Kurt H. Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 (edited) I love phantoms, and I love Bicentennial birds, so I bought this kit in '08 or '09 In 2009 I started this model as a test mule for painting white, and to try using black bare-metal foil for the cockpit panels Here is the dusty box that has been in the Styrene vault The work performed back in '09 The white parts have been painted white, and I painted the cockpit parts gray. The left hand side consoles are done with black baremetal foil, the right hand said, brush painted. I have never een able to brush paint neatly, so I have been seeking different ways to do the consoles. Works ok, but black baremetal foil is a little thicker than the chrome. I had some time so I glued together the wings and the tanks. I love Recee birds because there is no ordnance to deal with! I will fire up the airbrush in a bit to get those seats started. Here is the decal sheet. It is well printed and in registration. Just going to be some tricky masking for the blue. Edited June 19, 2013 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Out of the gates and off to a good start! V/r Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimz66 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 GOod luck with those decals I have two sets and not sure how good they are. I hope there good enough for when I need them I cant wait to build that jet. Its one of my all time favorite schemes. JUST a fair warning someone on Z5 tried those decals a while back and had a VERY BAD experience with them... Thats why I am glad I have two sets just to be safe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 GOod luck with those decals I have two sets and not sure how good they are. I hope there good enough for when I need them I cant wait to build that jet. Its one of my all time favorite schemes. JUST a fair warning someone on Z5 tried those decals a while back and had a VERY BAD experience with them... Thats why I am glad I have two sets just to be safe. Very bad experience? did they shatter or something? I was going to use one of the optional decals as a test to see if they shattered. The sheet also has markings for a grey over white Airforce RF-4C which I would like to build too. There was a repli-scale sheet made for this plane back in the day, but it would probably be difficult or impossible to find. Thanks for the warning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimz66 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I cant remember the main issue he had but here is the thread I was referring too. www.scalemodelworld.netshowthread.php?t=7430 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 I got some bench time in today. All the parts I painted ealier this week have dried. The Cockpit is now assembled. I have not built an airplane in a while... Here are the parts ... The seats are not very etailed, yeah there is a seam in the middle .... and it does not look great but I am going to build this with the canopy closed to emphasize the paint job. I did try a wash in the cockpit tub to add a bit of depth. (something I have not tried before) And yes those are the decals for the Instrument panels. here are the ejection seat handles ... I could not find my fine tip sharpie so ... I used a regular one and it does not look great but it will do. And the assembled cockpit conce the glue dries I can be off to my favorite part ... Major Assembly! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 I thought I posted another update but it is not here. Any way I got the fuselage together With out much in the way of positive locators for the cockpit I had trouble getting the fuselage together. I had to trim the tabs on the cockpit so the halves would come together. It still took clamps and rubber bands to hold it all together. The Pro-weld has cured and sanding is the next order of business Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 (edited) I have been plugging away at this as time allows. My new work schedule has me pretty exhausted when I am off work, but I am trying to make the time to do something every day. I happened to stumble across the the long discontinued microscale sheet on eBay, and it came it just a few days. So There are no worries with the decal for this project I managed to make a bulkhead for the nose, so this will not be a total see through I had trouble making more compartments, and figured I would rather settle for this then stall the project out forever trying to get to fancy. And major construction is well under way Trying to stick to basics, getting the seams nice and flush. In the past I was typically way too aggressive and had a lot of flat topped fighters. Next step will be to pre paint the exposed part of the intake (the intake ramp?) and the area behind the ramp, then the intakes. Test fitting did not look too promising. But that happens with just about all phantom models. I have built Monogram, Hasegawa and Esci Phantoms. I am curious how well the Academy fits. Edited July 5, 2013 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 (edited) Lol, looks like you may be an R/C aircraft builder also, I recognize some of the tools you're using. V/r Ron Edited August 17, 2013 by bashace Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) Making more progress Got the intakes on, and the nose section. It does not fit very well, but that is why we have big tools! There is lots of putty on the bottom, but the fit of the intakes to the fuselage is not too bad, I spent a lot of time fiddling with them while cementing them in place. I do not build R/C Airplanes, but I also build High Power rockets ... so kinda close! I lost some time as I re-arranged my work bench. Here is the "decal side" with an A-4 and another long in progress phantom getting markings. I finally got an appropriate sticker for my tool box! Thanks for looking! Edited July 15, 2013 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 (edited) Still slogging away at this one. I got the nose all together and I am smoothing it out. It is becoming a real putty pig! I am also going though a lot of 220 sandpaper B)/>/> nothing too difficult, the only obstacle for me now is to let the putty cure. This is my favorite part though, major assembly and seam clean up. I am thinking about starting a AMT/ERTL (ESCI) F-4 C/D soon to keep the production line open. It looks like a nice kit except for the detail less cockpit so I got