Kurt H. Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Before the great ARC outtage of '13 I started a thread about this dual build. I am building two F-4C/D .. one is an AMT/Ertl (esci) and one is a Revell (monogram tool - recent reissue) The thread was lost, and I did not feel like re-creating it at the time. To re-cap: the Revell cockpit (oob) The AMT cockpit with TD seats and Eduard peel n' stick PE The PE keep coming off, so I used glue. I have not worked with PE in a while so it was a bit of a re-learning curve I went on to clean up ejector pin marks in the intakes Then I painted all the white parts white The AMT is going to be an ADC gray bird with Michigan ANG decals, so I painted gray in the area behind the splitters. I am using Expert's Choice decals. I got the decals right before Caracals announced the ANG sheets. The monogram will be SEA camo with the kit decals Here are the splitters in progress And fast forward to today, after lots of sanding, filling, etc The monogram bird has been painted tan and white, and I have masked off the areas to remain tan I have done freehand in the past, but I was never happy with the demarcation areas, so I am trying silly putty and tape. The AMT is in primer I have all the recent Caracals and Speed hunter sheets, but I am not really happ with how these build came a long so I am saving those sheets for better builds. I am also frustrated with the multipiece canopies. I'll work with them some more during final assembly but they just do not seem to fit. :bandhead2:/>/>/> I am also building a hoard of Academy F-4C s to use all those nice decals on. I have a ROG F-4c/d and another AMT/Ertl as well as Academy F-4C s so eventually I will have plenty of canvasses to use the new decals on. Thanks for looking. I needed to take a break from drawing the pattern and masking that SEA bird. Edited January 3, 2015 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 The office in the pic looks just spiffy :lol: , all the old adages seem to be wearing out, it looks great, hopefully my next will be looooooking that good. Very nice work to date, looking forward to le grande finale ;) . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tenspeed Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Nice looking. Does the silly putty leave behind any type of residue that requires cleaning before any additional work or can you clear coat or decal over it without any issues? Dean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Nice looking. Does the silly putty leave behind any type of residue that requires cleaning before any additional work or can you clear coat or decal over it without any issues? Dean I have not used it before, but from what I can tell so far it does not. I had reall issues in the past with BLu-tak clones, not genuine blu-tak but similar products made by other companies.... it would leave little patches and was hard to remove. I have some genuine Blu-tak and it is better but still leaves a little residue. After all this masking, and another model I am going to paint at the same time, a 1/72 rf-101 I am re-thinking this methood, it takes me a long time to make the silly putty snakes then working the tape in to the shapes. I will just have to see the results to see if the effort is worth it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VA-115EFR Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Just tried to do freehand this weekend on my F-4 in SEA camo. Pain in the A$$! If yours works out, I may try it. Your cockpit looks GREAT! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) I use the orange tack from elmers I have never had problems with it. Silly putty I have heard does leave a residue behind. I have never used it on a model before but when I was a kid it left residue on a coffee table and ruined the finish. My father was not a happy camper. Edited January 7, 2014 by Devilleader501 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) I painted the Lighter green this morning. The 1/72 RF-101 is a "shelf of doom" project I decided to move forward since Iw as painting SEA camo anyway. Since the MM 34102 is very bright and vivid, and looks kinda funny I decided to tone it down. Using the WAG/TLAR method I mixed in several drops of "engine gray" then a few drops of bright yellow, based on input I got in a different thread. The idea was to tone it down, and make it a little warmer. Maybe 34012 just looks funny when it is not faded, if you have been to the USAF museum, the RF-101 and the F-4C/D medium green look a little bright to my eye. Any and all feedback is appreciated Edited January 13, 2014 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 You'll be surprised at how much better it will look when you get a flat coat in it. Looking great can't wait to see more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VA-115EFR Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) Maybe 34012 just looks funny when it is not faded, if yu have been to the USAF museum, the RF-101 and the F-4C/D medium green look a little bright to my eye. Sort of what I thought when I painted my phantom too. Seemed a little TOO green. Yeah, maybe the coat of flat will fix that. Your plane is turning out nicely! Edited January 11, 2014 by VA-115EFR Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) The Masks are off ... Well this first try at Silly putty was not perfect I did not get the curves quite the way I wanted, it is not as smooth and flowing as I would like In this picture I did not get the putty in the right place so the green band on the wing is a bit narrow: and here I did not get the green "finger" masked properly It is OK though, it is a learning process. I will touch this up and be better prepared next time. Edited January 20, 2014 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trietmcam Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I did not get the curves quite the way I wanted, it is not as smooth and flowing as I would like Did you mean the lines are too sharp?. If yes, try rolling the silly putty up into a cylinder, and spray at and angle behind the rolled up silly putty; this'll give you the feathered effect. The more perpendicular the spray gun aiming to the surface, the sharper the lines will be. