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

I know other models are not the best source for a reference but I couldnt find any good photos of the camera bays. I also know that this is a C model not a B but if I remember the differences between the two were all about the aircraft not the cameras. Anyways, maybe this will help.

http://forums.europeanmodeller.com/lofiversion/index.php?t651.html

I just went to Eduards website and looked at the instructions for the mask set. There are 5 openings with the addition of a small window off to the side of the piece!

Hope you find you set soon!

Jim

Well, Jim... My solution was not very scientific -- I was going to open the Eduard mask set and see what the instructions said. I think it has masks for both camera bays, probably identified by part number, so I'd match the masks to the part.... Unfortunately, I can't find the set right now!

M/TB379

Ok Mike, since we both seem to be building an RF-4B, I am trying to figure out the clear part (W-16) which has the windows for the cameras. My instructions are mono-colored and don't clearly show which panels should be clear and not painted over. The forward facing opening is a no brainer, and the triangular, peaked one in the center is as well. What I'm not sure about is any other possible windows. I could find few if any photos, but some kit instructions over at Hobby Search would suggest the square panel between these two would remain unpainted and clear. What I am not sure of is the large panel towards the back of the part, behind the "peaked" window. It looks like it might be clear as well, but this seemed to vary between the different schemes. Instructions for other recon versions are not helpful as a different shaped part is used.

Thanks, Casper! Actually the cockpit is mostly decals, I sprayed the Dark Gull Grey, then brushed on clear where the instruments would be and laid on a large number of very small decals, none of which actually fit and all of which had their edges trimmed with a blade afterward. It looks pretty good for a process which, in retrospect, could be more exact.

Yep, the old Ka-series kits are pretty darn good, and the current/recent boxings with photo boxtops have essentially the same guts.

Cheers, Mike

fantastic artwork on that box, Mikey!! Love that painting on the pit also.

Cheers

Here's some WIP stuff on my Hasegawa 1:72 RF-4B. This is the kit:

The last time I posted anything, back in Rhinos II, I had the cockpit done, here's where that was:

And here's where she is now:

Well, I must say Hasegawa, for all their vaunted supremacy over Fujimi in Phantom engineering, are struggling with exactly the same aspects. Note the wingroot gaps. The intake engineering fits better than I expected it to but it'll still take some fancy adzing and filing to make it look flush.

I'm hoping to do this one and the Fujimi -J in Red Devils markings back to back, as they are both grey over whites. The seats were only dropped into the cockpit before, they need some straps and the grips doing, but hopefully I can move along fairly smartly to the masking stage.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

TarnShip

it was a "tufted" mat,,,,,I don't remember if fibreglass or canvas,,,,,I only remember the pulled in areas like Gramma's quilting with yarn

some kits call for those to be a gray color,,,,,and I would bet that some were the gray and some the "sail color",,,,,,and maybe another variation I don't know of,,,,,,,,canvas can be had in any color you want

it is funny, in a way,,,,,,,,Sail Color is an old Fujimi and Hasegawa color call out,,,,,,and Gunze has added Radome Tan to there paint line,,,,somewhere in the numbers up above H-300,,,,,so some kits call for Sail in one spot and Radome in another, on the same instruction sheet

well, I am doing it again, typing about models instead of working on a model,,,,,I only have 3 on the bench right now, which is cool for me,,,,,,,,,,usually there are more boxes "in action" stacked up over there,,,,,,,and 1 model is a "repair",,,,I don't think that counts as a model in "production" status, lol

take care, I will get a Phantom out soon and join in here

Rex

The covering on the wall of the right rear cockpit was a quilted fabric.  When new it was gray, somewhat lighter than the dark gull gray of the rest of the cockpit and had a bit of a "sheen" to it.  In service it would get dirty, stained and frayed a bit around the edges.

