The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2011

Ok, time for some Squadron Green. It also helped with the nasty gap between the kit fuselage and the resin sidewalls.

Wheels done. Will add some unused coloured PE from my F-16. Lots of wheelbay cables. Some weathering grays on the tyres next;

Weapons pretty much done. Also used some unused PE from the F-16 set.

Strangely the Hasegawa kit only contains one decal sheet for the Midway markings. So there is only really a choice of one set of markings out of the 3 shown on the instructions. Included in the missing decals were all the coloured bands for the missiles. So the decals shown are also unused from the F-16 plus some coloured ones I found that I could cut thin stripes. I guessed and used my best judgement so I hope I haven't offended anyone with my inaccuracies!

Cheers

26carlos

Hi fellows:

Decaling process is going easy. This Microscale set of  Decals is great and the Micro Set / Sol works very well with these decals.

 

 

 When finishing decaling I´ll apply a Future coat to seal the decals and then an oil wash. Then complete some minor details and the weapons. Hope in a coupñe of days it will be finished.

Regards.

 

Hi Carlos,

That is looking sweet!  Great job!  I hope my bird comes out looking half that good!   

Ken

oortiz10

Casper, looks like nice clean work.  Keep it up!

 

Dom, all that…uh…stuff that was on my desk didn’t make its way to eBay.  However, had I not cleaned it up, I’m sure the wife would’ve made sure that it did.  

 

Ken, school and work are what keep me away from my bench.  Besides working full time, I’m taking 18 units at the university this semester and squeezing in 100 hours of internship.  That’s not including my sports, other hobbies, personal and other professional commitments, plus all the stuff life throws at ya.  So you can see how my modeling time can be limited.

 

Anyway, staring at my empty bench made me start to itch.  So, in an attempt to get me moving towards another mess, I sat down and fiddled with one of the Phantoms.  The –C I wanna build has some intake covers which appear to be made out of canvas (as seen here).  After some thought, I figured the best way to replicate ‘em would be with either fine metal foil or some tissue.  I found some foil from a wine bottle and started to fabricate me some intake covers.  

 

Here’s what I came up with:

 

 

 

I like the direction in which I’m going, but I think the wine foil’s a little too thick.  I may try again with both kitchen foil and tissue and see which ones look best.  Now that I have a rough pattern to use, it should be pretty easy making up some covers outta different materials.  Anyway, let me know what you guys think.

 

Cheers!

-O

Hi "O",

Sounds like you are on "overload" with that schedule!  I am only taking 8 credit hours this semester and that keeps me busy enough.  Nice work on the fabric cover, looks very cool!     

Ken

Casper the Chihuahua

Got a bit more done this weekend. Mostly painting of the greeblies (landing gear, hatches, etc.) and Futuring and masking of the canopies.

Also got the bird together.

I picked up some more Alclad during the week. I'm going to use Alclad magnesium for the exhausts with varying shades on the paneling under the tail in Alclad Jet exhaust. I'll use the Alclad aluminum for the silver striping around the exhausts and the rear wings.

Cheers

 

Hi Casper,

Looks like fine work there!  Top notch!     

Ken

26carlos:

Wouldn't mind learning your masking technique, Berny said to run that natural metal finish out, and you managed to keep the stab detail as crisp as new money:

How did you keep those tiny hinges white?

If you let us know, I'll buy you a beer next time I'm in Buenos Aires....

26carlos:

Wouldn't mind learning your masking technique, Berny said to run that natural metal finish out, and you managed to keep the stab detail as crisp as new money:

How did you keep those tiny hinges white?

If you let us know, I'll buy you a beer next time I'm in Buenos Aires....

26carlos:

Wouldn't mind learning your masking technique, Berny said to run that natural metal finish out, and you managed to keep the stab detail as crisp as new money:

How did you keep those tiny hinges white?

If you let us know, I'll buy you a beer next time I'm in Buenos Aires....

Hi somenewguy:

Take a look at Humbol 118 (US Tan). It´s enamel too.

Hi fellows:

Decaling process is going easy. This Microscale set of  Decals is great and the Micro Set / Sol works very well with these decals.

