The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2011

I haven't been here long, but I understand. Condolances to Berny and his family.

Greetings friends,

I talked to Berny’s friend again tonight.  His name is Richard.  Richard said that the hospice nurse came by again today.  According to the nurse, Berny’s heart is weaker than it was yesterday and his breathing is getting shorter.  The nurse said that he will probably expire tonight.  Richard told Berny that everyone here was sending their condolences and Berny managed to signal his acknowledgement by moving his hand a little.  That is about all he can do now.  The nurse said that he is able to understand when someone is talking to him.  They are keeping him as comfortable as can be done.

I hope his dreams are of the good times he has had in his life.

Ken

Greetings friends,

The inevitable has happened.  Berny passed away peacefully early this morning just before sunrise.

This is indeed a very sad day for us all.  Berny was a wonderful person, always willing to help out in any way he could.  He would gladly answer any questions that he knew the answer to and would even ship anything that he had possession of to anyone who needed it.  He was a straight shooter and told you like it was.  And he was a big believer in having fun with this hobby.

We will all miss him a great deal.

Ken

Berny, Rest In Peace.

Rest in Peace Berny. We're sure going to miss you around here.

Hello everyone,

Dom has made a good suggestion.  We should send flowers to Berny's family.  Anyone who would like to donate please send me a private message.  We can use PayPal for the money transfer.

Ken

It's a sad day for Rhinophiles, we've lost one of the originals and they're in short supply. I'm so glad to have facilitated the group that brought together the circle of friends who had a chance to meet Berny and spend some time with him in the company of Phantoms. This group build will be long remembered for the events that unfolded within it, and I hope with good memories for the bright points.

Cheers Berny, you've been a great mentor,

Mike

Thunderbolt379

It's a sad day for Rhinophiles, we've lost one of the originals and they're in short supply. I'm so glad to have facilitated the group that brought together the circle of friends who had a chance to meet Berny and spend some time with him in the company of Phantoms. This group build will be long remembered for the events that unfolded within it, and I hope with good memories for the bright points.

Cheers Berny, you've been a great mentor,

Mike

I just want to thank you for this thread, and yes, bringing this group together, it really made Berny happy.

I also want to thank Rich for the great build, and the tenacity to get "Too Sick Oh" off to Berny, and to Ken, for the great experience with Berny in Dayton.

I'll never forget Berny's reaction when we drove up to MSGT Bernhardt's Reserved Parking spot!

Just a thread on a hobby site Mike, but man, it really made a difference to all of us!

Cheers, Bocks -- it's a good feeling to have helped make it happen, even indirectly. I started this whole thing because I love the Rhino and it's continued to grow, giving rise to unexpected connections in so many ways.

I certainly hope we'll be building Phantoms for a long time to come!

Mike/TB379

I have a proposal.  I propose that we officially name this Phantom II Build in honor of Berny.  And that we hold it every year as a regular annual event.  I would also suggest that we start and end each year's build on Berny's Bday (if anyone knows it).  I will Volunteer to design a group badge in his honor.  This way, his memory will be carried on to each generation of Phinophiles that participates in the build.

Rich

Thunderbolt379

Cheers, Bocks -- it's a good feeling to have helped make it happen, even indirectly. I started this whole thing because I love the Rhino and it's continued to grow, giving rise to unexpected connections in so many ways.

I certainly hope we'll be building Phantoms for a long time to come!

Mike/TB379

Interesting proposal, Rich -- yes indeed, Rhinomania II can be remembered as the Official Mst. Sgt. Bernhardt Memorial F-4 Group Build.

Starting elsewhere but January 1st could get a bit cumbersome for administrative reasons, if his birthday is late in the year it would mean we'd go most of 2012 without a build in progress -- but I'm open to suggestions. I would be very happy to launch Rhinos III in the New Year.

Cheers, Mike

I think we ought to put his first name in there too.  So everyone who only knew him at Bernie knows who it's named after.

Thunderbolt379

Interesting proposal, Rich -- yes indeed, Rhinomania II can be remembered as the Official Mst. Sgt. Bernhardt Memorial F-4 Group Build.

Starting elsewhere but January 1st could get a bit cumbersome for administrative reasons, if his birthday is late in the year it would mean we'd go most of 2012 without a build in progress -- but I'm open to suggestions. I would be very happy to launch Rhinos III in the New Year.

Cheers, Mike

Minor correction.  Berny was a nickname for Bernhardt.  Berny's first name was Bill.

