The Official F-4 Phantom II Group Build 2012: Rhinomania III

My respects Jim, I hope it gets better for you from here.

Can I join this GB with a Revell 1/72 F-4F Phantom please. I've been phantasising about building this one for a while.

Cheers

Tony

Since I have been horribly neglectful of my Phantoms, I haven't dropped by here as often as I should.

First, my sincerest condolences to you Jim.  I know we haven't spoken before, but I do follow this thread, and have enjoyed your presence here.  I can't personally imagine the rough road you are travelling, and I dread the day that I do.  Despite the situation, I have no doubt that your Mom feels lucky to have a son like you, that stayed by her side throughout.  Besides modeling skills, you have character my friend.  Please take care of yourself, and I look forward to seeing you back here when you can.

Sincerely,

Greg

Jim -- I'm so sorry it's been such a rough road, and I have only admiration for the way you've coped on your own. I lost my dad in '98 but the situation does not compare, and I can only say you've done it tough. Deepest sympathies -- I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say we're all behind you, and if there's anything we can do just say the word. We'll be here whenever you fancy dropping by, and we hope that'll be often as the year progresses.

Mike

Hello gang.

Just thought I would let you all know what has been going lately. I mentioned before, I spent a lot of time looking after my elderly mother and the fact that she had serious health issues. Early this month, I hospitalized her with an extremely bad case of pneumonia. She progressed though several stages, at first being delusional, paranoid, with hallucinations and more, then overnight became very lethargic and almost comatose. The bug she had was an antibiotic  resistant bacteria, and it rapidly became apparent that she was not responding to treatment. With the pneumonia, her age, and in an advanced stage of COPD,  (emphysema) she declined quickly and died on June 10th. She was 81.

I pretty much looked after her through the whole thing, while my sister barely even visited her, and I ended up having to make all the funeral arraignments on my own (not to mention the fact that I was the one who had to make the decision to end her medical treatment and allow her to go!) I alone sat with her though the night until it was time for the mortuary to come for her. It will be a June that I will keep with me for a long, long time.

The nightmare continues now as I begin to settle her estate, with the above mentioned sister believing she should move into the house, but as I am the Trustee and sole executor of her estate, she will have little to say as to what I do. The  house will need to be sold in order divide it evenly as Mom's will and the Living Trust she had established dictated.

I do piddle a bit here and there with the models, when I have the heart for it, but it may be a while yet before I have time or desire to worry about hobbies.

I haven't even looked over the progress you have made, but soon I will have to back and look at all the old posts.

Jim

Casper --I wouldn't mind taking a shot at one of those de Havilland twin boom jobs one day...

Did a bit of work on the missile suite for forthcoming Phantoms today, and am about to rub down a few trouble spots on the birds nearing the paintshop...

M/TB379

Thunderbolt379

Casper -- I want them all! Great to see such marvelous work on display -- The Sea Vixen will be the old Matchbox kit?

Hey Mike,

      Yes, the Venom is a re-issue by RoG of the old Matchbox kit. It comes in white plastic instead of the original grey, black and green (i think that's what it was!) I tried to build it as a kid and botched it so re-visiting after 30 years finally did it justice.

Cheers

Casper -- I want them all! Great to see such marvelous work on display -- The Sea Vixen will be the old Matchbox kit?

Cheers, Mike (who will be working on four Phantoms today, and possible a couple of others!)

Just to get a sense of the epic size of this beast, here is a shot of the 1/32 Phantom alongside a 1/32 Spit and 1/32 Sea venom.

Cheers

Casper -- well completed, sir! A quality build of a quality kit, and quality speaks for itself! This is a major installment in the Phantom story, and I think a fair few Phantom Phanatics here will be bucket-listing this animal!

Cheers, updating P1 directly,

Mike/TB379

I officially have that kit on my bucket list now, and if I can build it to look 1/2 as good as your I'll be a happy camper. Well done !!  Good luck finding somewhere to park it.

Yep, all the ordinance is in the box! I only added some Eduard PE sets to spruce it up a bit otherwise it's a nicely detailed kit

Cheers

Thats awesome Casper. The black underside is quite striking. Do those weapons come with the kit or would I need to source them elsewhere?.............. that is if I ever get these 72 scale birds finished !!

Well this has been the longest build I've done in a while and certainly has been the most fun. The engineering on this kit was amazing and allowed the details to speak for themselves.

Now where am I going to put this thing.....

Cheers

Slow progress of the Hasegawa RF. I got the transparencies mounted (yes, these line up correctly, whereas the Fujimis never would...), and applied the Eduard masks, then finished them off with tape instead of Maskol:

The natural metal areas have taken some wear since I painted them, they'll need some attention, and the intakes need masking, but this one is getting close to the paint stage. I'm hoping to paint this one and the -J production line fashion, as they're the same era/scheme. A few small parts to go, the forward intakes, an antenna on the spine, see about scribing the fuel check covers, filling the poor-fitting parachute pack doors...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Casper -- WOW! That big bird is looking pretty amazing. The two birds I'm working on would stand comfortably on the wings!

