phantom Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 That is one beautiful pit!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brett M Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Impressive as always with your builds Chuck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eastern Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Great looking 'pit, Chuck! Absolutely amazing and stunning! Looks like a real thing! Keep it up! Cheers and happy modeling! Alexander Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KRI76 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Soo great! I love following your work. /Kristian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shawn M Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 awesome work! SO glad you decided to do another WIP thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trekracer20 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Beautiful painting on your cockpit! It's always unfortunate to see models that are finished really well, filled to perfection, and super detailed with pits seemingly painted with a roller. It can be a difficult art to master, but you've certainly done it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Chuck, thx for posting the updated cockpit pics, fantastic work, truly inspirational. Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
agelos2005 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 beautiful work mate!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Cripes Chuck! Your meticulous approach is inspirational. How you have the patience to get things absolutely perfect is beyond me. Amazing stuff my friend, keep it up. This is sure to be another beautiful model from the Chuck Sawyer stable Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 Thank you gentlemen, you are all very kind. One area I thought I'd check before I call the cockpit done is the front IP to glareshield fit. Sure enough, it didn't really fit very well at all because the resin radar scope hit the shield high enough that it wouldn't sit flat and the windscreen was raised as a result. In order to do this step you need to tape together the nose cone and fit it to the fuselage to get the windscreen alignment correct. The only way I got everything to sit flat was to remove the radar scope from the IP and glue it to the underside of the glareshield. Now everything fits... There's very little room under there with the HUD installed, but then again the real deal is cramped in there as well. I also need to attend to those huge gaps on either side of the IP... I also finished the seats for the same reason, to make sure everything fit properly in the [pit before I sealed everything up with tape. First thing I did was to use Marcel's trick of twisting orange and black thread together to replicate the pull rings above the pilot's head. Here's my first attempt, but I should have twisted the threads a little tighter. Once you get everything the way you want it, you seal everything up with CA glue so that it keeps its shape..... As mentioned earlier, I'm using Quickboost seats. Although the detail is terrific, I'm not a big fan of painted seat belts and some of the detail was missing or wrong. With Eduard photo-etch seatbelt bits and some scratch-building of some small details, I think I've done a reasonable job of replicating the real deal as close as possible. I had to cut off the seatbelts on the upper part of the seat, but I kept the scattered look of the ones on the seats because they look more natural than brass ones. I'm sure somebody will find a belt in the wrong place or note the colors are off, but I think they look really pretty good nonetheless..... For all the work I put into the sides of the seats, you'll never see any of it once the seats are installed. Again, this was a really tight fit, but with a little trimming before painting, the seats slide in fairly easily.... I'm glad this stage is over, because I was going blind with all the tiny details and my back is killing me as I slouched over my desk for many hours.... Thanks for your continued interest in this build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loftycomfort Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) The cockpit's looking good there, Chuck. BTW, do you plan on using the Zactomodels sidewinder missiles for this F-4? I highly recommend them, especially for a build as detailed as yours. I'm glad this stage is over, because I was going blind with all the tiny details and my back is killing me as I slouched over my desk for many hours.... I know exactly how you feel. Right now I'm tired of painting wires and gauges. Whatever I'm building next, it'll have a digital cockpit with just LCD screens. Cheers, Terry Edited March 14, 2011 by loftycomfort Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 The cockpit's looking good there, Chuck.BTW, do you plan on using the Zactomodels sidewinder missiles for this F-4? I highly recommend them, especially