The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2011

And the carpet monster is denied it's intended prey!  Yes.  I usually have my Daughter hunt them down.  She's good at it.

Son Of Medicine Man

You are not going to believe what just happened.  I was using a pair of tweezers to get an idea of how the broken piece was going to be oriented when I glue it.  The broken piece snapped out of the grip of the tweezers, ricochet off of the table then I heard it ricochet off of something else in the room.  Holy cow, how in the world am I going to find that piece?  It is incredibly small!  If you notice in the picture it is only about twice the size of the end of the ball point pen.

I got out my  flashlight and got down on the floor and started looking.  Unbelievably I found it after about 30 minutes of searching.  I thought for sure I would never find it.

Ken

You are not going to believe what just happened.  I was using a pair of tweezers to get an idea of how the broken piece was going to be oriented when I glue it.  The broken piece snapped out of the grip of the tweezers, ricochet off of the table then I heard it ricochet off of something else in the room.  Holy cow, how in the world am I going to find that piece?  It is incredibly small!  If you notice in the picture it is only about twice the size of the end of the ball point pen.

I got out my  flashlight and got down on the floor and started looking.  Unbelievably I found it after about 30 minutes of searching.  I thought for sure I would never find it.

Ken

Another means is to put in a glob of Silly Putty.  Sometimes that works better because it lets the clamp get a good hold without using it's teeth.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Rich,

That is another good idea about using the cardboard.  I was thinking that the clamps could damage the resin and how to get around that.

Ken

Hi Rich,

That is another good idea about using the cardboard.  I was thinking that the clamps could damage the resin and how to get around that.

Ken

Glad I could help.  You can get them really cheap on eBay.  I'm actually thinking of picking up another set.  I wish they made them with like 8 clamps.. lol Anyway, make sure you either flatten the serrations on the clips or put something over them so they don't dig into the parts they are holding.  Resin is kind of soft and you don't, it will probably damage it.  I find a piece of medium thick cardboard works well.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Rich,

That is an excellent idea!  I don't have any helping hands clamps but I have been planning on buying them.  I will check to see if there is any place here in town that would have them.  Other wise I will have to order them.  For how much I paid for the cockpit, it will be worth the wait.  I would hate to ruin it.  Thanks again Rich for the tip!

Ken

Hi Rich,

That is an excellent idea!  I don't have any helping hands clamps but I have been planning on buying them.  I will check to see if there is any place here in town that would have them.  Other wise I will have to order them.  For how much I paid for the cockpit, it will be worth the wait.  I would hate to ruin it.  Thanks again Rich for the tip!

Ken

The way I do tiny pieces like this is use my helping hands clamps to hold the pieces together and then just put a dab of ultra fast CA glue on the joint.  The thin stuff will wick into the space between and in about a minute it should be safe to take out of the clamps.  I have horribly shaky hands so I use this method a lot.  Let me know how it works out if you want to try doing it this way..

Rich

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Well today I am finally starting on my Phantom.  The first order of business is to repair the Aires cockpit.  I am not sure if I broke it or if it was already broken, but when I took it back out of the box it came in I noticed what I thought at first was some flash.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was the throtle controls.  You can see where it was in the picture where I am pointing the ball point pen.

Here is the piece that broke off:

 

It is going to take very steady hands to glue this back in place and hopefully not have a glue showing.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well today I am finally starting on my Phantom.  The first order of business is to repair the Aires cockpit.  I am not sure if I broke it or if it was already broken, but when I took it back out of the box it came in I noticed what I thought at first was some flash.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was the throtle controls.  You can see where it was in the picture where I am pointing the ball point pen.

Here is the piece that broke off:

It is going to take very steady hands to glue this back in place and hopefully not have a glue showing.

Ken

The Geasel is looking good Jimbot.  It should turn out nice.

Hi Jimbot, the Phantom "G" is looking real nice!

Ken

Hi Jimbot -- page 1 updated. This the 59th announced project! It should be a great kit! I'll let you know what I find out about the RAL matches from Revell, we might not have to mix or approximate after all...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Oh, yeah-1/72nd scale!

I finally threw some paint at the 'G' today, starting with the Dark Tan color as my base:

I had trouble getting both of my airbrushes to spray properly and I'm convinced it is due to the fact that my paint is very old. Decades perhaps! I ran it through my finest filter screen and there were lots of bits left behind. Still the paint gave me fits. The fact that I tried it in both my DA and SA brushes and both gave me trouble and messing with the thinner ratios didn't seem to help either!I don't care how many people tell me that they use use paint that's been around a while, but I think I get better results starting fresh. The only problem is the fact that I am sort of between paydays, if you know what I mean, so replacing those paints will have to wait until next weekend.