Mark

Radome Tan it shall be! Saves me from going out to find a bottle of paint to apply to one single part less than an inch square!

it was a "tufted" mat,,,,,I don't remember if fibreglass or canvas,,,,,I only remember the pulled in areas like Gramma's quilting with yarn

some kits call for those to be a gray color,,,,,and I would bet that some were the gray and some the "sail color",,,,,,and maybe another variation I don't know of,,,,,,,,canvas can be had in any color you want

it is funny, in a way,,,,,,,,Sail Color is an old Fujimi and Hasegawa color call out,,,,,,and Gunze has added Radome Tan to there paint line,,,,somewhere in the numbers up above H-300,,,,,so some kits call for Sail in one spot and Radome in another, on the same instruction sheet

well, I am doing it again, typing about models instead of working on a model,,,,,I only have 3 on the bench right now, which is cool for me,,,,,,,,,,usually there are more boxes "in action" stacked up over there,,,,,,,and 1 model is a "repair",,,,I don't think that counts as a model in "production" status, lol

take care, I will get a Phantom out soon and join in here

Rex

Thanks for the clarification, Rex! The inside right rear cockpit on the -J is molded to look like fabric, though, rather than a solid panel -- was it fibreglass too

Oh, drama over, the missing sprue turned up -- phew! Now I can get on with this Bicentennial Marine bird, my first "Spirit of '76" build ever!

Cheers, M/TB379

"sail color" in Phantom modeling means "Radome Tan",,,,,,if you look at a Hasegawa F-4B for example,,,,you will see the radome for the ECM on the tail is Radome Tan if it is unpainted

and "Radome Tan" is really just "unpainted fibreglass" in real life,,,,,,but, since the parts are gray on our's, we have to paint our unpainted parts, lol  (radome tan is sold as 33613 by model paint companies)

You're psychic, Jim, I'm watching a Bond right now! The F looks fantastic and I look forward to the final pics. Oh, for the "sail colour" I use Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan, it looks pretty good on my big -J...

Cheers, M/TB379

A test:

The planes in the 2012 badge sort of match my next build.......

Dr. Thunderbolt could be a 007 bad guy. You know: Bond! James Bond!

Well, I am declaring the 'F' as officially complete! In any case, I've done all I'm going to do:

Looking at this photo, I see my rear canopy is a different angle than the front, so I need to tweak that a bit......

This last bit was a pain as I attached the canopies first, the went to the stabilators. In the course of handling the plane with the thick, clumsy, sausage-like appendages that I have for fingers, I managed to knock both canopies out of place and even lost the rear actuator rod to the carpet monster! I made another with stretched sprue. As you can see, the length seems to be a bit off....

I'll work on a decent photo for the Wall of Phame hopefully later this week, time permitting with all that's going on.

As to the RF-4B:

I continued the assembly of some of the cockpit parts and shot on one of the colors-other parts call for black on some of the instrument panel areas. Decals to follow that.

The instructions also call for a "Sail Color" (Mr Color 45, I think) for the side panel in the rear cockpit where the refueling probe is housed. I can't figure a match for it with the references I found. Any clues?

Mike, I guess you can update the first page when you get a chance.

Jim

P.S. No one has ever commented on the color of my work area counter top-all I will say is that the price was right at the time. (FREE!)

Thanks, Jim, I'll check them out and see if they can help.

GRIN -- Dr Thunderbolt? I'd sound like a Marvel character! Mind, if the thematic material is ever German, Herr Doktor might be appropriate...

Cheers, M/TB379

Thunderbolt379

Hi all,

Does anyone know if Hasegawa has a parts service? I've been doing some work on my RF-4B (Ka9) and have just discovered that it seems to be missing a sprue... It's probably around here somewhere, but right now half the landing gear is AWOL...

Cheers, Mike/TB379 (who just heard that his PhD has been awarded!)

All I know is that Hasegawa is distributed by Hobbico, (side note: Hobbico has acquired Revell Germany? Looks like another company out to own them all!).

Following the link to their tech support page gives you contact information:

http://www.hasegawausa.com/techsupport.html

I don't know any thing beyond that, good or bad. Best of luck!

Jim

P.S. Congrats Mike! Do we have to call you Dr. Thunderbolt379?

Thunderbolt379

Mike/TB379 (who just heard that his PhD has been awarded!)

Congrats Dr.Mike!

Cheers

Hi all,

Does anyone know if Hasegawa has a parts service? I've been doing some work on my RF-4B (Ka9) and have just discovered that it seems to be missing a sprue... It's probably around here somewhere, but right now half the landing gear is AWOL...

Cheers, Mike/TB379 (who just heard that his PhD has been awarded!)