for a build as detailed as yours. Terry Thanks Terry. I used the Zactomodels AIM-9L/M on my last CF-18B build, but if this build remains in the Vietnam era, I need AIM-9E's, which I recently bought on ebay with the super rare Cutting Edge set. Chris's older D/G/H versions are for Navy birds only. I'm leaning right now on going with a slightly post Vietnam era Phantom so that I can upgrade the wings with slats, so I also bought the Cutting Edge Wing slat set and AirDOC decals for one based in Germany in 1980. It has a SEA camo paint job but no shark mouth, but I think I'll just stick one on anyway. Later German ones had the sharkmouth re-instated, but they look really gaudy, so at least a sharkmouth isn't totally inaccurate. If I do, I can go with AIM-9L/M's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crazychinaman Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) Look great so far.I read that you are not using the F-4EJ decals.Would you sell them.? Edited March 14, 2011 by crazychinaman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Look great so far.I read that you are not using the F-4EJ decals.Would you sell them.? Until I'm finished, I'll keep them because there's always at least one or two decals I screw up and it's always great to have back-ups. If you need a specific decal, especially if it's Japanese, I could send it to you for free. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Excellent work on the cockpit, Chuck. I especially like how the seats turned out. Looking forward to see more... Cheers, Anders Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks Terry. I used the Zactomodels AIM-9L/M on my last CF-18B build, but if this build remains in the Vietnam era, I need AIM-9E's, which I recently bought on ebay with the super rare Cutting Edge set. Chris's older D/G/H versions are for Navy birds only. I'm leaning right now on going with a slightly post Vietnam era Phantom so that I can upgrade the wings with slats, so I also bought the Cutting Edge Wing slat set and AirDOC decals for one based in Germany in 1980. It has a SEA camo paint job but no shark mouth, but I think I'll just stick one on anyway. Later German ones had the sharkmouth re-instated, but they look really gaudy, so at least a sharkmouth isn't totally inaccurate. If I do, I can go with AIM-9L/M's. Nope, you can't go with AIM-9L/Ms for an early 1980s F-4E. They used a different rail than the Aero-3B launcher, the F-4E didn't get those until the very late 80s. When I left Ramstein in 1986 we were still using the AIM-9P-3 and AERO-3Bs. As far as sharkmouths, in 1980 the 512 TFS had several airplanes painted with sharkmouths for a NATO competition, I believe it was TAM-80 (Tactical Air Meet) but I'm not completely sure. AirDoc has that sharkmouth on their older USAFE Phantoms decal sheet. http://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/Ai...arlyPhantom.php Scott W. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Nope, you can't go with AIM-9L/Ms for an early 1980s F-4E. They used a different rail than the Aero-3B launcher, the F-4E didn't get those until the very late 80s. When I left Ramstein in 1986 we were still using the AIM-9P-3 and AERO-3Bs. Scott W. Well there you go- another complication considering nobody makes the AIM-9P in 1/32 scale. Maybe I can change the front fins of the AIM-9E to get something close? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Well there you go- another complication considering nobody makes the AIM-9P in 1/32 scale. Maybe I can change the front fins of the AIM-9E to get something close? Cutting Edge did a 1/32 AIM-9J/P set. I have one that I'm saving for my super-duper Ramstein 526 TFS F-4E I'm going to build when Tamiya comes out with a slatted winged F-4E. Nope, not holding my breath, but I am being very, very patient... I don't know how successful you might be in getting someone else to part with their Cutting Edge Sidewinders. I'm no Sidewinder expert, so I have no idea if an AIM-9E could be converted to a P model easily. I think it might just be the front fins that are different, anyone else out there know? I've got a lot of photos of AIM-9P-3s that you could reference. I posted them recently on either this forum or Zone 5, can't recall, after someone asked. I think there was someone who does aftermarket stuff who was considering making some AIM-9Ps, but said it would be a little while before he could get to them. If you want me to post my AIM-9P-3 photos in this thread let me know. Here's a photo from the web of a 512th F-4E, 68-0393 at TAM-80 (I am pretty sure that was the exercise it was painted up for). I have the AirDoc decals for this airplane. I don't plan to build this particular jet so I could probably be pursuaded to supply you with my decals if you want them. There are some other jets on the sheet I do want the decals for, so I'd just give you the markings from 68-0393. I photographed 393 myself on July 19, 1983 at Zaragoza AB, Spain. That photo is second, as you