SapperSix

Thank you very much. It has been a challenge and a ton of people helped on the way. I would do sooooo many things different if I did it over again. Tons of learning to be sure. Thank you kindly. I have studied many, many photo's and tried very hard to replicate a tired war bird. Along the way many maintenance folks have helped me with this model.

This is very smart Carlos. I will be trying the same thing. Great build. I also have a Corsair waiting to be built. And I will use your build as a guide. Great work.

Lots of work has been done on this Phantom since the last time I checked in. It's really close to a wrap. Last of many goals with this model is to give my photography a leg up. Once I get the right step ladder built and other adjustments, I will put up some proper photographs. This model has been a real learning experience to say the least. So many things that need changed now that I know better. Another Phantom build on another day to implement all that I have learned with this build. The modification of including/creating the canopy deck on this R

Thank you Sir!! I very much appreciate your kind words. It has been a real learning experience.

Progress has been slow but productive. I finally figured out a path to the weathering for the war weary tail. Using Oils (burnt sienna, burnt umber, cadmium red, ivory black) a black and red brown wash, and Tamiya smoke. I re drilled the rivets and plugged them with a small piece of lead as noted in prior postings. After I sealed the base, post initial weathering, I went back with a bead tool to shape the lead plug. While I am sure there is a better way to do this, my initial push in to this lead down this path. In the end the initial shaping with the bead tool doesn't look t

The exhaust and the cans have been a learning curve for me. I can not emphasize enough how much I have learned while making this model. My tool and product purchases have also been undergoing a considerable increase. All equaling a joy for the hobby as never before. I do want very much to make clear that I appreciate the many people, all over the world, that have have offered advice and knowledge both publicly and through PM's. Below is an example of the general reference I have been using for inside exhaust coloring. My book from Reid Air, The Modern Phantom Guide, has been

Thank you. There was much fear as I stepped a bit to far in to the unknown for me on this one. I got lucky no major issues have been created by my own hand.

Tony, Not a PITA. The shear amount of learning that has been created in terms of modeling and the Phantom is significant. In many ways leaps and bounds on a personal level. Its insight such as what you provided that has helped to make me model better. Your input is much appreciated. I can make the change pretty easily. The deeper I get, in regards to my Phantom knowledge base, the more I see things I have to change or adjust. Some of the information has come too late and I am not willing to go back and make the change. One thing is clear I do appreciate the air frame a

Mark, Thank you for the information. I did break down and buy a punch set. Man no I have to try to be patient, not an easy task in my case. Thank you for the kind words and your input. MAJ, Black basing is really interesting. I hope you give it a go as I think it has real potential to add nuance to the model finish. There is plenty of UTube video to give you ideas. You kind words are much appreciated. Its been a real challenge and learning experience.

Man'o'man am I getting a bit of a butt kicking. I have never worked with Alclad despite having it in my possession of many years. Just didn't have the guts to do any NMF work. Well, I have to say I love the product as it really works well, very well in fact. What I didn't count on is the primer showing every little tiny bit of CA glue that is in, on or around the custom made rivets on the tail....Sooooooo many little specs or CA that oozed out from under the rivet to make it look horrible. So.......Off it goes. I was planning on complete removal and starting all over again. I didn't wan

I was getting ready to put some primer on the NMF tail of the Phantom. That's when I noticed that the rivets are all wrong, far too small. The reference picture verses what Revell did.......big difference. What to do? So looked at some other builds. The examples I found were few. Enlarging the rivets in the tail section would be a multi part process. I did choose to use the diameter of 2MM for the new rivets, not to scale, but I already had the 2MM drill and some wire or plastic round tube at the same diameter. I wasn't willing to place another order for a punch or more st

Thank you very much. Its a first pass on many of these efforts. I haven't heard that in a few years. It has been a chore. Thank you for your kind words.