Excellent work, as ever -- she's nearing the finish line,

Mike/TB379

Ejector seats finally done. I might go for resin next time. The PE belts are extremely fiddly.

Here's a comparison shot with an F4-N in 1/48. The phantom in 1/48 is still quite a big model, almost the size of BF109s or a Spit in 1/32.

Cheers

Decaling all done. These decals were actually pretty good. my last Tamiya decals (Spitfire Mk.VIII 1/32) were far from ok.

Cheers

Looking spectacular, Capser! You'll have this bird on the flightline in no time!

Messing about with the Hasegawa RF here, discovering all the ways the Hasegawas are overengineered and why the Fujimis are easier to build...

M/Tb379

Painting is all done;

Rear exhaust area is all done. I did several different coloured panels for the Alclad aluminum. I used Alclad jet exhaust for the exhaust cans and Alclad Magnesium for the ribbing under the rear wings.

I think the gloss spray did something to the Alclad on some parts. I may just respray a bit more.

Cockpit all good and canopies needs just a little bit of touching up/cleaning;

Cheers

Awesome! Drrooooollll....

M/TB379

painting almost done. Just need to mask off and do the exhaust areas underneath. Did the silver paneling in Alclad Aluminum and it came up well.

She also stands well on her landing gear. No weighting necessary for the nose.

Cheers

Great stuff, Casper! I do love working at larger scale, it lets the finish quality shine!

I'm doing a little putty and file work on the Hasegawa RF, getting ready for applying the masks that came in last week. I've added the flare bay covers and gear trunions, and am tidying up around the intakes before adding all transparencies and masking them. If I can find some more True Details seats I could knock out a quick Fujimi -N in Superscale markings for the low-viz era, but the kit seats don't inspire me...

Mike/TB379

Ordinance is all done, This bird is going to be carrying MER and TER racks, AIM-7Es, AIM-9Es and an AQL Pod.

Cheers

Despite a couple of areas that need a tocuh up, I am pretty happy with the way the camo pattern turned out. This is the first time I've done a tri coloured pattern.

Let this dry overnight then mask off and do the black area tomorrow.

Cheers

So I've laid down the tan coat, then the olive green with feathering. Blu-tak and paper to get this effect. Once this is dry I'll mask off for the 3rd colour of black green. Underside on this bird is black and then there's all the complicated exhaust and wing panels to do in various metallics!

Though that stuff should be easier once the camo is done and cured.

Cheers

Jim -- deepest condolences on the way things have gone this week. I think many of us have gone this road and we all know what you're going through, so we're here for you any way we can. You have a home here, buddy, so drop by whenever you're able.

I managed to do a little work on the Fujimi -J -- the same one I started for Rhinos 1 way back -- a job I've been putting off for ages because it's so darn fiddly -- masking the multi-part canopy. I much prefer a single piece canopy as I usually do them closed, but the multi-parter for this kit neither fit nor had any intention of being coerced, so I used the multi-parter that came with the F-4K I finished for Rhinos II, and will pose it open. Here's the areas outlined in fine tape strips:

And filled in with tape:

I've not found masks especially for the Fujimi birds easy to get hold of, so this one was always going to be a custom job. The bad news is, as an open canopy, I now have to repeat the process for the interior. No wonder this bird is taking so long...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Hi gang.

I just wanted to pass along a brief note about my absence here and at the Berny build. Things have gone very bad here with my mother back in the hospital with another bout of pneumonia.  This time, it is very serious and with her underlying COPD, she has no strength to fight it. The Doctors and nurses did all they could and it did little good. I had to make the decision to move her to comfort care (hospice) most likely this Saturday. I don't see her having much time left. She has been in a lethargic state most of the week and no longer responds to outside stimulus. I feel she is already gone. I also know I have a long road ahead as to settling of her affairs.

When things will stabilize for me and I can again take up the Xacto knife and the MEK it's hard to say.

Just so you all know what has been happening.

I appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and kind comments ahead of time.

Jim

I love it when a model comes together... Great work, Casper!

As fror myself, I managed to start masking a canopy a few days ago, but have been so snowed under with work and other committments that that's about it, and there's not much chance of getting a run at any projects until next week...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Has not been many opportunities to spend time in the mancave recently so work on the Phantom is going slowly. But it is now "prime-time"!

Cheers

paintsniffer

Time to get us back on the front page.

 

I messed with the Rhino from hell tonight and got a lot done. As with everything on this build, every step forward uncovers a few new problems. Tonight, I did the metal on the back end.

I shot my basecoat of Tamiya Gloss black, Tamiya clear gloss, and Mr. Color leveling thinner. I let that sit 5 days. Then I sprayed Alclad semi-matte aluminum. The cans and scorched metal is Alclad burnt iron. The darker metal on the stabilators is Alclad airframe aluminum. Then I misted the whole mess with Tamiya smoke mixed with a little alcohol. I needed to dirty the gray, but I am not sure I like how it came out. I will buff the gray with a very fine polishing stick and that should help blend things a bit.

 

Next up will be clear gloss and decals.. Unless I decide to undertake major surgery on that gap.

Mine was accidentally put under a heat lamp for 10 years...lol....

Great job! Looking forward to the finish!