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1/48 Hasegawa F-4E TuAF SEA


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I airbrushed highly thinned flat black and dark brown colors to simulate exhaust soot around the metallic areas and the stabs.

IMG_7741.JPG

The blast panels look really good. Too many people these days do them as discolored bare metal with streaks of blue and variations of silver. That's only appropriate for late USAF Phantoms with smokeless engines, and often even those Phantoms had more black than some modelers depict. Earlier (prior to the mid to late 1980s) USAF (and all Navy versions to my knowledge) Phantoms had the soot-blackened panels you've duplicated here.

I'm not so sure about the streaks under the stabilators though, somehow they just don't look quite right to me. I'm getting ready to head in to work shortly, tonight or tomorrow I'll try to dig up a good photo or two if you like.

Scott W.

Edited by Scott R Wilson
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Thank you very much everybody, I really appreciate it. The good news is that I attached the canopies without an incident, which I had been dreading. I will post a few pictures of the setup I created to appropriately attach the canopies. Now I am thinking how to paint the wing tip formation lights, it does not seem easy to mask them. We'll see.

Scott, thank you for your feedback about the radome tip and the blast panels. I got carried away with the stabs like you mentioned. I can never say no to your pictures, but even if the pictures showed completely clean stabs, it would be too late and risky for me to change anything. So, I'd probably leave it as is.

I believe the finish line is in sight. So my remaining to do list:

- Remove the canopy jig

- Dull coat the front landing gear door (front facing one)

- Mask and paint the wingtip lights

- Attach the springy canopy wires behind each ejection seat (though I may skip this as there is very little room to maneuver anything)

- Attach a whole bunch of RBF tags

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Scott, thank you for your feedback about the radome tip and the blast panels. I got carried away with the stabs like you mentioned. I can never say no to your pictures, but even if the pictures showed completely clean stabs, it would be too late and risky for me to change anything. So, I'd probably leave it as is.

I believe the finish line is in sight. So my remaining to do list:

- Remove the canopy jig

- Dull coat the front landing gear door (front facing one)

- Mask and paint the wingtip lights

- Attach the springy canopy wires behind each ejection seat (though I may skip this as there is very little room to maneuver anything)

- Attach a whole bunch of RBF tags

Really, really nice work! I wouldn't worry about the streaking under the stabs. It looks cool and probably 99.9% of the viewers of your model wouldn't know if it was accurate or not. Also, just in case you weren't aware of it when you paint the wingtip lights, the front of the wingtips should be painted with that same black rubberized coating you painted on the nose cone. Not a great pic of this area, but one of my Scott Wilson favorites that show heavy weathering.

LeftWing.jpg

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Thank you very much everybody, I really appreciate it. The good news is that I attached the canopies without an incident, which I had been dreading. I will post a few pictures of the setup I created to appropriately attach the canopies. Now I am thinking how to paint the wing tip formation lights, it does not seem easy to mask them. We'll see.

Scott, thank you for your feedback about the radome tip and the blast panels. I got carried away with the stabs like you mentioned. I can never say no to your pictures, but even if the pictures showed completely clean stabs, it would be too late and risky for me to change anything. So, I'd probably leave it as is.

I believe the finish line is in sight. So my remaining to do list:

- Remove the canopy jig

- Dull coat the front landing gear door (front facing one)

- Mask and paint the wingtip lights

- Attach the springy canopy wires behind each ejection seat (though I may skip this as there is very little room to maneuver anything)

- Attach a whole bunch of RBF tags

The "springy wires behind each ejection seat" are for the canopy interdictor blocks. Basically they prevented the seat from firing if the canopy isn't jettisoned. The coiled wire was attached to the canopy and the other end to a part on the top rear of the seat which gets pulled out when the canopy jettisons, allowing the seat to fire. I think they'd be terribly difficult to do in 1/48 scale, even worse in 1/72.

As promised here are some shots of the undersides of the stabilator:

From the cover of a Japanese magazine on the F-4E:

F-4EBelly_zps0d73b26b.jpg

USAF photo of an F-4G:

DF-ST-82-00475a_zps32218ea2.jpg

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Really, really nice work! I wouldn't worry about the streaking under the stabs. It looks cool and probably 99.9% of the viewers of your model wouldn't know if it was accurate or not.

I had been looking at the photos of this build on my iPhone 5. Now that I have my PC fired up and am looking at them on a bigger screen, I agree with Chuck, the undersides of the stabs look pretty much okay. I hadn't thought the photos would look that different to me on one display compared to the other but they actually do. Ignore my previous commentary on the subject, please.