 When finishing decaling I´ll apply a Future coat to seal the decals and then an oil wash. Then complete some minor details and the weapons. Hope in a coupñe of days it will be finished.

Regards.

Thanks Berny  and Bockscar

Hey Oortiz. Do you have squadrons' f-4 walkaround? On page 33 there is a relatively clear picture with an E fitted with an intake cover on the Port(?) side. I'd take a pic and post it but I don't reckon it'd be clear.

You can see if anyone stocks it near you and just take a peek without buying it

Good job by the way.

O -- and I thought my workspace was cramped/littered!

SNG -- if you're using enamels, you can get matches for USAF SEA Tan FS30219 in the Model Master and Humbrol ranges. If you fancied acrulics, MM Acryl have matches for them all too.

Cheers, M/TB379

Hi guys.

I'm trying to find a good match for the beige/tan colour of the Phantoms' beige colour in the tri/camo scheme. Revell lists it in the instructions as 80% beige and 20% brown, but I can't seem to find these two colours anywhere.

As I have olive and dark green tamiya enamels and plan on using them for the camo I guess I should try to find some suitable tamiya colours for the final colour to avoid any reaction disasters.

Would a mixture of tamiya flesh, brown and maybe a bit of desert yellow or something or other get close you reckon?

Any help greatly appreciated!

Casper, looks like nice clean work.  Keep it up!

Dom, all that…uh…stuff that was on my desk didn’t make its way to eBay.  However, had I not cleaned it up, I’m sure the wife would’ve made sure that it did.  

Ken, school and work are what keep me away from my bench.  Besides working full time, I’m taking 18 units at the university this semester and squeezing in 100 hours of internship.  That’s not including my sports, other hobbies, personal and other professional commitments, plus all the stuff life throws at ya.  So you can see how my modeling time can be limited.

Anyway, staring at my empty bench made me start to itch.  So, in an attempt to get me moving towards another mess, I sat down and fiddled with one of the Phantoms.  The –C I wanna build has some intake covers which appear to be made out of canvas (as seen here).  After some thought, I figured the best way to replicate ‘em would be with either fine metal foil or some tissue.  I found some foil from a wine bottle and started to fabricate me some intake covers.  

Here’s what I came up with:

I like the direction in which I’m going, but I think the wine foil’s a little too thick.  I may try again with both kitchen foil and tissue and see which ones look best.  Now that I have a rough pattern to use, it should be pretty easy making up some covers outta different materials.  Anyway, let me know what you guys think.

Cheers!

-O

Got a bit more done this weekend. Mostly painting of the greeblies (landing gear, hatches, etc.) and Futuring and masking of the canopies.

Also got the bird together.

I picked up some more Alclad during the week. I'm going to use Alclad magnesium for the exhausts with varying shades on the paneling under the tail in Alclad Jet exhaust. I'll use the Alclad aluminum for the silver striping around the exhausts and the rear wings.

Cheers

O, Holy COW!

If all that stuff is on Ebay, please provide the link...lol...

BTW...nice drilling pal....if you hit oil, can I buy shares?.....lol...

I appreciate the fact you are a student, and still find the will to drilll.....lol....you are the guy in between total scratch, After Market, and Out of the Box......not to mention careers, so my hat is off to you.....

Yes, it only hurts when you are having fun....lol......

Hi "O",

Great job on the organization!  I feel the same way, you need to have some organization to be comfortable with your work area.

I am back in school again myself.  In my field of work (computers), you have to continually keep going to school or some type of training program to keep up with the technology.

Ken

Berny, Dom, Ken; thanks for the kudos!  

The seats are pretty much done.  The only thing left to do is a shot of flat coat before being dropped into the cockpit.  However, before I could do any plastic mashing, I had to do a little housekeeping.  With school starting, I needed to clear off a spot to do my school work.  Since the wife and I share the office, my side doubles as my work space and hobby space.  Unfortunately, the condition it was in didn't lend itself to either.  So, before any modeling or school work could get done, I had to get my self sorted. 

I know we've all done the "here's my work-space" photos before, but I thought I'd finally share mine.

Before:

(I don't even know where those cookies came from!)