I see that I need to go back and fix a couple of things: first even up the rescribed panel lines across the top of the fuselage and then fill around the windscreen to fuselage area. Very obvious gap there.

TB379: I guess we need to make it official: I couldn't resist the 'F' so I guess I would like to add it to the GB here.

The Box:

Box O' Parts:

Bag O' Decals:

And I start to assemble and paint the cockpit: Other bits were painted as well, but are still on the sprues-no picture here though.

This will be another OOB build and paint will be the 'Norm 72' Gray and green 'splinter' scheme as we discussed earlier in this thread. Aircraft 34*72. I figure with a year to go perhaps I will get at least one done.

heh, yeah, "go Navy" is what Jarheads have for the Army-Navy game

I'm plugging away at my "one of each squadron" collection,,,,,,I'm still at the first stage "one of each Wing / Task Group",,,,the next level is "one of each carrier",,,,,,then that only leaves a few to do to get one of each squadron

believe it or not,,,,,,,the Phantom is my big distraction,,,,,,,my Navy collection would get done sooner except one of the "sets on the side" is one of each Phantom variant,,,,,,,one of each Skyhawk fits right in with the main theme, and Crusader, etc, etc,,,,,,,,the Phantom set will have more "non-Naval" stuff, because of all the types and users

the whole thing would go faster if I hadn't  "caught the bug" to do trainers about a year ago, too,,,,,,and for some reason decided to do all the Yellow Gear that I can get in 1/72

it's a very good thing I "trimmed my collection down" a few years ago, lol

Rex

TarnShip

oh, Spectre was just one of the names thrown out for the F-4 back in the "old days",,,,,in the end, they ended up using Phantom in the AF also

Thanks TarnShip,

Interesting you mentioned that. What do you say "Go Navy Beat Airforce!"

I would love to add the Oriskany to my aircraft carrier collection, repleat with phantoms. Hey, I how is your quest of building one of each Navy squadron in the USN?

I'll post my USS Enterprise, and all of those 1/400 Phantoms. WIP, decals fragged, awaiting completion.

oh, Spectre was just one of the names thrown out for the F-4 back in the "old days",,,,,in the end, they ended up using Phantom in the AF also

berny13

 

Bockscar:

 

 

Ouuuuch!

 

Berny, sanding putty or flying that Cessna, man, that's gotta be a touch decision!

Given the crush angle on the leading edge which looks more like an over-pressure hit than actual shrapnel, I'm guessing the SAM exploded forward and about 1-2 o'clock above the starboard wing. Wow, the tire isn't even punctured, and the hydraulics obviously worked.

Nice landing.

Great shot Berny. 

Hey, I'm just a putty pilot, you can let me know if the Rhino Plasty is anywhere near accurate.

Thanks

 

 

If you look close, the right main gear door is missing.  The MER on the centerline is damaged and weapons is removing ordenance from what is left of the MER.  The blast had to come from below or just forward of the wing.

Just a quess but I'll bet the crew had to extend the gear and flaps by blowing them down with the emergency gear handle and flap handle.  With that type of damage hydraulic lines had to be damaged.

I remember Randy Cunningham relating a story of shepherding his F-4 after a blast. 

It is no wonder guys kiss the ground after situations like that.

I'm glad they got the gear down, noticed all of the fluid on the deck.

Bockscar

Ouuuuch!

Berny, sanding putty or flying that Cessna, man, that's gotta be a touch decision!

Given the crush angle on the leading edge which looks more like an over-pressure hit than actual shrapnel, I'm guessing the SAM exploded forward and about 1-2 o'clock above the starboard wing. Wow, the tire isn't even punctured, and the hydraulics obviously worked.

Nice landing.

Great shot Berny. 

Hey, I'm just a putty pilot, you can let me know if the Rhino Plasty is anywhere near accurate.

Thanks

If you look close, the right main gear door is missing.  The MER on the centerline is damaged and weapons is removing ordenance from what is left of the MER.  The blast had to come from below or just forward of the wing.

Just a quess but I'll bet the crew had to extend the gear and flaps by blowing them down with the emergency gear handle and flap handle.  With that type of damage hydraulic lines had to be damaged.

TarnShip

 

Here's a really bad end to some Rhinos:

man, do I want to launch something at a crane about now

Rex (so much of a Phantom phan that my cat is named Spectre)

Hey Tarn, like Berny's photo shows, the F4 could take alot of punishment. But a guy with a wrecking crane, not under fire, leisurely reduces a beautiful jet to chunks of sheet metal.