can see the TAM markings were all removed by then: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Cutting Edge did a 1/32 AIM-9J/P set. I have one that I'm saving for my super-duper Ramstein 526 TFS F-4E I'm going to build when Tamiya comes out with a slatted winged F-4E. Nope, not holding my breath, but I am being very, very patient... I don't know how successful you might be in getting someone else to part with their Cutting Edge Sidewinders. I'm no Sidewinder expert, so I have no idea if an AIM-9E could be converted to a P model easily. I think it might just be the front fins that are different, anyone else out there know? I've got a lot of photos of AIM-9P-3s that you could reference. I posted them recently on either this forum or Zone 5, can't recall, after someone asked. I think there was someone who does aftermarket stuff who was considering making some AIM-9Ps, but said it would be a little while before he could get to them. If you want me to post my AIM-9P-3 photos in this thread let me know. Here's a photo from the web of a 512th F-4E, 68-0393 at TAM-80 (I am pretty sure that was the exercise it was painted up for). I have the AirDoc decals for this airplane. I don't plan to build this particular jet so I could probably be pursuaded to supply you with my decals if you want them. There are some other jets on the sheet I do want the decals for, so I'd just give you the markings from 68-0393. I photographed 393 myself on July 19, 1983 at Zaragoza AB, Spain. That photo is second, as you can see the TAM markings were all removed by then: Thank you Scott for the offer of decals, but I think I've got the same ones coming from Hannants and I found a source in Singapore for the stencils that go with them (VERY hard to find!). I say "think" because you never know for sure until you actually see them in the mail. The fact that there is one with a shark mouth is fantastic! I found your link for the AIM-9P's, so I downloaded all the pics. Terrific reference shots! http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....howtopic=224802 I also found a bunch of 1980's vintage F-4E's from Clark AFB with tail code "PN" that have shark mouths and slatted wings, so I have some other options if I don't go with the AirDOCS decals. As for the sidewinders, I have the super rare AIM-9B and AIM-9E sets from Cutting Edge, so maybe someone out there wants to do a trade for AIM-9P's? I also have the equally rare Cutting Edge slatted wing conversion set coming soon, so my goal of having a fairly rare Tamiya F-4 build is coming along nicely. Thanks again for all your input! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Here's another TAM 80 F-4E from the 512th TFS. By the way, the 512th had a primary air-to-ground tasking, and so rarely carried missile rails or Sidewinders. http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Air/M...F-4E/0195348/L/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) I found a couple more good photos of 68-0393 with the sharkmouth at this site, you'll have to do a search for 68-0393 as I can't get a link to the individual photos to work: http://5053phantoms.com/photos/index.php Edited March 16, 2011 by Scott R Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 I found a couple more good photos of 68-0393 with the sharkmouth at this site, you'll have to do a search for 68-0393 as I can't get a link to the individual photos to work:http://5053phantoms.com/photos/index.php Well, thanks to you Scott, I think I finally decided on 68-0393, but with a twist. In my research of 69-7551, I found at least 4 different shark mouths on this bird, likely due them being repainted after inspections when they were deleted. According to Don Logan's book, they were technically not allowed during Vietnam, so they had to be removed before Pentagon brass came for inspections. Since I really like the shark mouth of the Two Bob's decal sheet over the AirDOC one for 68-0393, I'll use it instead, just 'cause. This bird will also have SEA camo paint job, slatted wings and formation lights circa 1980. I haven't posted any progress recently due to work and personal commitments as well as a lot of picky, picky work with the landing gear and other small parts. I'm doing the gear now to match new details in the gear wells that I'll be working on before I attach the wings. I'll also be adding the slatted leading edge flaps, rescribed the panel lines on the outboard wings and adjusting the angle to 12.5 degrees. Although it's nice to have solid metal landing gear on this heavy model, it's not all metal and for some reason Tamiya thought it would be cool to make half of it plastic. I don't. The metal gear needs a lot of cleaning up with mold seams everywhere before you can even start, then you need to attach the plastic parts and somehow make everything seamless. To do this I use CA glue for everything, including as "putty" along the seams. It won't shrink, it dries instantly with accelerator and it sands easily as long as you