Ken

Yup.  But some just knew him as Berny, so how about the

"The Official Mst. Sgt. Bill "Berny" Bernhardt Phantom II Group Build."

Son Of Medicine Man

Minor correction.  Berny was a nickname for Bernhardt.  Berny's first name was Bill.

Ken

Sparrowhyperion

Yup.  But some just knew him as Berny, so how about the

 

"The Official Mst. Sgt. Bill "Berny" Bernhardt Phantom II Group Build."

 

 

Son Of Medicine Man:

 

Minor correction.  Berny was a nickname for Bernhardt.  Berny's first name was Bill.

Ken

 

 

He really liked that Phantom Phixer logo you did, just a thought.

Also, Berny's birthday is around February 23.  I looked it up in this group build.  I remembered him mentioning it.   We will be able to get the exact date when his obituary comes out.

Ken

Yeh I know.  I have an idea for a badge.  A backdrop of a flight of Phantoms in the missing man formation if I cvan find one, and I can incorporate the Phantom Phixer design in somehow.

Bockscar

 

Sparrowhyperion:

 

Yup.  But some just knew him as Berny, so how about the

 

"The Official Mst. Sgt. Bill "Berny" Bernhardt Phantom II Group Build."

 

 

Son Of Medicine Man:

 

Minor correction.  Berny was a nickname for Bernhardt.  Berny's first name was Bill.

Ken

 

 

 

Rich;

 

He really liked that Phantom Phixer logo you did, just a thought.

hey guys, i have a whole lineup of F-4s to build now since my dad wants to have one built up for all of the squadrons he flew in.

the one id like to be entered into the group build will be a 1/72 Hasegawa F-4J "Liberty Bell" kit done up as a J from VMFA-212. 

anyone have any experience with the above kit? how is that kit by itself? any aftermarket parts i need for it? 

rufio -- welcome aboard, I'll update p1 with your entry right away.

I can vouch for that kit, all the Hasegawa 1:72s (Ka series onward) have been superb. You can add an AM cockpit if you like, their seats are a bit of a let down so some resin is always welcome there, but by and large they build beautifully and look great.

On the loadouts, there's a wealth of info earlier in this GB about a wide variety of possible configurations and the adapter hardware required. Sadly our resident expert on Phantom hardware passed away yesterday, and will be much missed.

Cheers, hope you'll build with us in the years to come as it looks like the "Rhino Wing" will be celebrating the Phantom for a long time to come.

Mike/Thunderbolt379

rufioizgrreat

the only other question i have right now is regarding the J loadout. my dad is getting up there in age so he cant remember what racks he used to be able to carry a 131 ECM pod along with 2 AIM-9s, cant remember if it was a LAU-88 or LAU-17. timeframe for this would be USMC, 72-77. i have LAU-88s in the weapons pack i have, but i cant find any LAU-17s. 

I'm not certain, but I believe LAU-17's are the standard inner pylon on the F-4s. AIM-9's were mounted by way of LAU-7 launchers mounted on the side/s of the pylon. This leaves the actual mount free to carry the AN/ALQ-131 (was wondering about that - would an AN/ALQ-119 be more appropriate for that time period?)

The LAU-88 is a 3-rail launcher for the AGM-65 and is not used for AIM-9's.

i called him to double check and he said "uh no the 131 we used on the RF-4..." i said dad i was talking about the J i am working on...."oh well then no, we didnt usually carry a pod" 

got that cleared up. 

ill just use the stock launchers from the kit then since i dont have to worry about the pod now. 

also, it was mentioned that the hasegawa F-4 kits are good to go, this kit is probably from the 80s, its the Liberty Bell kit, and cant find any specific reviews on this kit online. just wanted to verify that this kit is good to go by itself. im looking at getting the Big Ed kit for it, but dont know if its worth the 32 bucks. 

ken is it too late to pitch in for the flowers? i agree, i think it would be a great idea to start a GB to honour berny. even though this is a hobby it just doesnt feel the same w/out him helping us novices out! i really wish i could have gone to dayton with you guys.  RIP  Mst. Sgt...

Rufio -- from the 80s? The Ka kits were tooled in the late 80s, I believe, and those molds are the standard to this day, however you might have an older tooling. The signature for telling them apart is the panel lines, raised = older, engraved = modern standard.

SAR -- you raise a good point. Just to be clear, guys, are we talking about commemorating Bernie by renaming the current GB (which is what I thought we were doing and announced on page 1 yesterday) or by making Rhinos III the commemoration, next year?

