The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2011

jimbot58

Hello gang!

First off, now that I know what the sway braces are I was able to tackle that. I have an old F-15C kit that died a horrible death a long time ago. In the spare parts, I found some sway braces for the drop tanks. Too big you say? I cut them into three pieces using a razor blade, removed the center and cemented the outer pieces together. Came out about the right size.

Then the missing gear doors. I mentioned using the Italeri doors even though they were flat. I then had the idea to bend them around the handle of a paint brush to curve them and they actually match the doors found in my other Hasegawa kits!

Now another slight issue: When I painted the underside the gray as called for and made the edge between the top and bottom a straight line as the instructions suggested. Then I found this:

Not sure if this is a "G" but the photo shows a wavy line, which I think would make more sense. Should this be correct then? I guess back to the paint shop!

Jim,

That's actually an "E" that you're looking at, though the "G's" scheme is practically the same. The wavy line you're seeing didn't seem to be a standard thing, and I would keep things as is. Here's another pic of a late model "E" that might help cement things for you.

oortiz10 & mississippivol:

Thanks a bunch to both of you for the information and photos! I did take and "Ir-regulate" the line so now it is neither regular or wavy. I also looked up 'counter-shading'. It is where an object is darker on top and lighter on it's bottom side-such as an animal like a shark. Normally, an object would appear darker underneath when it is top lit, but counter-shading makes the distinction less obvious.

Hello! Yet another Phantom question to ask: The arms I plan to mount under my 'Geasel' were taken from Hasegawa's weapons set and the kit also includes the pylon mounts for the AGM's I'll be using.

I assume that I will need to fill in those two notches where the rails for Sidewinders would be mounted? I could cement in the parts and then nip off the rails themselves, I think. See parts S-1 and S-2 below.

Thanks in advance FOR THIS and for any and all help you have given me thus far!

P.S. you can also note the spelling of the word ARMSMENT on the instruction sheet.......

Why don't you just mount Q28 to the pylons.  They look like pylon sway braces.  Then mount the AGM launchers to the pylon.

I am about to go blind.  My finger tips are raw.  The kit has 27 scab patches that has to be sanded off.  I am not even 1/4 of the way there yet.  Why am I doing this?

Because it is soooo much fun..  LOL  That's why we all do it.

berny13

I am about to go blind.  My finger tips are raw.  The kit has 27 scab patches that has to be sanded off.  I am not even 1/4 of the way there yet.  Why am I doing this?

Hey gang,

I'm getting close to finally starting my Phantom!  My current project is about 80% done, and I'm catching myself stealing sideways glances at the box imprisoning my -C.

I wanted to run something by you all first.  A bit of a straw poll, if you will.  Let me start by saying I'm not a rivet counter and I don't mind raised panel lines, but I do think a riveted and scribed build looks good when done well.  So that got me thinking, and I thought I’d throw this out to everyone:

Whatcha think?  Should I rescribe and rivet my 1/48 Hasegawa F-4C? 

I don’t have any references that would give me the exact rivet or panel patterns, but I think I could get close enough for gov’t work. 

So?  What say the masses? 

Cheers,

-O (chomping at the bit to get his Phantom started)

I've never attempted a full rescribe of anything, much less something the size of a 1/48 Phantom...more power to you if you can pull it off, but personally I'd start on something a bit smaller.

Maybe try the technique in this month's FSM (the F-8 article)?

Someone asked about the A+B Epoxy a few pages back, sorry, I don't recall which page. Yes, I also use Squadron White or Green Putty, depending on the base color. As I mentioned, I use the Epoxy to get rid of gaps, especially those hard to reach and sand. Here is a sample with an Academy 1:48 Mig 29AS. There was a long gap between fuselage and intake exterior. Application with a toothpick is messy but easily cleanable. Didn't take more than a minute to clean with a few moist in saliva cotton swabs.

Hope this helps.

Same here with wing to fuselage.