sand it within an hour or two. Here's pic of the metal to plastic seam on the front gear after filing and sanding. Since CA glue is clear, some of the seams look like they still have gaps. With a coat of white paint, we'll find out later.... For plumbing I used the Eduard exterior set. According to pics of the real deal, it isn't bad and it's probably better than I could do from scratch anyway.... Looking at the front gear in Jake's book and several pics of older F-4E's, the front tie-down hook is removed for some reason, but they remain on the main gear. I don't know it's accurate for 1980, but I removed it anyway. To replicate the smooth chrome-like piston of the front strut, I polished up the pot metal as smooth as I could with a file and sandpaper. I'll mask this off later and leave it paint-free.... The rear gear benefited from the Eduard set as well. These too needed a lot of cleaning up to make them look decent.... As usual the Eduard instructions are poor, so it was nice to have Jake's book for gear details and a description of what that protruding rod is for. Apparently this is called a "Shrink Link", that prevents the over-extension of the strut when weight is off the wheels for maintenance and it is silver in color. The tie-down hooks on the kit plastic are really thick and they look really bad. It's tricky to remove them, but the Eduard loops look a lot better. I need to add a few more plumbing lines, but so far, so good..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 The arresting hook is fairly crude as well with no detail..... To kick it up a notch, I hollowed out the lower part of the outside and added a brass disc with a hole to match some pics I have. I also added a pin a bit bigger than the kit one to fit the "V" of the hook receptacle a little better..... The back of the hook needs work as well. It should be grooved to accept the cable and not let it slip off. Here it is with a little oil wash to get better contrast.... The lower part of the rear fuselage is a focal point of all Phantoms with it's titanium multi-shaded color. The kit part looks OK on the sides, but that seam through the middle is brutal and needs to be removed by sanding it off. The ribs then need to be re-scribed to get the relief back and the rivet marks need to be replaced, as they are on the right. Some of the rib panel lines are a little wonky, but that`s because the kit part started out that way as you can see on the left..... I initially added the entire hook receptacle with the solid brass Eduard one, but I found that the hook didn’t fit flush to the fuselage like it should with it installed. To solve this and keep some of the brass detail, I cut off the parts I needed and then added them to the kit receptacle instead.... Much better fit now from the rear..... and the side.... That`s it for now guys. Gear well details and slatted wings are next, although I`m also planning on opening up that front gun compartment so that you can see that nicely detailed cannon. Thanks for your continued interest in this build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnS Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Really nice job on the hook Chuck. :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 To kick it up a notch, I hollowed out the lower part of the outside and added a brass disc with a hole to match some pics I have. I also added a pin a bit bigger than the kit one to fit the "V" of the hook receptacle a little better..... What you're calling "the hook receptacle" is really the hook uplock, it has a little hole in the crotch of the V-shaped part that the little pin on the end of the hook latches into. The V-shaped uplock pivots toward the rear of the jet to release the hook. You got it backwards as far as the shrink link. What that actually does is compress the main gear strut oleo as the landing gear retracts so it'll fit in the well, otherwise the main gear wells would have had to be much longer to fit the fully extended strut oleo. The scissors on the back of the strut was what kept the oleo from over-extending when the weight was off the wheels. The thingy on the side of the nose gear strut just above the oleo and link scissors on your model's nose gear strut is the nose wheel steering actuator. The bottom of the real actuator has a pinion gear that engages a ring gear on the bottom of the strut just above the silver part of the oleo. That thick ring on your strut just above the top of the scissors attach point is a cover that was over the ring gear. The cover also covered over the pinion gear as well. Here's a shot someone sent to me of a nose landing gear from a USAF F-4 that crashed. You can see the ring gear clearly. Obviously on the model, the bottom of the nose wheel steering actuator should be tight against the ring gear cover, and the ring gear cover should be faired into the bottom of the actuator. Scott Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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