After:

(I usually don't eat candy or sweets, but I like to indulge in some hard candy while I'm sitting at my bench.)

Now that things are squared away (and I have a free day tomorrow), I expect to make some Phantom progress.

Cheers everyone!

-O

Great work 26carlos.  First rate job.  

26carlos:

Yeah, that's neater than the real airplane man!

Hi Casper:

Don´t know what brand is your kit and scale, but my ESCI F 4 Phantom doesn´t have weighted nose and it stands ok.

I have various Phantoms of diferent brands (1/48 & 1/72 Hasegawa - Revell - Fujimi - ESCI) and in the instructions I didn´t see any advice about the need to put extra weight in the nose.

Regards.

Hi fellows.

Finished the canopy and I´m starting to give an overall coat of Future and decaling.

 I hope this weekend I´ll be able to finish decaling and satart with the weapons.

regards.

Casper the Chihuahua

Does anyone have any experience with a non weighted Phantom nose? Will it work? Will it tip?

Casper,

I haven't been as active in this GB as I should be, so I'm not sure what Phantom kit  you're building.  From your signature, I'm guessing you're building Hasegawa's 1/48 F-4B/N?  If that's the case, then you're fine without nose weight.  I've built both the Hase and Revellogram 1/48 Phantom without weight, and both stand fine on their gear.

Cheers!

-O

Hi fellows:

I took notice of Berny´s advice and I made some corrections

I painted natural metal the horizontal stab leading edge slots all the way out to the tip and replaced the USAF wheels with a pair of Navy wheels.

Now I´m in the final stages. Canopy painted,  and begining with the weapons. This weekend decaling.

Here are some pics as it´s now:

More pics on the way.

Regards.

D'OH!!

I just realised I've not weighted the nose of my Hasegawa Phantom!! It wasn't included in the instructions. Does anyone have any experience with a non weighted Phantom nose? Will it work? Will it tip?

Cheers

Bomber Boy:

it's a beautiful thing!!!

berny13

oortiz10:

 

What the heck?  I actually made some progress?  Things have been going so slowly on these builds even I almost missed my own progress!  So, school has started, and if you thought things were moving ahead slowly...you ain't seen nuttin' yet!  Still, I've done something...

So, here is a set of True Details seats.  The seats don't come with the ejection pull rings, so I made some out of yellow and black thread.  Looking at 'em now, I think next time I do this I'll twist the threads a little tighter.  The yellow and black looks a little too spaced out.

Here you can see one seat with the completed rings and the other with its rings in progress.

 

A couple more...

 Cheers,

-O

 

 

I am glad to see someone mount the shoulder harness the right way.  So many people just let the harness rest on the seat back.  -O you nailed it right on the head with the seats.  The lap belts and survival pack belts is the way I remember them.  Just thrown on the seats.  We would straighten them up and lay them over the seat bucket before the crew would arrive.  Phabulous work.    You are now promoted to Senior Airman, and now be an Assistant Crew Chief.     

Son Of Medicine Man

 

berny13:

 

Hi everyone.  I am still alive even if I did have to spend five days in the hospital.  Friday morning I had a hard time breathing and then the right side of my face went numb.  I couldn't talk without slurring my speach.  I called 911 emmediately.  The hospital ran all kinds of test and said my potassium level was low and I had a mild case of pneumonia.  They kept me for five days running all kinds of scans and every thing was still OK.  My lungs show no sign of cancer nor any other part of my body except for the initial cancer in my neck.  That means the cancer hasn't spread as fast as expected.  The pneumonia was clearing up with antibiotics.

On the question of the strike camera, it would be loaded in the right forward missile well only.  They could be mounted on the F-4D and F-4E.  The F-4E later came out with a combat documentation camera located under the right intake in a streamlined housing.  That took the place of the missile well mounted camera to free up the well for a missile.  On the lift side under the intake was a streamlined housing which mounted a gun camera.  It would also show missile launches.  A gun sight documentation camera was mounted below the combining glass gun site (not a HUD as everyone calls it).  It would record the radar images and launch of missiles.  It would not record pictures of the target as that is what the gun sight documentation camers did.  I hope everything is a clear as mud now      

Some great looking builds going on.  Makes me want to set behind my modeling desk and start sanding plastic.  Having lost a lot of feeling in my left hand makes it almost impossible to do that.  When typing I am using the six finger method.  Five fingers on the right hand and first finger on the left.  It gets the job done even of I get confused and try to use all five on the left and wind up striking a wrong key. 

