I can't remember exactly what they look like.  Who thinks of detail when you are trying to place an aircraft on Victor alert or load up, arm and launch a nuke (simulated) loaded aircraft.  From what I do remember you can use a AERO-7A launcher (The type of launcher used for the AGM-88 HARM), sand off the rear cap flush with the LAU.  The front should also be sanded flush with the leading edge angled forward.  Leave the suspension mounts on the LAU.  Position the LAU where the trailing edge is about one scale foot forward of the rear of the pylon.  Mount the weapon with the center of the weapon positioned under the suspension lugs on the LAU.  The rear of the weapon should about a scale foot forward of the trailing edge of the LAU.  The nose of the weapon will extend past the LAU and pylon.  A safety pin and RBF flag would be on the SWA, pylon, and on the rear cone of the weapon.   

I don't know if I am very clear with my instructions.  There aren't any photographs of the Phantom loaded with a special weapon and any such photograph would be considered classfied. 

Berny

 Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.  

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale. 

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale.  F-4 Phantom Group Build. 

 

  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: near Nashville, TN
Posted by TarnShip on Friday, March 19, 2010 1:05 PM

thanks, Berny

agreed on the "swivel head while trying to get work done" thing

I'll put something together on a USAF pylon,,,,and post it here,,,,,being a "plastic toy" it would be okay, but, you're right, real pics should all still be classified,,,,,even the few Navy pics in books or posted show the store from an angle that only lets us see the shape, and that angle always obscured the pylon

almost gone

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Between LA and OC, SoCal
Posted by oortiz10 on Friday, March 26, 2010 12:50 AM

OK FSMers, here's my pathetic attempt at posting some feeble "progress"...My shameless attempt at moving the GB back toward the top...Just a quick little post to let you know that my builds continue…sorta…

 

Last time I left you my three Phantoms had just been covered in primer. 

 

 

Since then, I also started to spray their final colors.  Unfortunately, I ran into a small problem after the masks came off.  On the Hase jets, some of the white from the control surfaces got peeled off.  On the –B, it was on the rudder…

 

Left side:

 

Right side:

 

And on the –N, it was from the wings…

 

 

The strange thing is all three jets were primed and painted the same.  The Revellogram jet didn’t lose any paint, and the two Hase jets lost paint in different areas.  The paint is really flaky, like it never “bit” into the plastic.  Huh.  I’ve never had that happen before.  Go figger...

 

I was hoping to make some progress on the Phantoms this weekend, but it looks like I’ll be taking a small step back and doing some repairs.  Oh well, no biggie.  I have spring break next week and the wife’s heading out of town to visit some friends, which means I’ll get some good bench time in the evenings after work.  (I hope.)

 

Anyway, that’s it for now. 

 

Hopefully I’ll be able to post some more progress soon.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Cheers,

-O

-It's Omar, but they call me "O".

  • Member since
    April 2005
Posted by Thunderbolt379 on Friday, March 26, 2010 11:56 PM

Commiserations on your paint peeling issues, O, I feel for you! All I can think is maybe some fine grease found its way onto those areas, a rudder is a handy part to turn the model by, and sometimes our fingers can do the damage. Still, that's what the pre-paint wash is for. I'm not sure what else to think, Hasegawa isn't known for mold release agent sticking around.

Otherwise, wonderful work! I'm sorry I've not been around, log-on problems plus the final agonizing death-throes of my PhD have made hobby time a distant memory... Just a few days left now! Then I get my life back...

M/TB379

http://worldinminiature.blogspot.com/

  • Member since
    July 2008
Posted by bob357 on Sunday, March 28, 2010 4:10 PM

Been a while since I've checked in due to my garage getting destroyed a month ago.  Back on track now (I hope).

I'm looking for a way to post pics.  Does anyone have any tips?  The cockpit is complete, the bombs (so many bombs!) and missiles are close, and I'm ready to attach wings.  Time for some pics!

O, sorry about the paint peeling.  Good luck with the fix!

Thanks in advance!

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Exeter, MO
Posted by kustommodeler1 on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 3:12 AM

If the weather keeps it up, I might move mine to the Paint Brush Challenge GB just so I can get something done!!Bang Head

 

Good thing this runs till the end of June........

Darrin

Setting new standards for painfully slow buildsDead

  • Member since
    March 2006
Posted by simpilot34 on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 3:22 AM

bob357

Been a while since I've checked in due to my garage getting destroyed a month ago.  Back on track now (I hope).

I'm looking for a way to post pics.  Does anyone have any tips?  The cockpit is complete, the bombs (so many bombs!) and missiles are close, and I'm ready to attach wings.  Time for some pics!

O, sorry about the paint peeling.  Good luck with the fix!

Thanks in advance!

Bob the easiest way to post pics I have found is with photobucket.com. Just create a free account and then upload the pics, copy the IMG link and paste into your post. HTHYes

Cheers, Lt. Cmdr. Richie "To be prepared for war, is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace."-George Washington
  • Member since
    July 2008
Posted by bob357 on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:50 PM

Sim-

Thanks for the info.  I'll give it a shot!

Bob

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Friday, April 2, 2010 10:59 AM

O- ack! sorry to hear about your paint problems. For some reason my kit peeled a little too. First time I've seen that happen in ages. I must not have done a good enough job washing her off before painting.

Bob- posting pictures is pretty easy. If I can figure out how to do it anyone can. Wink

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Between LA and OC, SoCal
Posted by oortiz10 on Friday, April 2, 2010 1:14 PM

Thanks for they sympathy regarding my painting issues gang.  Weird thing is, this kind of flaking has never happened to me before.  It seems it's only the Hase kits too.  After a few of you mentioned that it could've been my greasy fingers, I made a mental note to wear gloves throughout the painting process on my next project.  But here's the strange part... 

Last night I'm masking to spray the metal areas around the burners.  After I lifted the tape, I noticed that small pieces peeled up from areas that I know I didn't touch.  As a matter of fact, it came up from areas that I couldn't touch (even if I wanted to,) like where the vertical stabilizer meets the fuse.  *sigh*  It's getting a little frustrasting.  Maybe I'll use a "hotter" thinner when thinning my paints next time.  Or maybe I'll scuff the plastic a little before the primer and do the same to the primer before my camo coat. 

Oh well, two steps forward, one step back...

I was able sand and feather the larger damage, and the touch-up areas aren't even noticeable anymore.  The smaller flakes I'm just using a brush for spot repairs.  I figure these small dots will just add to the the weathering and realism.

Anyway, I've had this last week off from school so I've been able to make some progress these past few evenings.  I hope to have some pix to post on all three jets by the weekend.

Happy building!

-O

 

-It's Omar, but they call me "O".

  • Member since
    March 2006
Posted by simpilot34 on Friday, April 2, 2010 8:23 PM

In all honesty fellas, I may be a minority but as long as I can remember building models, NEVER once have I ever washed any kit I have ever built and never had a paint problem. I do however give a careful and quick wipedown with alchohol before painting. Don't know if that helps or hinders but just wanted to share that. O, maybe it might have been just a case of the paint being a bit dryish as it went on and didn't adhere properly. In these tight areas where things meet at abrupt angles, prime these areas with the base color first before doing your cover coats. That's my 2 cents and HTH!!!Yes

Cheers, Lt. Cmdr. Richie "To be prepared for war, is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace."-George Washington
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