jminer Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 Hi everyone, Here's another update on the Phabulous Phantom. I was able to get the majority of the camo paint done, though there are still some areas to touch up, then I will be doing a little bit of light post-shading (though this jet is supposed to look about four months or so out of the paint barn), so not much weathering will be done to it. Today I should be able to paint the white underside and landing gear parts, as well as the undersides of the drop tanks and pylons. I also received the F-4 Phantom stencil set from Afterburner in the mail this week, so I have a LONG period of decal placement ahead of me. I think the end result will look great, though. Tyler, to answer your question, I will not be adding the Photo Finish markings to the jet due to the stenciling that I'm doing. I also ended up purchasing Print Scale's 1/48 white USAF numbers and letters as the tail code for the jet I'm doing is in white letters and numbers, but the Microscale sheet only comes with black. I found a set on eBay for $6, so hopefully they'll be coming in the mail this week. Well, without further delay, here is the latest progress: Again, more updates as more progress is made. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Looking good. I am anxious to see this one finished. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hello all, A brief update before bed: I was able to get the metal exhaust areas painted today. A little disheartening, though as the masking tape pulled up the paint in some areas. I used blue painter's low-tack masking tape and stick it to my pants before applying to de-tack it, but that apparently wasn't enough. I had lightly sanded the model, washed it and let it dry, applied primer, sanded, applied another coat of primer, then painted, waited at least 48 hours between coats, and I still had it pull the paint up down to the bare plastic. Not really sure what happened there other than I was using MM acrylics. Anyway, I had to touch up some areas with a brush and I'm not sure how much I like it. I'm hoping it's not as noticeable as I think it is, but...we'll see. Without further delay: I hope to have all the paint worked out this week and start decals by the end of the week. Slowly, but surely....I'm getting there. Hoping I'll have it done by the end of the month. Wish me luck! Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Good luck. I hope to see it finished by the end of the month, later is also good. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twhite80 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Great update! That camo is coming along! It is going to look awesome with the decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Hello all, It's time for another Phabulous Phantom update. I wasn't terribly pleased with the camo job that I'd done, so I went back and essentially redid everything, including making some changes that I had noticed on the real NEANG aircraft with regards to the camo pattern. I'm much more comfortable with the way it's turned out now. Sure, I could fiddle with the edges of the camo for the next month or two and really never be 100% satisfied, but this seems very reasonably appropriate to me, so I'm finally happy. I managed to touch up the areas that the paint had peeled off after removing the masking, and they turned out OK as well. If you get up close, you can see where it was touched up, but even at a foot and half, you can't really see it. I do have one area on the tail to touch up, then it's on to post-shading using Tamiya smoke. I've heard this is relatively easy to work with, and I'm looking forward to seeing if that's true. I've never used it before, so I'm kind of apprehensive. But, we must forge ahead and finish this thing! Anyway, here are the updated photos of the new and improved camo. I also included a shot that shows some of the many references I've been working from. Again, after the one final touch up and post-shading, I'll be applying the Future coat for decals. I'm hoping to have everything done by Saturday night so I can let it dry all day Sunday and get to decals on Monday. Hopefully I can still get this in under the wire, but I'm betting I'll be a day or two late. Regardless, I'll post more updates as they become available. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 I was able to do a little bit with the Tamiya smoke, though I found that I applied it too heavy and ended up removing most of the smoke with 91% isopropyl alcohol. That left the paint coat very flat looking and streaked as well. I was worried that I would need to start all over again, but after coating a test spot on the wing with some Future, I found that it looked fine after drying. So with that in mind, I set out today and laid down the gloss coat, and the Future coat is now drying. Hopefully I'll be able to get some decals done tomorrow! I laid down 3 parts Future and 1 part Simple Green by airbrush. I put a medium wet coat down per Matt Swan's instructions on his web page for all things Future. I'll update with more photos once the gloss coat has had a chance to dry. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 Well, I've done it now. I started today with the Afterburner 1/48 F-4 Phantom stencil decal sheet. Several hours of applying stencils later, I'm almost finished with the top side of the aircraft. Holy smokes is this ever painstaking. I can see why they ditched this idea after a very short time on the real planes. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the progress so far. I'll hopefully have decals finished tomorrow and have the details all buttoned up by the end of this week. I do have to say, as much of a pain as this has been, the decals have gone down beautifully, and I'm very pleased with how this is looking. Left Side Tail Right Side Tail Left Side Nose Left Side Fuselage Right Side Nose Right Side Fuselage That's all for now. I'm in the home stretch. At least I think I'm in the home stretch. I can't tell with all these stencils that I can't get out of my head.... Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 ...And Stencilmania 2011 is complete! I can't really see very well right now, so I'll let the photos do the talking. Top View Right Upper Wing Bottom Overall Landing Gear Doors Bottom Main Fusgelage Left Forward Fuselage Hope you enjoy the pics. I'm going to take some ibuprofen and try to quit seeing little letters and numbers when I close my eyes. Next up is another coat of Future to seal the decals, a wash to accentuate the panel lines, a flat coat, and getting the details attached. Hopefully I'll have it done by this weekend. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete W Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Justin, That has to be a labour of love putting that many stencils on, I think I'd be brain dead before the bottom was complete. Nice job though and can't wait to see the finished build. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I will second Pete's comments. I would be a stark, raving lunatic before I got that many small decals in place. Impressive work. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Justin, That has to be a labour of love putting that many stencils on, I think I'd be brain dead before the bottom was complete. Nice job though and can't wait to see the finished build. Pete I will second Pete's comments. I would be a stark, raving lunatic before I got that many small decals in place. Impressive work. Darwin Thanks, guys. I did have to keep reminding myself that the end result would be worth it, and I am happy with the final outcome, but you're both absolutely right in saying it is a labor of love and it drove me nuts, especially towards the end. I should have this completed by the end of this weekend. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 OMG this thing has more text on it than most books i read great job Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 And so it ends..... A few days late, but better late than never. I finally finished the Phantom today. I'm still planning on a different base for it, and I'll throw out some items from the Hasegawa Ground Crew Set A once the base is here, but in the meantime the airplane itself is finished. I must say, it was a long haul, but I'm glad it's done, and I do like how it turned out. You've seen all the updates until now, so I'll let the finished product speak for itself. It's not 100% perfect, and I can see quite a few flaws with it, but I'm satisfied with it. Enjoy the photos: Hope you enjoyed the subject and build as much as I did. I'm taking a few weeks off now to enjoy the rest of summer and try and get my eyesight back in line after all those stencils. Thanks for Julien and Darwin for hosting the GB! It was my first GB and it was great! Thanks for everyone who posted comments and feedback, too! Until next time..... Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
agelos2005 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 amazing work mate!!! can i ask for a scan copy of the stencil instructions? cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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