The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2011

Same here.  Right now the first kit I am doing is the Hasegaawa RAF bird, then if time allows, MAYBE my Testors Wild Weasel.  And IF  I still have a week or so, then I have a 99% complete Testors Recon bird that is missing one small part.  Unfortunately, it is a part that shows on the fuselage or I would just ignore it.  It's the small vent or whatever door on the fuselage that is a rectangle just above the engine intake swell.  It went AWOL when I was just about done with it.  If I can find the piece, I might finish it too.

My new air hose showed up today along with my 3M respirator mask.  Paint fumes and I do not get along..  And the hose fits like a glove.  I might get a quick disconnect for the airbrush end of this eventually.  Now it's a matter of getting the wife to pick up a small space heater so I can work on the porch (enclosed).

mississippivol

"I just want to get the first one done before I mention the rest.  Kind of the mentality of just focus on the one at hand, then start thinking about the next one.

Ken"

I totally agree. I got a Hasegawa "E" for Christmas, and I'm dyin' to get at it. If I ever touch it, this Revell putty monster will never get done.

Glenn

Beauty man, looking good so far! All you need is a lot of love and patience, a mask, good ventilation, and a way to keep the dust from getting into the rest of your world, yeah, must be love!

Hey, my burner cans are actually the sawed off bottoms of the Super-Glue containers, they are styrene and the diameter fit perfectly inside the engine cowlings. Not as ugly as inside the intakes though!

This is definitely gonna hang from the ceiling.

No worries Ken,

I only get to build on the weekends, and the bird is taking a long time to heal...I doubt I've 'scratched' my way up to zero yet.

I am starting to feel like the kid in "A Christmas Story" who looks in the mailbox each day after school looking for his "Secret Society decoder pin".  Once again the kit is a no show.  But my F-4E Phantom II Walk Around book from Squadron Signal did show up today.  So that was cool to look through.  Also my Hasegawa Weapons Set A arrived as well.  All necessary items to use when building my F-4E.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow?

Ken

holy crap i have that exact same problom and i have no idea how to fix it

Slow, slow going.  

Since this is going to be a closed canopy build, I didn't go into any great detailing with the pit.  I used a fine tip artists black ink pen.  I am going to use resin seats, since I've got a bunch of them laying around in the stash.

Very, very nice!  That is looking real good!

Ken

I'd like to get in on this. I have a Monogram F-4J. I need to ditch my GB virginity...LOL!

Hi vonBrakken -- welcome to the wing! Would that be the 1:48th?

Cheers, MIke/TB379

Yes sir. 1/48, the venerable old Mig Ace.

Page 1 updated, Herr von Bracken -- you're the 40th member to join the Phantom Wing, and yours is the 58th proposed build on the list!

Cheers, Mike/TB379 (Wing Commander)

Wow, that trick with a sewing needle in the pin-vice chuck worked! The F-4F now has the circular hatches on the spine again, along with the removed panel lines crossing the spine. In the same session I added a couple low on the foerward fuselage messed up by installing that area. It looks like I can go ahead and install the wing and intakes now. There'll be another round of filling and sanding to blend in the wing, but I might be lining up the paintjob before long...

More photos soon,

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thunderbolt379

Wow, that trick with a sewing needle in the pin-vice chuck worked! The F-4F now has the circular hatches on the spine again, along with the removed panel lines crossing the spine. In the same session I added a couple low on the foerward fuselage messed up by installing that area. It looks like I can go ahead and install the wing and intakes now. There'll be another round of filling and sanding to blend in the wing, but I might be lining up the paintjob before long...

More photos soon,

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Gee....Kind of makes me feel sort of all warm and fuzzy to think I actually came up with something that helped another.....kind of makes feel sort of like.......

Just kidding! Rhino builders do NOT cry!

Anyway, not a whole lot done these last few days as it seems others have plenty of uses of my free time! I guess it's not really my free time is it? I did take a few minutes to review the kit instructions and see that I missed removing several antennas from the bottom of the aircraft when I did the original build!  It seems this version does not feature them but the 'S' does. Was that really me that built this thing so long ago or some alien? I guess I've just gotten a lot more picky and fussy, and notice the small details more in my old age! A bit more cutting and sanding will be in order. I really want to throw some paint at this thing soon, and then maybe make a decision on whether to start that 'F'. I never put it away with the rest of my stash so it's sitting there on the shelf above my desk looking at me!