That's sick, not in the good sense.

My old Revell version of the F-4 isn't the greatest, but at least we are building them.

I think by February I'll have sculpted enough putty to make this F-4F a decent facsimile. I have no trouble working on this aircraft, always catches my eye, it really is a beautiful design.

When I think Spectre I usually think C-130's, maybe you could educate me on the Spectre angle.

TarnShip

 

Here's a really bad end to some Rhinos:

man, do I want to launch something at a crane about now

Rex (so much of a Phantom phan that my cat is named Spectre)

Hey Tarn, like Berny's photo shows, the F4 could take alot of punishment. But a guy with a wrecking crane, not under fire, leisurely reduces a beautiful jet to chunks of sheet metal.

That's sick, not in the good sense.

My old Revell version of the F-4 isn't the greatest, but at least we are building them.

I think by February I'll have sculpted enough putty to make this F-4F a decent facsimile. I have no trouble working on this aircraft, always catches my eye, it really is a beautiful design.

When I think Spectre I usually think C-130's, maybe you could educate me on the Spectre angle.

I've been talling people for years that the F4 was as tough as a B17 for absorbing damage and getting their pilots home safe.  Looks like I have proof now. 

Rich

berny13

You want to see how tough the F-4 really is.  Look at the picture below.  Near miss by a SAM.

 

berny13

You want to see how tough the F-4 really is.  Look at the picture below.  Near miss by a SAM.

 

Ouuuuch!

Berny, sanding putty or flying that Cessna, man, that's gotta be a touch decision!

Given the crush angle on the leading edge which looks more like an over-pressure hit than actual shrapnel, I'm guessing the SAM exploded forward and about 1-2 o'clock above the starboard wing. Wow, the tire isn't even punctured, and the hydraulics obviously worked.

Nice landing.

Great shot Berny. 

Hey, I'm just a putty pilot, you can let me know if the Rhino Plasty is anywhere near accurate.

Thanks

You want to see how tough the F-4 really is.  Look at the picture below.  Near miss by a SAM.

Here's a really bad end to some Rhinos:

man, do I want to launch something at a crane about now

Rex (so much of a Phantom phan that my cat is named Spectre)

My  Revell F-4B is in 1/48 scale.

Constructor 

Son Of Medicine Man

Hooray!  Hooray!  My kit finally showed up today!

I am currently working on a laptop (I do that for extra cash).  As soon as I get it finished I am clearing off the work bench and starting on my Phantom!  I can't wait!

Ken

Thank goodness Ken, I almost couldn't take the suspense any more myself.

I remember when I was kid, we'ld order Estes rockets in the spring, and most of the summer would go by before we got the darn things!

Ish47guy

Bocks, I'm glad my suggestion came in handy.  Very nice job.  If I didn't already have the right set of Aires nozzles in the stash, I would have done that on the kit I'm building now.

 

I just noticed you are a Canuck.  I spent two years in Afghanistan working with the RCAF on their Chinooks.  Good bunch of people to work with, & I enjoyed the time I was there.

Thanks Ish, I'm just chamfering the edges a bit to clean them up a bit.

And thanks for helping keep those choppers operational Ish! They saved  a lot of soldiers from IED exposure. We had three RCAF in the family, all retired now.

jimbot58

Going out as a drone seems like a sad end for a warbird, but it seems bit more dignified than ending service sitting in a museum or stored in an Arizona bone yard.

If you're a warrior and you gotta die, agreed, it's best to go out as a warrior.

Here's a really bad end to some Rhinos:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://members.chello.nl/m.waterloo/images/f-4f/f-4f_scrapped.jpg&imgrefurl=http://members.chello.nl/m.waterloo/f4f-panel.html&h=441&w=640&sz=105&tbnid=cIIhZAWKQqYXyM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Df-4f&zoom=1&q=f-4f&usg=__6b48ACT4Klm4qPJHlAPueZ-Seqg=&sa=X&ei=rV87TYWyLsKB8gb9lM3rCg&ved=0CEYQ9QEwAw

Hooray!  Hooray!  My kit finally showed up today!

I am currently working on a laptop (I do that for extra cash).  As soon as I get it finished I am clearing off the work bench and starting on my Phantom!  I can't wait!

Ken

mississippivol

Bocks,

Those tailfeathers look good!

Glenn

Many thanks Glenn, by the way the shots may look a bit out of focus, but the fogginess is actually MEK fumes!