the peel-n-stick eduard PE and True Details seats. We shall see how much time I have and how motivated I am. Edited July 18, 2013 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Almost to the painting stage, keep on slogging! V/r Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 Last week was pretty rough, I did not get to work on this much. I finally have all sanding done and I gave the phantom a good cleaning to get it ready for paint. Unfortunately while handing the model the clear glazings fell inside and I can not get them out. I am sure they will come out eventually. The ones on the side I ended up gluing to the out side, sanding flush and polishing. Then I decided to test fit the canopies. What is up with the front canopy? Is it 1/72 scale? sheesh this is not even close. I know older kits do not always fit so well, but Come on, the canopy can not be displayed closed. I guess it is open canopy for this one. Any way, once the model is nice and dry I will get painting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Are you missing a part? V/r Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 Are you missing a part? V/r Ron The middle part is still on the sprue, these parts were loose so I started with them. There is 1/16th of an inch on either side on the front canopy. The rear canopy also has issues, it hits the seat! arrrgh! I will pose them open but I just had to walk away for a while because it was so irritating. No wonder you do not see too many of these built .. I have probably increased 3M's profits with all the sand paper and putty I have had to use on this thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 I am back from a brief vacation, I went to the USAF museum among other things. I thought about this model over the weekend, and today I checked the fit of the middle canopy part. It is so narrow it is just barely wide enough to bridge the gap. I did notice the testors F-4G at the USAF Museum shop. I did not want to haul one back from Ohio, but I did order one from Amazon and it will be here tomorrow, The idea is to see if the Clear parts will fit. Maybe I made a mistake somewhere and the fuselage spread apart somehow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 9, 2013 Author Share Posted August 9, 2013 The Testors F-4g came, and the fit of the front canopy was onl marginally better. I guess over time this canopy squished it self, maybe the kit was stored in a hot place. Who knows. Any way, I have decided to bravely forge ahead since the deadline is looming. I painted the bare metal area with floquil old silver, and masked it. I will have at it with different metalizers to replicate the burnt metal look later. Here we are, all masked for paint I still need to stuff paper towels down the intakes, but I should be able to prime it late tonight or tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 Making progress! I got primer on this bird, but it revealed more work is needed. I also forgot to wipe the model down and got some dusties in the paint which will need to be sanded out. Kind of hard to see in this picture as I could not get it in good focus, but the join between the fwd fuselage and the wing needs more work And the tanks need some more filling / sanding little things like this make a big difference on the final outcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Pushing forward and making progress, keep up the good work! V/r Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share Posted August 17, 2013 Sheesh it has been so humid it took almost a week for that primer to dry completely. Did some more sanding and it is ready for a re-coat. The clear camera windows have gone MIA so I think I will just use the kit decals on this one, I am going to save the microscale set for a Hasegawa RF-4B. I have two in the stash :). I know we are running out of time so I will be pushing to get this done over the next few weeks. you guys who crank them out need to teach me some time management skills. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Sheesh it has been so humid it took almost a week for that primer to dry completely. Did some more sanding and it is ready for a re-coat. The clear camera windows have gone MIA so I think I will just use the kit decals on this one, I am going to save the microscale set for a Hasegawa RF-4B. I have two in the stash :)/>. I know we are running out of time so I will be pushing to get this done over the next few weeks. you guys who crank them out need to teach me some time management skills. Maybe we can talk Phantom into doing a youtube segment on how to finish a kit in 7 days or less V/r Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Finally ... Made the time to get to the paint shop... I got the white on the belly, tanks, and the ailerons I just might make it in time... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 Not looking too good for the deadline. I had to add another coat of white, It was not well covered in spots. I need to light my painting area better. So it looks about the same, just whiter. And it takes days to be dry to the touch so I have to set this aside for a few days so I can handle this model safely. <_< In other news I have decided to become McDonnell East, so there are two more phantoms just started, and ESCI C/D and a Monogram D ... I am thinking the ESCI will be a gray ANG bird with the new CARACALS sheet, and the monogram .. maybe I will use the kit decals, it is the new boxing with the Luke AFB striped birds. I will need to check my decal stash, I might have Experts Choice ADC gray Sheet for the C/D too. I figured I would get the cockpit painted while I had the airbrush going and the spray booth running. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 27, 2013 Author Share Posted September 27, 2013 During the great outage of '13 I kept working on this. After a week or so the paint was finally dry enough to mask the blue masking porn: and the big reveal .... well not perfect but I think I can work with it. I am slowly putting light coats of future on the blue for decaling. I have lots of phanotms on the bench ... who said the phantom is out of production? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bashace Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Ahhh, I love masking porn! Looks like your on a roll! V/r Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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