Oh yes, I did manage to scribe those circular hatches on the top of the 'G'. Kind of looks like they were always there! (Jimbot pats himself on the back....)

I don't recall who added those photos of the seats but thanks for those! I need to add belts to my seats for sure! I have read about cutting strips of masking tape to simulate belts but just wondered: is there a trick to attaching them or will the stickiness of the tape be enough to hold over time?

Well, I was going to paint the 3rd camo color on mine today, the 20th, but as I write this at 3:30 am it is currently snowing outside rather heavily and is supposed to come down all day for a total of 6 or 7 inches accumulation, so my only day free to paint will be spent doing someting else for at least a week until the temp comes up again.

After the snow leaves, the temp is supposed to drop near 0deg, and then warm up a little for the weekend, but another snow round is threatening........

Jimbot -- Yep, lookin; purdy here... Bunch of lines where they're supposed to be, more or less...!

The belts on my slightly-dressed seats are Tamiya tape brushed Deck Tan and cut with a razor knife. They're single-sided and are stuck in place with their own tack... I have heard the best way is to paint the tape with it stuck to itself, so you get double-sided which will stand out from the seats as a separate object, but that calls for separate fixatives and would thread nicely onto PE hardware...

The seat pics are from Berny -- that's quite a souvenir to own!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Just wanted to pass on, if you guys have the $$ in your modeling budget, I think these two books are the best F-4 walkaround books to date.  The photos cover every detail, from the tip of the radome to the fuel dump at the tail. These are the kind of reference photos that we love to have as modelers.  

The Modern F-4 Guide covers USAF versions, and includes coverage of the German AF F-4F, Hellenic F-4E birds, & the current USAF QF-4 drones:

Uncovering the F-4 covers the B/N/J/S used by the USN/USMC:

Its one thing to have a bunch of pics saved on your hard drive, but a high quality book, opened to photos of the specific area you are working on right this minute, can't be beat.

I remember seeing an advertisement for a F-4 Phantom society magazine subscription in one of the IPMS Journal rags. I think it's abut $40/year. In case you can't get enough of the Rhino. Anyone know much more about it?

Glenn

Jake Melampy's book is really exceptional.

Glenn,

I think the name of the publication you're thinking about is "Smoke Trails".

Dean

Ish47guy

Just wanted to pass on, if you guys have the $$ in your modeling budget, I think these two books are the best F-4 walkaround books to date.  The photos cover every detail, from the tip of the radome to the fuel dump at the tail. These are the kind of reference photos that we love to have as modelers.  

The Modern F-4 Guide covers USAF versions, and includes coverage of the German AF F-4F, Hellenic F-4E birds, & the current USAF QF-4 drones:

Uncovering the F-4 covers the B/N/J/S used by the USN/USMC:

Its one thing to have a bunch of pics saved on your hard drive, but a high quality book, opened to photos of the specific area you are working on right this minute, can't be beat.

Thank you for the suggestion on the books.  I just put the "Modern Phantom Guide" on my wish list.  I really enjoy the research part of building models.  I think that alone makes this hobby very rewarding.  And then building the model just adds that much more fun.

Once again my kit is a no show.  Just as well for tonight.  We got almost 3 inches of snow today so I spent a good part of the evening clearing it out of my driveway and the sidewalks, then did the same at my Mom's house.

Hey Rich, did you get a space heater yet for your enclosed porch?  I am in the same boat as you as far as needing a place to paint.  If my kit doesn't show up this weekend I am going to build a small spray booth for painting indoors.  I already have the plans for it in my head.

Tomorrow night I am going to go to my first IPMS meeting.  I have already contacted the President of the local chapter and found out where they meet.  I am really looking forward to it.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone's in progress pictures this weekend.  Happy Friday!

Ken

Hi guys, Still no parts off the sprue. I'm still hacking away at my "practice" kits - the $15 ones before I attempt the $50 F-4. Tight *** that I am lol.

To be honest I'm making a hash of them too, but there is slight improvement in each one.

I'm working on a Navy Skyhawk at the minute, just to "get in the zone" and I think? I've had a bit of a breakthrough on a colour for the F-4

I'm only a brush painter so I don't know if this will work for the air-gunners out there.

I start with a base colour  - XF 66 Light Grey with a big dollop of Humbrol flat white to tone it down and then paint over that with a thin coat of Humbrol 121 Pale Stone that has had a small dollop of 187 Dark Stone added. I'll have to achieve a top finish with it on the A-4K before I give it the final big tick though.

