The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2011

Berny

I know what your dealing with on the A M intakes.i got through it with a lot off filing and sanding,take your time dont over do it because it becomes a case of deminishing returns! I think this is the worst area on these kits! A M parts or stock

They are not the best pictures but it will give you an idea on how the MWA looks and where it is mounted.  It isn't glued in place just positioned on the F-4E I started and haven't finished yet.  I used AM intakes on it and had lots of fit problems and just set it aside waiting for motivation.

Jimbot, too bad you aren't working in 1/48 scale as I have extra MWA'a (Missile Well Adapters) for the ECM pods.  The one you have just doesn't look correct.  Also it is too far aft.  I'll post some pictures later to show you what it looks like and where it is mounted.

Hi all, have been away a couple of days, just reading through the new posts. I'm always delighted with the work going on here and the enthusiasm!

Dupes -- welcome aboard, when you make your final choice just let me know what to list.

Jimbot -- I know what you mean about using a kit for salvage only. I won a 1:48 Monogram -J on eBay, a bagged kit with no instructions or decals, and that was fine. It'll get broken up piecemeal. The cockpit will go into a scratchbuilt 50s 'paper project' one day, the landing gear may go the same way, the droptanks, nose cone and afterburners may be drafted into an SF scratchbuild/comics subject, and the vertical tail is needed for another SF scratchbuild, a subject whose original studio model had a Phantom tailplane to start with...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

It seems that model building is a lesson in problem solving: Before I got too carried away with painting the bottom of the 'Geasel', I needed to think about the ALQ-119 pod to be mounted in the LH forward Sparrow bay. Naturally, the Hasegawa kit doesn't provide any underwing stores, so I had to get one of their add-on weapons kits to obtain one. (Same with the required AGM missiles) The other problem was the pylon for the pod! They don't provide that either! I knew I would likely have to scratch one, but I didn't know what it looked like.

I came up with an alternative: The Italeri kit in my stash has a "G" option and provides both the pod and the pylon! The part in question is already mounted to its pylon, but like the rest of the kit, details are 'soft', poorly done, with ejector pin marks deeply embedded in the side. The pylon would be usable though.

Cutting off the locater pins from the bottom, I cemented the whole piece into the bay, using the other kit part as a guide:

The Hasegawa part that will be used is held there by a bit of tape for comparison.

Once set, I cut away the crappy Italeri pod, leaving the two tiny rods that where the new one will mount (hard to see with my stupid camera, I know!). How I will mount it securely will be a problem for another day, but maybe some brass wires drilled in may be the answer:

New part taped in place to get a 'feel' for it:

Comparing the good and the bad:

Hopefully, it will someday look somewhat like this:

As always, sorry for the quality of my pictures, I wish I had a better camera.....

Also I would mention that after examination of the Italeri kit with its raised panel lines, poor fit, lots of ejector pin marks in all the wrong places, and lack of decent detail issues, I decided this kit is fair game for savaging parts, including the decals that will go to the Hasegawa 'Geasel'! No intentions to ever build it.

berny13

 

Son Of Medicine Man:

 

Nice work on your Geasel Jim!  Looking good!

Ken

 

 

  Nice smooth looking paint job.  Which outfit is it going to be from?

I will probably be using "PN" tailcodes taken from my Italeri kit. The original paint of this kit was the "lizard" overall green/gray, but as I mentioned elsewhere, the finish was bad, decals peeling ("SP" tailcode) and needed rescue. I decided that if I was to repaint this kit, I wanted it to be in this tan/dark green/medium green camo scheme. I also have a set of markings for "WW" but unfortunately, they are gray and not black, intended for a Rhino carrying a two tone gray paint job.

Mike - I feel like I NEED to get into this GB, especially after missing out on last year's iteration. I know I can build a Phantom before year's end! (and hopefully sooner)

I'll get back to you with my build intentions asap - need to do some narrowing down. Probably leaning toward a 1/48 Hasegawa J, or a 1/32 Revell F, but let me double check that.

SIXTY TWO PAGES - you guys are killing me! Two months in!

Ken and Berny;

Between the 'No Step' and the brake stacks, I figure my eyes are shot. Enlarging didn't help much.

Berny your detailing is looking real good, using your examples and the seat photos you provided, I think I have an idea of what the seat appearance should approximate. Of course, mine aren't going to look that sharp, airbrush or not.

The Revell versions I have need fixing and detailing, but given the overall quality of the kit, don't deserve a huge effort. The pilot figures seem way out of scale, not sure what to do with them yet.