Hey dupes,

Thanks for the input.  I'm not too worried about my ability to do it, after all, I've already rescribed a Monogram Tomcat.  I was asking more for aesthetic reasons.  Do you think it would look "better" than the raised panels? 

Just wonderin'...

Wow, man - that's the Monogram F-14? Niiiice! You apparently do have the required skills!

As for aesthetics, anyone got a pic of a raised and engraved F-4 next to each other?

O -- if you have the skills, I would say the recessed panel lines are a definite plus. I bid many times on eBay to get hold of a Has -C and was extremely put out to find raised lines when I opened the box. It's the only Has 1:48 Phantom I've encountered so far with raised lines, though I've noticed there are a pair of intakes on one sprue in other kits with raised lines that are superfluous parts. This suggests the kits were retooled with engraved lines at some point, and the -C is a leftover from the pre-engraved lines days.

Cheers, M/TB379

The Hasegawa C's have raised lines, as well as the B/N (still), and some older boxings of the J.

Sparrowhyperion

Because it is soooo much fun..  LOL  That's why we all do it.

 

 

berny13:

 

I am about to go blind.  My finger tips are raw.  The kit has 27 scab patches that has to be sanded off.  I am not even 1/4 of the way there yet.  Why am I doing this?

 

 

Guys that reminds me of the days when I rode 200 mile rides with a bike club(Toronto to Niagara Falls and back, my best time under 14 hours). Somewhere around mile 150 someone would inevitably say "...oh 'shiskabob' this hurts....why am I doing this?....." and the standard reply was "If it doesn't hurt, you're not having fun!"

Berny if that is another Tamiya 1/32, it is really going to hurt, um,,,er,,,, you are really going to have fun re-scribing and re-riveting!

Yeah Rich....soooo much fun....!

El Taino

 

Same here with wing to fuselage.

El T, that's a great solution, and I like the no-sanding clean up.

Thanks for the KH!

Berny: You were totally correct about using those "Q28" parts. That was so obvious, I am an idiot for not seeing it myself!

El taino: What kind of working time does that A+B putty have? I have had seams in that spot that I just couldn't get right!

Oortiz: My answer would be what you want to achieve. Recessed is always better, but my scribing skills suck and I would never attempt a complete rescribe myself at any scale! I hate scribing to restore lines lost to seam fills and then trying to blend raised with scribed lines when I have to. You have the skills, so how much effort do you want to expend?

Jim

Howdy jimbot!

I'd dare to say that you'll have a window of around 7 to 10 minutes to come back and do the cleaning.

Cheers!

Bockscar

 

 

Berny if that is another Tamiya 1/32, it is really going to hurt, um,,,er,,,, you are really going to have fun re-scribing and re-riveting!

I am not loosing that much detail on the recessed lines.  As for rivets, the F-4 used close tolerance high sheer flush rivets so they would not be seen on any painted surface.  Even on the real aircraft you would have a hard time even seeing them unless they were loose.  Panel screws yes, I do have some I will have to make.

berny13

 

Bockscar:

 

 

 

Berny if that is another Tamiya 1/32, it is really going to hurt, um,,,er,,,, you are really going to have fun re-scribing and re-riveting!

 

 

I am not loosing that much detail on the recessed lines.  As for rivets, the F-4 used close tolerance high sheer flush rivets so they would not be seen on any painted surface.  Even on the real aircraft you would have a hard time even seeing them unless they were loose.  Panel screws yes, I do have some I will have to make.

Berny;

Glad you mentioned the rivets. Revell didn't put any on this kit. If you have the time and Inclination, I'ld like to see how your de-scabbing effort turns out, It would make for good guidance on my finish.

Thanks

Hey Jim,

Thanks for your two cents.  Usually I’m one of those “yeah, it’s not perfect, but it’s close enough and I like it so that’s all that really matters to me” builders.  Just thought I’d see what you guys had to say, if for no other reason than to see if I could muster up some motivation for stretching my skills boundary.  Sometimes you need someone one to double-dog dare you to get the juices flowing.  You know, just to see if you can rise to the challenge. 