Concensus please!

Cheers, Mike

some assembly required

ken is it too late to pitch in for the flowers? i agree, i think it would be a great idea to start a GB to honour berny. even though this is a hobby it just doesnt feel the same w/out him helping us novices out! i really wish i could have gone to dayton with you guys.  RIP  Mst. Sgt...

Nope, it is not too late.  I will be placing the order tomorrow at noon (Eastern Daylight Savings Time).  I will wait until then to give people who have not had a chance to see news yet.  Just send me a private message and I will give you my PayPal account info.

Ken

I would rename this one as the first annual, and then keep the new name for all of the annual F4 builds that follow.

I also have another idea.  if we could get one of the mods to talk to the site owners, and see if we couldn't have them collect all of the posts Berny made with practical info on kits in general and F4s in particular and maybe create a permanent thread of those.  Then all of the knowledge he imparted to folks wouldn't be lost.

Sparrowhyperion

I would rename this one as the first annual, and then keep the new name for all of the annual F4 builds that follow.

Thunderbolt379

Rufio -- from the 80s? The Ka kits were tooled in the late 80s, I believe, and those molds are the standard to this day, however you might have an older tooling. The signature for telling them apart is the panel lines, raised = older, engraved = modern standard.

SAR -- you raise a good point. Just to be clear, guys, are we talking about commemorating Bernie by renaming the current GB (which is what I thought we were doing and announced on page 1 yesterday) or by making Rhinos III the commemoration, next year?

Concensus please!

Cheers, Mike

Hi MIke,

Here is my two cents worth.  Berny was very proud of the F-4, but he was also a crew chief on the F-102 and the F-111.  He also liked some of the Korean War aircraft like the F-84E.  I would suggest that everyone who would like to participate in a build to honor Berny be able to vote at the beginning of each build on which aircraft to model.  I do have several versions of the F-4 that I want to build, but I know I would get burned out after a while of only building F-4s without a change.

Ken

Thunderbolt379

Rufio -- from the 80s? The Ka kits were tooled in the late 80s, I believe, and those molds are the standard to this day, however you might have an older tooling. The signature for telling them apart is the panel lines, raised = older, engraved = modern standard.

SAR -- you raise a good point. Just to be clear, guys, are we talking about commemorating Bernie by renaming the current GB (which is what I thought we were doing and announced on page 1 yesterday) or by making Rhinos III the commemoration, next year?

Concensus please!

Cheers, Mike

By all rights, this is your GB. I see it as the starting point and sponsor of Berny's commemorative F-4 GB. I'm not sure how the new GB is going to look, Rich has some ideas, but you set the corner stone. I'll leave it up to Rich and you figure out what the commemorative should be called, and I'll happily support the new GB moving forward.

I think Rich was echoing the idea that this GB should be dedicated to Berny, and that we could strike a new perpetuity GB in his honour moving forward. I'm not going to be a sticking point either way, but this GB is historic in its own way.

Thunderbolt379

Rufio -- from the 80s? The Ka kits were tooled in the late 80s, I believe, and those molds are the standard to this day, however you might have an older tooling. The signature for telling them apart is the panel lines, raised = older, engraved = modern standard.

Cheers, Mike

i take it back, the box says 2004 on it. i got confused with the other kits i have, i have a monogram f-4 thats from 1979

The reason I thought it would be a good idea to rename this one, as the first, was that it was the last one Berny was able to directly participate in.

Bockscar

 

Thunderbolt379:

 

Rufio -- from the 80s? The Ka kits were tooled in the late 80s, I believe, and those molds are the standard to this day, however you might have an older tooling. The signature for telling them apart is the panel lines, raised = older, engraved = modern standard.

SAR -- you raise a good point. Just to be clear, guys, are we talking about commemorating Bernie by renaming the current GB (which is what I thought we were doing and announced on page 1 yesterday) or by making Rhinos III the commemoration, next year?

Concensus please!

Cheers, Mike

 

Mike:

 

By all rights, this is your GB. I see it as the starting point and sponsor of Berny's commemorative F-4 GB. I'm not sure how the new GB is going to look, Rich has some ideas, but you set the corner stone. I'll leave it up to Rich and you figure out what the commemorative should be called, and I'll happily support the new GB moving forward.

I think Rich was echoing the idea that this GB should be dedicated to Berny, and that we could strike a new perpetuity GB in his honour moving forward. I'm not going to be a sticking point either way, but this GB is historic in its own way.