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 (edited) Did you mean the lines are too sharp?. If yes, try rolling the silly putty up into a cylinder, and spray at and angle behind the rolled up silly putty; this'll give you the feathered effect. The more perpendicular the spray gun aiming to the surface, the sharper the lines will be. There is that issue, and I tried shooting the paint at an angle but I was a bit clumsy. The bigger issue is some of the demarcations between the green and the tan look kind of like a poorly cut out jagged mask, instead of a smooth curve. I use a Badger 155 double action .. which has one needle size and I have never really learned to get a good fine line with it. I have a Paasche H and a VL .. which have different needle sizes, I think i will experiment with them to see if I can pull off the fine line work needed to fix this up freehand. I need to work with the paint thickness and the air pressure. Edited January 21, 2014 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Well I got out the VL and a #1 needle, looks a little better now And the voodoo: I think I need remedial airbrushing practice, I had a lot of trouble keeping a consistent line. The proper mixture of thinner/ paint seems to be the key, and you need to keep stirring the paint as you go. Another round, this time with the tan and these will probably be done. Then I can get on to the ADC gray phantom. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Wow, time flies, I can not believe these were sitting since January. Any way in the past week I got these rolling again. I love phantoms but the masking is a pain. I think i was procrastinating due to the tedium of masking two phantoms. Any way I got the keel area done and took my best stab at the heat staining. Here is the candy cane Monogram with a coat of future on the bottom drying And the AMT/Ertl/ESCI And here is why I like Reece birds: A few more weeks and hopefully they will be done. The momentum is building. Thanks for looking. All advice and positive or negative feedback is welcome and appreciated. EDIT: Dang it ... I just realized I forgot the anti-glare panel on the Gray phantom.... back to the masking. Edited July 13, 2014 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Steel Beach just released a set of vinyl masks for the SEA Phantoms. There is a set for both the Academy and Hasegawa. The schemes are the same, but they include canopy masks for the specific kits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Kurt, Your camo paint scheme look much better with the free hand demarcation lines. I've seen some excellent feathered edge paint schemes done with Blu-tac/Silly Putty/etc. I've even been learning that technique myself, as I'm getting up in years . The trick as has been mentioned is to air brush slightly just past vertical. I've been free handing it since the 70s, and have always used a Paasche-H air brush. For Tamiya Acrylics, I thin the paint 50/50 with their lacquer thinner, not their X-20A Alcohol based thinner. The lacquer thinner breaks down the paint particles to a much smaller size, which helps to create a finer texture paint, thus a smoother line. I shoot about 3-4 inches from the surface at the most perpendicular angle I can work at. I set the regulator valve so that the flow rate is approximately 12 psi, not the static psi before you depress the trigger on the air brush. I still get over spray every so often, but it's easy to touch up. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Ok, in the home stretch. It is crazy how much time can pass. I had to push real hard and study to finish a professional certification. I passed the test in November, and have finally gotten back to the bench. Any way, tonight I sat down and finished up the ordnance for these two, 4 sidewinders, and 4 sparrows each. I know now that the ANG birds did not fly fully armed, but I think it just looks cool, so these will be armed to the teeth! haha I glued the wing tanks on the camoed Monogram, and I am still fiddling with the fit of the gun pod. I am also still test fitting the fuel tanks on the Ertl ADC grey bird And here is the Air to air ordnance ... yeah the markings / paint colors are based in fantasy, but I was just trying to jazz the missiles up a bit. the monogram kit includes some decals, I tried making some decal stripes but I could not quite pull it off. Decals are setting, and some dark gray paint on the nozzles of the missiles is drying. Some time tomorrow I hope to get these on the wheels. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Kurt, Nice to see a update since your last one in July. You're certainly in the home stretch now. BTW, I bought some Silly putty to try instead of Blu tac as I never can get it to stick very well. Did the Silly Putty leave any residue that had to be cleaned up? Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 In this case the silly putty was not on for an extended period, maybe a week at the most and I do not recall any greasy residue, but in some spots it was difficult to remove it all, but easier to remove than fake blu tak. I did misplace one of the inner landing gear doors, but maybe someday I will find it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 The Monogram phantom is phinished! I had trouble with the fit of the canopies. Next time I will spend more time with the fit of the clear parts during earlier parts of construction. Overall, a fun build, This is the third time I have built a monogram phantom, so there were really no surprises. The kit decals went on with little fuss, there were just a lot of them since it included full stencils. And here it is on the shelf... Phantom ... watch out, I am catching up to you. :D/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) And I finished the AMT/ERTL/ESCI F-4C/D, in the markings of the Michigan ANG ... one of the phiner looking phantoms to my eye any way These are Expert's Choice decals, I had to use microscale decal film on these since they shattered in water. I almost ruined this kit, I misagligned one of the upper wing halves, and had to break it apart and re-glue it. I thought it was terminal, but with enough putty and sandpaper everything can be fixed. :rolleyes:/> Thanks for looking. These both are a bit rough up close so they will not be at any contests or in the under glass gallery. Just feels good to finish something at long last. Edited January 3, 2015 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Kurt, Online at ARC, both builds looks great. Both have rocks solid paint schemes, and what looks like near on perfect decals. Well done. And congrats on crossing the finish line not once, but twice. My only concern is just how close to the edge of the shelf the Monogram kit is. Joel Edited January 3, 2015 by Joel_W Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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