I hope to finish the re-line and begin building the after burners between now and Sunday. Luckily I have the Tamiya kit to serve as a template for my Revell resurrection. (20 manifolds inside the afterburners, whew!)

Yes, I totally agree with everyone on painting the cockpit with an airbrush.  This is my first build since I was a teenager, (many moons ago), so I am still learning.  I was thinking it was such a small piece that it didn’t warrant using the airbrush on it.  I am much wiser now! 

Ken

berny13

Ken, I learned a long time ago it is better to airbrush the cockpits, rather than brush paint.  At least it is for me, but to each his own.  Some can do it and it looks great when finished.  Some times it looks like someone used a mop to paint them and it is way too thick to make out any detail. 

I second that Berny, especially those cockpits with very shallow details and the smaller the cockpit scale i.e 1/72 the higher the chances to loose dials and knobs under the paint. I usually airbrush the cockpit parts while in the sprue.

Son Of Medicine Man

Nice work on your Geasel Jim!  Looking good!

Ken

  Nice smooth looking paint job.  Which outfit is it going to be from?

I have just taken some before pictures and when I get some work done I'll post them with some after pictures.  It will give everyone a good laugh.  

Ken, I learned a long time ago it is better to airbrush the cockpits, rather than brush paint.  At least it is for me, but to each his own.  Some can do it and it looks great when finished.  Some times it looks like someone used a mop to paint them and it is way too thick to make out any detail. 

Nice work on your Geasel Jim!  Looking good!

Ken

Thanks to everyone for your comments.  Jimbot58, that white pod is an AN/ALQ-87 ECM pod.  I used it to prop up the seats and forgot to take it out for the second picture.  It will be loaded on the left forward missile well on the aircraft when finished.

Berny Those pieces look great, but I am curious as to what that white pod is you have shown?

My RF-4E arrived yesterday:

I admit, though, to being a bit disappointed that the only option being provided for markings, are for the featured plane. The original instructions show markings for 4 different aircraft (2 Japanese and two German) but these were omitted and a very colorful set with a supplemental instruction sheet added.:

They call for an all-over white finish. This is all fine and dandy, but I have always been the type to prefer more 'ordinary' markings and not into the flashy builds. A quick search yielded no aftermarket offerings to use.

This is not to be added into the GB! (Perhaps for the next one?)

Current work:

A bit of trial mock-up for the "F" with still much to do:

And the 'Geasel' camo work is done with a few spots to touch-up:

Not to mention the details to be painted, radome, and things like intakes:

I also started the underside with the light gray:

It is a bit hard to tell but the left wing and some of the center was painted tonight. I'm sure most of you know how tedious it is painting a light gray over a light gray plastic! It's hard to tell when you have the right coverage! (Uh....did I paint that part yet?) Also painting will need to be done for the stabilators and the NMF areas around the exhaust. For a kit that was almost completely assembled, this is sure a lot of work!

Berny, I thank you for taking the time to explain the reason for the differences.

Well, after looking at that terrible paint job on the area in front of the pilot’s instrument panel I just couldn’t take it anymore.  So I took some enamel thinner and stripped it off.  Here is what it looks like now:

I will let it dry overnight and repaint it with the air brush instead of using a paint brush.  Another lesson learned.

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Berny,

I have a question.  I noticed on one of the seats it has "No Step" printed on it and the other does not.  Is there a difference on which seat gets that printed on it?

Ken

That depends on the life support shop and egress shop.  Some survival kits had them and some didn't.  It would depend on which ones the shop grabbed when it came time to swap them out.  With the rain we were always getting, survival kits, main parachutes, and drogue chutes were always getting wet and had be replaced with spares from the shop. 

If you will look at the wheels, you will see one has a new brake stack and one has an old brake stack.  The one with the old brake stack has the tire tread sanded down to show wear while the other, the tire looks new.

berny13

Here is a little of my work so far.  I still have to finish the seats and work a little bit more on the main gear struts.

 

 

Hi Berny,

Your work is top notch!  Looking very nice indeed.  I have a question.  I noticed on one of the seats it has "No Step" printed on it and the other does not.  Is there a difference on which seat gets that printed on it?

Ken

Very nice Berny.  I got some more minor work done on my FGR.q2 today and my Monogram 1/48 J bird arrived, so I got a bit of a start on assembling the cockpit.  I'll send up some images when it's worth sending them up lol.

Rich

Those struts and seats are looking good Berny....

Here is a little of my work so far.  I still have to finish the seats and work a little bit more on the main gear struts.