Keep up the fine work being done.  A lot of Phantom Phixer Phros on the group build now.  I would be honored to have each and every one of you as an assistant when I was a Crew Chief.  That is how much I think of the job you are doing building the Phabulous Phantastic F-Phour Phantom.            

 

 

Great to see your post Berny!  That is also good news about the cancer not spreading as fast as predicted.  It would be great to be able to make the trip to the museum again next year!

I apologize for calling the combining glass a HUD.  After seeing your reply I remembered that.  It won't happen again. 

It was great to hear your voice again and also know you haven't lost your sense of humor!  You are definitely a great guy to know.

Ken

Glad to know the bad things have slowed somewhat, you might get back to sanding again.

Dom

berny13

Hi everyone.  I am still alive even if I did have to spend five days in the hospital.  Friday morning I had a hard time breathing and then the right side of my face went numb.  I couldn't talk without slurring my speach.  I called 911 emmediately.  The hospital ran all kinds of test and said my potassium level was low and I had a mild case of pneumonia.  They kept me for five days running all kinds of scans and every thing was still OK.  My lungs show no sign of cancer nor any other part of my body except for the initial cancer in my neck.  That means the cancer hasn't spread as fast as expected.  The pneumonia was clearing up with antibiotics.

On the question of the strike camera, it would be loaded in the right forward missile well only.  They could be mounted on the F-4D and F-4E.  The F-4E later came out with a combat documentation camera located under the right intake in a streamlined housing.  That took the place of the missile well mounted camera to free up the well for a missile.  On the lift side under the intake was a streamlined housing which mounted a gun camera.  It would also show missile launches.  A gun sight documentation camera was mounted below the combining glass gun site (not a HUD as everyone calls it).  It would record the radar images and launch of missiles.  It would not record pictures of the target as that is what the gun sight documentation camers did.  I hope everything is a clear as mud now      

Some great looking builds going on.  Makes me want to set behind my modeling desk and start sanding plastic.  Having lost a lot of feeling in my left hand makes it almost impossible to do that.  When typing I am using the six finger method.  Five fingers on the right hand and first finger on the left.  It gets the job done even of I get confused and try to use all five on the left and wind up striking a wrong key. 

Keep up the fine work being done.  A lot of Phantom Phixer Phros on the group build now.  I would be honored to have each and every one of you as an assistant when I was a Crew Chief.  That is how much I think of the job you are doing building the Phabulous Phantastic F-Phour Phantom.            

Great to see your post Berny!  That is also good news about the cancer not spreading as fast as predicted.  It would be great to be able to make the trip to the museum again next year!

I apologize for calling the combining glass a HUD.  After seeing your reply I remembered that.  It won't happen again. 

It was great to hear your voice again and also know you haven't lost your sense of humor!  You are definitely a great guy to know.

Ken

oortiz10

What the heck?  I actually made some progress?  Things have been going so slowly on these builds even I almost missed my own progress!  So, school has started, and if you thought things were moving ahead slowly...you ain't seen nuttin' yet!  Still, I've done something...

So, here is a set of True Details seats.  The seats don't come with the ejection pull rings, so I made some out of yellow and black thread.  Looking at 'em now, I think next time I do this I'll twist the threads a little tighter.  The yellow and black looks a little too spaced out.

Here you can see one seat with the completed rings and the other with its rings in progress.

 

A couple more...

 Cheers,

-O

 

I am glad to see someone mount the shoulder harness the right way.  So many people just let the harness rest on the seat back.  -O you nailed it right on the head with the seats.  The lap belts and survival pack belts is the way I remember them.  Just thrown on the seats.  We would straighten them up and lay them over the seat bucket before the crew would arrive.  Phabulous work.    You are now promoted to Senior Airman, and now be an Assistant Crew Chief.