Although, hearing berny say that a Phantom’s rivets would all but disappear at 1/48 makes me think that even if I did decide to rivet my build, it would pretty much be a waste of time.  *sigh*

Anyway, I’m still taking suggestions.  Let me know what you guys think.  I know the decision’s ultimately mine, but I’m still curious to hear what you guys have to say.  Do you think a rescribe and rivet of Hase’s 1/48 F-4C would be worth the effort?

Cheers!

-O

Quick question.  I am watching a set of KMC intakes for the F4 Hasegawa kits.  What do they correct?  And are they worth getting?  It's over in 20 minutes so hopefully someone will see this before then.

Thanks

Rich

It's Friday!

After Burner Persnickity Heaven Time!

Armed with a new set of riffler files (probably won't use them, but they look nice), renewed vigour (mostly due to a bad memory, so I've almost forgotten I sanded a little chunk off of my thumb last Sunday) I intend to take another 1/64" tolerence off the edges of 40 AB liner manifolds!

Thank Goethe for waterproof sandpaper!

Hey everyone,

I have a question about the F-4C.  I'm building an early -C (circa 1966 w/ Navy style pylons) and am using one picture for reference (apparently only one photo exists).  Problem is, the pic doesn't show the wingtips.  I noticed that Hase's F-4 has what looks to me as formation lights molded onto the wingtips.  Here's a line drawing of an -EJ showing what's molded on the Hase's plastic:

Would early -Cs have this detail (formation light), or should I sand it off my build?

Thanks!

-O

Is anyone else out there building the Accurate Miniatures F-4 1/72?  Just wondering if anyone else is running into small build issues.  For an expensive kit, it's being a pain....

can i enter a 1/48 and 2 1/32 phantoms please

RotorHead10

Is anyone else out there building the Accurate Miniatures F-4 1/72?  Just wondering if anyone else is running into small build issues.  For an expensive kit, it's being a pain....

Hey rotorhead, I am building the AM F-4J also.  I haven't done much yet, as I want to finish a couple of other GB's first.  The AM kit is just a re-pop of the Monogram kit.  The directions for the J aren't accurate, pun intended.  They seem to leave out the Navy parts and show how to build the C/D.  Test fitting the fuse halves didn't seem very good.  I have an older Monogram release and it seems to match up better.  What part is giving you trouble?  I am going to use my Monogram instruction sheet for the build though.

Cheers,

Greg

Eatthis -- you certainly can!

Just let me know what manufacturers' kits, which variants they represent, and if you'll be working OOB or with AM, and I'll update P1 with your projects.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Minor error on my builds in the list.  They should be

Hasegawa 1/48 FGR.2 with AM Eduard Cockpit Detail Set and KMC Intakes, and Aries Ejection Seats.

Monogram F-4J MIG Ace OOB in 1/48 scale (might use a set of Verlinden seats)

Testors F-4F Wild Weasel in 1/48 scale OOB

POSSIBLY an additional Monogram  F-4C OOB in 1/48 scale.  (I will be doing this one last, so it will depend on how much time I have left after the others.  I am waiting for some replacement parts so I am going to concentrate on the others first.)

Thunderbolt379

Eatthis -- you certainly can!

Just let me know what manufacturers' kits, which variants they represent, and if you'll be working OOB or with AM, and I'll update P1 with your projects.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

SH -- sorted!

Cheers, M/TB379

I finished sanding the 40 manifolds, and only managed to take a couple thousands off of my thumb this time.

Here is the dry fit, actually wet fit:

That's good 'ole Norton sand paper, the Texans know something about 'true grit':

Only 19 would fit last Sunday, but they all fit now:

They aren't glued yet, but so far so good:

Maybe by Sunday I'll have new AB's.