Hi Jim,

The F looks absolutely fantastic and I look forward to immortalising it on the Honour Wall! It's sure been a long slow burn, but a well cooked meal can be the tastiest of all! The new RF-4B should be a sweet build -- I've just got back to my own Has Marine RF, which will be the VMFP-3 bicentennial bird. I hope to bring the main structure together over the weekend, and might tackle it and the Fujimi -J side by side at the painting stage.

BTW, the red band was parallel with the main compressor, I believe, which in engines of 1950s vintage had a disturbing habit of exploding out the side of the aircraft... Even as late as the 70s it was just standard practice to put the warning stripe on planes, so ground crew knew where not to stand, just in case!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

By the way, I just read that the red band across the center of the fuselage is a warning: most of the loose engine parts would exit the fuselage at that point in the event of a major engine failure....

Well, gang.....

I am happy to say to say that Mom is doing much better, and is due to be released Wed. to a rehab. center, so she may increase her strength, balance and stamina, and help avoid the possibility of a fall or injury at home. Although good for now, the fact remains that her lung disease is very advanced with the inevitable outcome still there. I will have to teach her that her walker is not for hanging clothes on and has another purpose.

In spite of all this, I still manage a little time for modeling, as it is actually a bit of a stress reliever for me to retreat to my man cave and work a bit.

The "F" is almost done:

Burner cans in place, and so are the canopies. The stabs are still just stuck in and still need cementing, and a few sensors and other minor details to be finished. I will be ready to call this bird done! I have it perched here atop its original box, but when I'm done I'll see about a better photo for the wall of fame page.

In the mean time, I'm making the next Rhino build entry to be Hasegawas 1/72nd scale RF-4B Phantom II 'VMCJ-1' as an OOB build.

This will be a change for me as there will be no camo patterns to fret over and no weapons to build.3 possible aircraft markings are included but I don't know which will be the lucky winner, but all are Marine aircraft:

The version pictured on the box art with the black tail and yellow tail code looks interesting, though the version with those eyes near the camera windows might be fun.....

The unit, VMCJ-1, did fly their aircraft over Vietnam (so I read) up until the end in 1975, so I guess this will be another SEA aircraft without the camo. A change of pace for me to do a monochromatic aircraft, and not yet another USAF aircraft. (Di-chromatic I guess if you count the white underside and gray topside as two colors?)

Lots of parts:

And a bit of a weak start:

I'll do more photos of the "F" later on, and try and make a decent one for the wall.

Oh, an added note: after more than a week, I just got notice that Squadron is shipping that  RoG Revell F-4F kit. Kind of odd service from them.....

Jim

Jeez, Jim -- hell week isn't in it... I can truly understand where you're coming from as I've been in a few spots like that myself. I remember my mom needing admission once, this would be about eight years ago, with chronic dehydration and all the attendant problems, and it took an entire night and most of the following day, I ended up going nearly 40 hours and then sleeping seven on the floor, so you have my total sympathy. It's great you were able to get some bench time in to ameliorate the real life stuff.

I look forard to all your builds and I'm sure whichever project you start next will be a great pleasure to see unfold.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Well gang. this has been a week for me!

First off, it seems that F-4F won't be joining me after all. Seems that my bank account was a bit "underfunded" when I tried to order it, and well.....

Thursday and Friday have blended into one continuous bad dream! I went in to my dentist for an assessment (this was a follow up after having to have a broken tooth repaired last week) and was told that I need extensive work done that I will never be able to afford! (See above!) I went off to work a bit depressed for a typical day of h*ll in the sweat-shop. Then things went worse!

I went by Mom's house on the way home, who is 81, suffers with COPD after being a smoker her whole life, and is on oxygen (and still smokes!) I found her in extreme distress, and having trouble breathing. I ended up calling paramedics to take her to the hospital!

The ER was very busy that night, with people lined in in the hallways waiting for treatment. As I suspected, Mom has pneumonia and had to be admitted. They do believe she will recover and be home in a few days.

I did unfortunately,  happen to be in the wrong place while at the ER and was witness to them bringing in a man in cardiac arrest, and saw the efforts they made to save him.....however, he didn't make it. It was sad to see.