Never got a chance to fly a Barron.  I really miss flying. the FAA has some funny rule about not letting someone with a coiled brain aneurysm into the pilot's seat.  No Idea why... :)  I had let my ticket lapse before that anyway.  Just too expensive.

Rich

berny13

 

Sparrowhyperion:

 

 Out of Curiosity, what do you fly? Cessna, Beechcraft etc?

 

 

I flew a Cessna 182.  The club where I am a member has Cessna 172's and C-182's.  All but two of the 172's have up graded GPS navigation and they use the non up graded for student pilot training.  They also have a Beech Barron which I fly when I can.

Sparrowhyperion

 Out of Curiosity, what do you fly? Cessna, Beechcraft etc?

 

I flew a Cessna 182.  The club where I am a member has Cessna 172's and C-182's.  All but two of the 172's have up graded GPS navigation and they use the non up graded for student pilot training.  They also have a Beech Barron which I fly when I can.

I would use super fine grit sandpaper.  Thinner has a bad habit of melting some plastic.  I lost a few kits that way.  Just gently sand the overpainted areas down.  Sometimes you can even get a cool worn metal effect this way too.  The trick is to apply hardly any pressure at all, and sand fast.  It's much safer than thinner.

Son Of Medicine Man

Greetings everyone!

Here are some photos showing what I have done so far;

I am real happy how the gloss black gives the "glass look" in this shot.  I need to fix the rest of the paint though.  I think I will try using a brush dipped in thinner to try leveling the paint.  Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

The second piece from the left also has some gloss black giving that "glass look".  I am very happy with this one too!

Greetings everyone!

Here are some photos showing what I have done so far;

I am real happy how the gloss black gives the "glass look" in this shot.  I need to fix the rest of the paint though.  I think I will try using a brush dipped in thinner to try leveling the paint.  Anyone have any thoughts on that?

The second piece from the left also has some gloss black giving that "glass look".  I am very happy with this one too!

A little more paint on the first ejection seat:

Left side of the same seat:

The second ejection seat:

And the left side of the same seat:

I have ordered more paint colors which should arrive tomorrow.  Slowly but surely I am getting it done.

Hey Berny, glad to hear that your white paint finally dried!  I sure would like to see some pictures of it!  And thank you for the compliments, I really appreciate it!

Ken

happy birthday Berny, glad your white dried for you while you were gone

Rich, 36231 is the US cockpit gray, Flat Dark Gull Gray, used on all or most Phantoms no matter what country,,,,,,you can use it for RAL 7046 or BS 637 also, if you need those shades

hth

Rex

Happy Birthday Berny!! 

Happy Birthday Berny!  It's nice to get to go out on your Birthday.  It snowed too bad to get out on mine a few weeks back.. lol..  I hope you had a good dinner.  I've only gone to Outback once.  It was OK but they really messed up our whole order.   Will have to give them a try again.  This time at a different store.  BTW, I don't have a chart, what color is FS36231?

I started my FGR.2 cockpit, and a replacement for my dead F model is on it's way.  I had to settle for the Revell J model.  I hope I can find some decent AM decals for it.  I think the kit just comes with plain old navy white and gray.  I am sure I will be picking your brain about something on it someday soon.  LOL

Out of Curiosity, what do you fly? Cessna, Beechcraft etc?

berny13

Well, on my night instrument flight to P-cola today, I stopped by Bobe's Hobby and managed to get two bottles of FS36231.  I am all set to go now.  The white is all set up, hard, and cured. 

I didn't get much done yesterday.  My son came over and took me out for a birthday lunch and last night the whole family met over at Outbacks for my birthday dinner.  Nice being able to eat without someone passing you the bill to pay.  I went to bed early as I had to get up at Oh Dark Thirty to be at the airport for a pre dawn take off.  All of my requirements are now good until next quarter.

berny13

Well, on my night instrument flight to P-cola today, I stopped by Bobe's Hobby and managed to get two bottles of FS36231.  I am all set to go now.  The white is all set up, hard, and cured. 

I didn't get much done yesterday.  My son came over and took me out for a birthday lunch and last night the whole family met over at Outbacks for my birthday dinner.  Nice being able to eat without someone passing you the bill to pay.  I went to bed early as I had to get up at Oh Dark Thirty to be at the airport for a pre dawn take off.  All of my requirements are now good until next quarter.

Patience is an incredible thing. That paint dried just in time for your birthday...a coincidence? - I think not!

Yeah Berny, it's rough flying to Pensacola to buy model paint.

It's nice not having to pay the dinner tab, and it's almost as nice not having to dig undried paint out of tiny little corners.

Happy Birthday, Berny, and here's to many more.!!!

Dominic