Yeah I used to be pretty cavalier about washing the model or not before painting. Frankly I can't say I've seen much difference one way or the other but figure it can't hurt right? Never tried alcohol but sometimes I do use Polly-S Plastic Prep. I think sometimes it's the weather or the paint mix or something of that ilk that you can't predict.

Well, all the decals are down but I think about half of the Hasegawa decals silvered. I suppose I should have looked for some aftermarket decals for JSDF stenciling. Bah, I'll get it fixed some way, but gosh it's annoying to spend as much time fixing the decals as applying them...

just a quick update, she's starting to look like a phantom now with stabs and intakes on, i have paint on the underside and the first colour of the camo on! still lots of work and filler to be done, only problem is i have broken the ejector seat handles so im looking to scratch some of those before i can close up the canopy!!

cheers, chris

I finished the decals and most of the weathering and thought I would post some photos.  Getting closer.......

All,

Thought I'll post some updated images of my progress.  It's going slowly but surely at the moment as I'm trying to finish off a few other projects at the moment.

Sorry about the images.  Only noticed that I need to clean the lens of the camera.

Cheers,

Gabe

PS - Caribwill, your phantom is looking great.

Caribwill and Gabe -- two gorgeous planes, guys! I think we'll have our first squadron roll-outs pretty soon, and there'll be well deserved congratulations!

I continue to struggle to get bench time, I'm working flat out at the moment helping to build a display of an extinct marsupial skeleton for the museum in Melbourne, the good news is I'm getting paid to use my hobby skills to do it! We should be finished on Monday and I pray I'll get some time to devote to the many kits awaiting attention, a veritable traffic jam of tanks and planes waiting for their chance to cross my bench!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Excellent work guys!!!!!!!

Mike if you want to destress, come down to Geelong way and have a drink with me.

Thunderbolt379

I continue to struggle to get bench time...

Mike, I'm with you.  I had Spring Break last week and had a chance to make some good progress on my builds.  Unfortunately, I'm back in school now and my builds have come to a screeching halt. 

There they sit...on my bench...taunting me...

Thunderbolt379

Caribwill and Gabe -- two gorgeous planes, guys!

Heck yeah!  Luckily I made some pretty good progress last week myself.  I don't know if my progress looks as good as Caribwill and Gabe's, but hey, progress is progress!  Seeing Caribwill and Gabe's pix makes me want to post some too.  I've been hesitant up until now because I wanted my next pix to show some significant progress.  I think you fellas have convinced me to post some anyway...

Great work guys!  Keep it up!

-O

Hey Phantom builers,

I have a question for you all.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (I hope it's not a train) so I've been thinking about what I still need to do to finish these builds.  One thing I know I'm going to have to tackle is the replacement of the pitot tubes (?) on the leading edge of the vert stab. 

I have 3 Phantoms and none of them have their pitots.  The were either broken off in the box, or they fell victim to my plastic mashers during assembly.  I noticed a few of the other builds are missing theirs too.  Any ideas about how to replace 'em?  I have 6 I need to replace.  I marked their locations and I was just thinking of drilling out small holes and using the tips of some straight pins.  If anyone has an idea that might work better, I'd love to hear it.  I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks!

-O (Again.)

Howdy fellow modelers,

I know, I know…three posts in a row.  Pretty lame, yeah, I know.  But seeing Caribwill and Gabe’s jets got me a little fired up!  Figured since I was on Spring Break last week and was able to get some work done on my Phantoms, it wouldn’t hurt to post a little progress.  Some good progress, might I add.  (If I do say so myself…)

First, I was able to repair the damage to the paint, although while masking to paint the exhaust area, I had a small dot lift off one of the Hase jets.  It’s not too bad, well, it’s not as bad as my last paint issue.  I was able sand and feather the larger damage, and the resulting touch-ups aren't even noticeable.  This recent smaller flake I'm just gonna use a brush and spot repair. 

Since I got the flaking paint issue (pretty much) resolved, and the exhaust areas done, I was able to start on the decals.  I’m using CAM decals 48-003 for the VF-84 & -111 jets, and CAM decals 48-026 for the VFMA-232 build.  

So far they’ve reacted really well to MicroSol & Set, and have snuggled down with no problems.  The only real problem I’ve had is with the shark’s mouth on the Sundowner nose.  I had some minor wrinkling.  I was able to carefully sand down the creases with a 3600 grit sanding pad.  I figure once the weathering and top coats go one, you won’t even notice it.

One thing I’ve noticed with the CAM sheets is the fonts seem to be a little off.  Checking the relative sizes of the some of the markings against pictures of the real jets illustrate a few differences. 