It took awhile for them to find a bed for her at the hospital, and by the time she was settled into a room, the sun was up. I had to head to my house to take care of somethings, take my medications, and then back to Mom's to look after her dog. I was up for almost 30 hours! I did finally get about 5-6 hours of Z's, but now I find myself unable to sleep this evening/morning!

I ended up in the hobby room to work on the Phantom and added those tiny sensors in the intakes, cemented the burner cans in place and attached the bomb rack. I also began assembling cockpit for my next Phantom build, which I will announce later when current situations calm down. I will say that this build will not require me to head to the weapons set! (That is a hint!)

For now, I should go lie down and see if the sandman will visit.........

Thunderbolt379

 

I'm getting close to being ale to turn to matters Rhino myself and look forward to some completions as our own winter approaches in the south.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike, are you saying south as in "Down-under?" We are headed the opposite direction here with the warmest temps we have had since October of last year. Even saw a few young things out in their skimpy clothes, which somehow these days just seems to remind me how I'm just getting older, and older......

Any-who......

I did manage to re-find that Phantom post over at Large Scale Planes, a modeler named nigelr32 doing a Tamiya F-4E. He mounted his bomb rack to where the fuses of the MK-82's just overlap the tails of the Sparrows. Right or wrong, it was the only references I was able to locate, so it's how I'm going to do it. Maybe he knows more than I do. (more than likely!) They have a section there titled as "Phantom Phever" and if I could post the link, I would. Lots of reference photos and some insane guys doing some insane detailing on all 1/32 scale Phantoms.

I managed to create my pylon (sorry, no photo tonight) adding stretched sprue posts to mount in the holes in the fuselage, and cutting notches to match the MER mounts. My "F" won't be getting any Sparrows as they were not equipped to launch them. Many of the F models were later upgraded to carry AIM-120's, but the missiles were not available at the time of the upgrade. I just decided that my F just do without them as I couldn't confirm if this plane was included in the upgrades.

I'm not a rivet counter by any means, but I want to at least make an attempt at being somewhat accurate.

My RoG F-4F should be hitting my door sometime in the next few days, leaving me with another choice:

Could be an interesting build, or should it be another Hasegawa project......I can't just pick one!

Jim -- your perseverence and dedication to accuracy are exemplary, and this model will be a treasure!

Dupes -- can't wait for the show season to be "over, over there" as the old song went, then we'll see some Phantom action!

I'm getting close to being ale to turn to matters Rhino myself and look forward to some completions as our own winter approaches in the south.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Great builds you guys!

I keep pulling my big RF-4C out from under the couch to play with...going to have to wait until after the spring shows, though, as I've got some other contest builds that need finishing up first.

I cemented the wing pylons in place, almost missing the 5 minute mark for my 5 minute epoxy, trying to hold both in place at once!. (Note to self: next time just do one at a time!) Also scrapped the USN center pylon, and started sculpting a new one modeled after an F-15 pylon as suggested at some other forums. This is made from a couple of layers of sheet styrene laminated together. I'm not overly concerned with the details of it as it will be barely visible when covered with the MER with its MK-82's attached.

I have had little success locating info on the pylon and even less as to where the MER should be positioned in relationship to the front or back of the pylon.

I did find this:

This was from another forum for large scale models, but now I can't seem to find my way back there. So I give credit to the original poster, whoever he is and only post here as a reference. This would suggest that the MER should be mounted forward. I can't seem to find any other photos to support this.

Jim

Some awesome work guys - beautiful job on the weapons Jimbot and that office looks real good Beckyhead 

No news here sorry, with big hours at  work and trying to get my dysfunctional kids functional again.........

Such is life, work will slow up a bit soon and kids will be kids - oh, I also need to replace my camera (my eldest son tried to change the batteries  ) before I can post any work.

Keep up the top work , I enjoy reading the updates and will be back at it soon ......hopefully

Beckyhead

Very nice, Jim. Solid work.

I've had to resort to the Dremel tool and improvising with toothpicks, etc, to get consistent stripes.  Yours look awesome!

Don't let the scale deceive you. If you were to focus real close, you would see that my stripes are a bit un-even and splotched a bit. Hard to see those errors at 1/72 scale, esp. with my eyesight, so I can get away with a bit of fudging.

I like your tub-looks great compared to small scale stuff! I would love to tackle a 1/32 scale bird someday, but the expense and the greater detail scare me a bit!

Jim