That explains what I was seeing. I really appreciate your first hand knowledge. And for taking the time to impart that to me. As I have no real world experience its been hard to determine reality. The information you passed on will surely help focus on whats important. Thank you for your time and input. -SapperSix

I am amazed how deep the hole can be when one is tracking down information when striving for a painfully accurate build. I have began to understand the pain of those we call bolt counters. The below work took a good bit longer than I had expected. Just to put a few placards on I kept finding different or incomplete information. The main wheel well cover had a multitude of varying examples. By the time I said "Screw it, get it done!" about 4 hours had passed as I tracked various references and online sources. The Eduard placards had incorrect colors for the afore mentioned placard for the

Lots of ground covered over the last couple days. I have found myself with a bit more free time than usual and have spent some of it on the work bench. Lots of paint shading and detail on the fuselage. Many hues of of the camouflage were experimented with. In the end I am very happy and eager to see the final harmony of it all. In some areas I did get a little loose with maintenance wear and tear. More on that later. I spent some time looking at the flare dispensers for fit and finish. I noticed that after all the re scribing and riveting alterations and modifica

I have been doing a lot of studying on the Phantom as it was around 1970 when at Udorn Thailand. I found a great web site, Picciani Aircraft Photos, to look at the many faces of the Phantom at service. If you go to the website and look you will find Phantoms in many states of up keep. As an example, some Phantoms have two, even three types of tan or light green on them. You will also see varied colors, olive drab used in some cases and large areas that have been repaired using varied colors. Many are very weathered and many are looking as though they are pretty fresh. I have also looke

She now has legs. The brass landing gear is absolutely fantastic. The hydraulic actuators for the main landing gear need a little work as to their attachment to the main wing. Now that I have proper reference books and new found confidence, I would like to rip out the landing gear bays and start over. The next model of choice will surely get the full treatment. Upon putting on a good even primer coat (Mr Surfacer 1200 diluted 50/50 with lacquer thinner) I realized that I had to pay more attention to some body work. I will spend the remainder of tonight touchi

This kit was traded for as mention prior. This kit has had at least three missing parts. And with that comes some challenges. Such as it is, I have been making the missing pieces. It was time to learn and so far my initial attempts have been ok. One of the missing pieces was the right side avionics intake scoop. I cut it out of stock plastic and shaped as need. The inlet hole for the scoop was cut with with an exacto blade and is very shallow. I am still working on a method to get a deep cut in the thin plastic without messing up the part. I also need to take a mm off the bottom t

Lots of big parts glued together with still more prep work. I have started on the exhaust base coats and color experimentation on a test plane. Gluing the body parts together has been brutal. I haven't seen such huge gaps in a long time. Basically where light and grey plastic meet there will be lots of body work. Low score on the fit and finish on this model. There will be another week or more making this right. And its just not gaps, its elevation as well. The little triangular NACA intake forward of the right side auxiliary air door has been filled (white

Lots of busy work, correction and receipt of a great reference. The reference being "The Modern Phantom Guide". I wish I would have had it to begin with. Pretty awesome book! The tail was identified as being too sharp. I almost overlooked it and had to make a correction despite having already painted it. Ended up pretty happy with the change. I traded for this kit. I think it might be the same kit run two different times or from another version. Different colored plastic and some misaligned body lines are the clues, maybe I am wrong. There is going to be a fair

Lots of work over the course of the last couple days. I was away for a bit and missed my workbench dearly. Clearly I am addicted. Lots of attention to the forward fuselage and cockpit. The cockpit is secured with the side instrumentation fitted and glued. I will take some close ups when I am done with all the extra wiring. I glued and filled the lower section, front landing gear bay, of the forward fuselage. It was a bit of challenge and required a fair amount gap filling. I am finally to the finer points of smoothing and re scribing. When the

Thank you Tony.

Finally putting together a few of the sub assembly's in to the fuselage. The Camera's were eventually left to be good enough as I kept learning and gaining ability to make them better, soon they were good enough. They were not going to be exposed so further detail and enhancement was not going to give any returns just skills. All the wiring and detail wont be seen but I learned a lot about modifying stock parts and and have become way more confident. I had to fight the camera structures to make them fit so that they were aligned with the view windows. In the end they lined up pretty well.

Lots and lots of detail work. Wiring has certainly been the focus. I have been looking at everything wiring. And when it comes to the phantom it has a few wires. The cockpit wiring has been created and some installed. Some wiring from the pictures below will be ripped out and replaced as information has presented other, more realistic, options. I am waiting on getting a smaller drill set. Much of the wiring on the back deck comes in from the fuselage. The design of the GT Resin Cockpit requires that after I install it in to the fuselage then run the wiring coming in from the vertical p

I am trying to get the wiring configuration for the whole of the Cockpit for an RF-4C. I know some of it wont be seen, but I am using the whole of the operation to practice wiring as discipline. This a close up of some of the wiring I have been doing. All of it can be replaced/rerouted upon verification of the real thing. Or, I can leave it depending on whats discovered. Any wiring information will be much appreciated. -Frank