Another thing I noticed about the fonts is the style CAM used on the VF-84 lettering. 

Here you can see the differences in the fonts between the CAM decals and the old Superscale sheet. 

I’m not sure which is correct because it’s hard to make out the font style in the pictures I’ve seen.  To my untrained eye it looks like Superscale got it right.

For the VMFA-232 jet, I cut the squadron code from the Bicentennial tail markings included in the CAM offering.  The jet I’m building didn’t have the stripes on the tail, the squadron badge, or the “76” emblem. 

Instead, I used the squadron info and the stencils.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  As the decaling goes on, I continue to work on all the fiddly bits that remain.  

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

If you’ve got something to say, I’d be happy to hear it. 

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

-O

O -- what a fantastic trilogy you're building! They look superb and really make me want to get to my own. After starting this build and actually making a momentary start on my own humble offering, I got bogged down in real life, issues like education and work, which after all are a total drag... I'd much rather be building rhinos!

Great work!

Mike/TB379

O those are looking great mate!!!!! Really come to life when the decals go on!!!

I always liked the looks of VF-84 and VF-111 markings.  You need to touch up the VF-111 decal along the trailing edge of the rudder.  Other than that, they look Phantastic.  

Thanks for the kudos guys!  I'm really starting to feel re-energized after seeing some color!

berny13

I always liked the looks of VF-84 and VF-111 markings.  You need to touch up the VF-111

 rudder...

Berny, these two squadrons are two of my three favorite Navy markings (VF-1 on F-14s being the third).  I really like they way they look, especially on the big Phantom tail.  I know, a lot of people mitch and boan when they see "another model with the skull and crossbones," but I really think the Yankee Air Pirate flag scheme (that's what I'm calling it) is the most attractive of the Jolly Rogers' markings.

I noticed that small problem with the rudder too.  When I first laid down the decal, it extended all the way to the trailing edge.  Actually, it was a little too large.  The rays at the front of the fin actually extended and folded over the leading edge.  Since it's one giant decal, I guess when the decal was hit with the setting solution it shrank up a little.  At this point, only the right side of the fin's done.  I'm thinking since the decal's oversized, when I lay down the left side of the fin, I'm gonna let it hang off the trailing edge of the rudder a bit and see if I can fold it over enough to cover up that sliver of white.  I'm hoping that will save me the hassle of trying to color match paint for touch-ups.

Glad you guys like 'em!

-O

Man, sweet builds you guys.

berny13

Other than that, they look Phantastic.  

Couldn't have said it better myself. Great work O!!!

Still working on curing silvering here:

The green dragon has a little damage to the neck area I'll have to repair:

Cliff

Cliff that is some impressive decal work there!!!! Looking good mate!!!

Thanks Sim, I think I said before the giant Zotz decals worked great!!!

Lots of great info in this GB!

Caribwill – almost there, looks great, I love those markings.

Gabe – looks great!

O – great trio of phantoms (sounds like an opera title!).

Gamera - no surprise you had some issues with silvering - there must be 300 decals on your bird!!!

I'm lucky if I can get through 30 with all of them laying down properly. Heh.

Wow there are some fantastic looking birds nearing completion here. I have made no progress worth taking pics of lately, but I have made some progress. I had to backdate the stabilators on my RF-4. Sanded off the stiffener plates and filled in the slots on the leading edge. And all raised paned lines were scribed with the raised ones sanded smooth.

I have been working on this Revell F4D for 5 weeks. I am trying to duplicate a specific jet of the 8th TFW at Kunsan AB in 1981. This gray does not look like the underside color of the Phantoms I worked on. The instructions say 30622 and it is too gray. The actual color looked more like an off-white, very bright compared to this gray. Anybody have any info on this? I just wanted to see the flaws and shot the underside color everywhere. Thanks, Bob.[View:/themes/fsm/utility/[IMG] http://i742.photobucket.com/album:550:0]

The correct underside is FS36622.  It does match the color correctly. 

Thanks for the help berny13.

kaminski148

Well I have finally finished my phantom.  I finished the flat coat last night and thought I would post the photos.   All feedback is welcome and now its time for the badge :)

Gentlemen, we have our first rollout!

Well done Caribwill! Badges coming available today, and your build will lead off the honour roll in the lead post.

Cheers and salutes!

Mike/TB379

Caribwill that looks outstanding Mate!!!!!!!!!!! Well done!!!!!!!!!!

Caribwill- what can I say!?!

PHANTASIC!!!!!!!

Very nice! 

That is awesome!  Very motivating.  Makes me want to get off my butt and work on mine right now.

Cheers,

Greg