Scott W.

Edited by Scott R Wilson
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Impressive so far.

Excellent effects in the auxiliary tanks

Thank you Pacheco!

Really, really nice work! I wouldn't worry about the streaking under the stabs. It looks cool and probably 99.9% of the viewers of your model wouldn't know if it was accurate or not. Also, just in case you weren't aware of it when you paint the wingtip lights, the front of the wingtips should be painted with that same black rubberized coating you painted on the nose cone. Not a great pic of this area, but one of my Scott Wilson favorites that show heavy weathering.

Thank you Chuck. I was able to find some very nice closeups here: http://www.b-domke.de/AviationImages/Phantom.html#F-4E_67-0260. I masked and painted those wingtip sections last night, hope to have a few pictures over the weekend. It sure was tedious to mask that area.

The "springy wires behind each ejection seat" are for the canopy interdictor blocks. Basically they prevented the seat from firing if the canopy isn't jettisoned. The coiled wire was attached to the canopy and the other end to a part on the top rear of the seat which gets pulled out when the canopy jettisons, allowing the seat to fire. I think they'd be terribly difficult to do in 1/48 scale, even worse in 1/72.

As promised here are some shots of the undersides of the stabilator:

I had been looking at the photos of this build on my iPhone 5. Now that I have my PC fired up and am looking at them on a bigger screen, I agree with Chuck, the undersides of the stabs look pretty much okay. I hadn't thought the photos would look that different to me on one display compared to the other but they actually do. Ignore my previous commentary on the subject, please.

Scott W.

Thank you Scott, really great info and pics. Yes, I opted to skip the coiled wire as there was no space for me to work behind the seats. It's good to hear that the stabs may not have been overdone after all.

Now, on to a completely different subject. Today, I found this photo as I was browsing Emin Findikli's site :

http://www.tayyarecigaleri.com/images/stories/haftanin/hafta_147.jpg Image credit Zafer Buna.

I was ecstatic to discover this photo, as it bears my last name (Kara), which I used in my previous F-16:

IMG_5570.JPG

and also this model (I will post the pics soon). A split second after seeing that photo, I went "Wow he looks just like me!", only to notice that the pilot there is actually a higher ranked officer.

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I stacked up several layers of rectangular styrene rods as a rig for the canopies. This allowed the canopy to remain level (zero roll) and at a controllable pitch while the glue was drying. It is very easy to keep things level using this. The only thing that may require attention the yaw of the canopy, but that it fairly straightforward to adjust. Also, you have to be able to slide the contraption out when the canopy hinges are set, so the rig should not have any undercuts. I think I may use something like this in my future builds.

IMG_7756.JPG

The side view. The real phantoms have the aft canopy rise steeper than the front one, which I failed to capture. Also, in the real thing both canopies are slightly more raised compared to my model. However, I think the real deal does not look that great. So I corrected it :)/>

IMG_7760.JPG

IMG_7761.jpg

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IMG_7767.JPG

Edited by Janissary
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Thank you very much everybody! I have to say despite all the mistakes and inaccuracies, this is the built I have enjoyed most. F-4E is my favorite subject and I had several previous failed attempts at this SEA phantom. I am glad that the final pictures are soon to come.

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You really are one step from the end of this spectacular model, compliments, even if the model is not complete are a must!

Thank you Vincenzo! I follow your builds with great interest and learn quite a bit. Thank you for your support along the way.

I'm finally done with this model! I ended up using the 1/72 Eduard RBF tags. I think their 1/48 RBFs are overscale, while the 1/72nd are underscale. I chose the latter :). Also, I built a simple frame using PVC tubes and connectors. I am using a plastic sheet as the backdrop.

IMG_0648.JPG

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Thank you all for your support and tons information along the way.

IMG_7798teaser.jpg

Final pictures:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=287045

Edited by Janissary
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  • 1 year later...
13 hours ago, Fefster said:

Wow what an excellent WIP with this Phantom!!!

I'm going to use it to see some ideas for my Kurnass who is waiting in the stash

Thank you Fefser, hope you'll find them useful.

 

11 hours ago, Major Walt said:

Just curious what is your rank in the Air Force?

Hi, not sure if this was meant for me, but I'm not in the military. Maybe I confused people with the pilot name decal thing above, so just wanted to clarify. 

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15 hours ago, Janissary said:

Thank you Fefser, hope you'll find them useful.

 

Hi, not sure if this was meant for me, but I'm not in the military. Maybe I confused people with the pilot name decal thing above, so just wanted to clarify. 

Not a problem. Just wanted to add that you do astounding work!

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