I'd post a photo to show the final colour but it seems I need as much practice with my photography as I do with my modelling.

If it dosn't work I'll be taking the 2 hour drive to my "local" hobby shop an pick up some FS????

Just been Googling for research and watched some footage of my bird on the USS Midway, very inspiring.

Cheers team, RAG

Well, I got those extra antenna bits shaved off and cleaned up. I will likely mask off the tail section tomorrow and if I'm lucky, start throwing some paint at it this weekend. There still a few blips here and there, but they are minor to me-I'm getting tired of messing with this rescue/restoration. I think I've fixed everything I'm going to on this part of the plane.

In the meantime, that 'F' has made it down from the shelf and is sitting on the table next to me. The instructions seem to have laid themselves out across the desk and a notebook nearby seems to have a bunch of notes in it about colors and other details....I said I may not start it, but it seems it maybe trying to start itself!

[quote user="Son Of Medicine Man"]

Ish47guy:

Uncovering the F-4 covers the B/N/J/S used by the USN/USMC:

Its one thing to have a bunch of pics saved on your hard drive, but a high quality book, opened to photos of the specific area you are working on right this minute, can't be beat.

 

Thanks for the references Ish, I agree, you can't beat a book for convenience. I love that front cover shot. The pylon racks are empty, I wonder who had to eat the ordnance for breakfast... 

Yeh I ordered one from a seller on eBay.  Al the stuff I found in the local stores were junk, and over priced junk at that.  So I found a vintage Neew in the original box, never opened 1970s vintage heavy duty heater.  It should handle the entire porch nicely.

Rich

Son Of Medicine Man

 

 

 

Thank you for the suggestion on the books.  I just put the "Modern Phantom Guide" on my wish list.  I really enjoy the research part of building models.  I think that alone makes this hobby very rewarding.  And then building the model just adds that much more fun.

Once again my kit is a no show.  Just as well for tonight.  We got almost 3 inches of snow today so I spent a good part of the evening clearing it out of my driveway and the sidewalks, then did the same at my Mom's house.

Hey Rich, did you get a space heater yet for your enclosed porch?  I am in the same boat as you as far as needing a place to paint.  If my kit doesn't show up this weekend I am going to build a small spray booth for painting indoors.  I already have the plans for it in my head.

Tomorrow night I am going to go to my first IPMS meeting.  I have already contacted the President of the local chapter and found out where they meet.  I am really looking forward to it.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone's in progress pictures this weekend.  Happy Friday!

Ken

Given how thats a shot of a Test & Evaluation squadron bird, it probably made holes in the desert floor.

It's Friday, and even though some of you have great builds going and even greater shots of your afterburners, I know everyone here has been lusting to see the burner cans on my 1985 Revell F4F, so here they are:

Yeah, you are all weeping righta' bout now!:

Yeah those are Super Glue Container Cutoffs!   And it only gets better!!:

Check out the ultra hi detail and tite tolerances on these beauties:

Last one, I can hear you all screaming for more:

Hey, that Tamiya is looking good just sitting, waiting, 'til this babe is flyin'!

By Sunday I should have the Rhino Plasty pretty much under control.

Sure, I'm not doing it because it's an old Revell, I'm doing it because it's an F4F...

It's going to look great hanging about 20 feet over my head!

Ish47guy

Given how thats a shot of a Test & Evaluation squadron bird, it probably made holes in the desert floor.

Was that flourescent paint a give-away?

Speaking of holes in the desert floor, what about the Drones?

Hi Bockscar,

I would say that is very creative thinking on the exhaust.  Pretty close to "free" and the satisfaction of making them yourself.  I see no problem with that at all.  Not bad looking either!

Ken

The fluorescent paint was pretty much a giveaway, along with the tv camera in the IR seeker chin pod fairing, the angled antenna on the spine, & there is no-one in the aft cockpit make this a QF-4N drone.

Well, another disappointment at the end of the day.  Still no kit.  Blast!  My Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons Set A and B did arrive today, so now I have everything to load my Phantom with.

Well, I am getting ready to meet the local IPMS Chapter for the first time.  I am looking forward to meeting everyone.

Maybe that kit will arrive tomorrow?

Ken

Bockscar, I one saw a pretty simple & effective way to dress up featureless interiors of J-79 nozzles. Take thin sheet styrene & cut rectangular strips about the same dimensions as the petals on the exterior, & glue them in the same position on the inside as they are on the outside.