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How about an early F4H Phantom II sheet in 1/48 & 1/72?


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3 hours ago, Dutch said:

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The new resin cockpit is glued to the kit lower forward fuselage, Step B, inserting the resin McDonnell ejection seat. It requires the use of the kit forward instrument panel. Photo #2.

Minor error in the aft cockpit (and probably present in many other kits). The rear bulkhead was actually vertical so the ejection seat rails were set at an angle to the bulkhead, not attached to it along their length. It is a reminder that the AH was a single-seat airplane and the area aft of the pilot was filled with 20 mm ammo and various aircraft system components.

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3 hours ago, Dutch said:

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Step F covers the tail cap, arrestor hook with fairing and over wing perforated spoilers. Photo #6.

The fairing after the tailhook was only on a few early F4Hs and was removed from #1 at some point in 1958. The perforated spoilers were also replaced on #1 in 1958 but some F-4As were retired with them still present..

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Good catch Tommy. Folks, unabashed advertisement here. If you want the skinny on early F4H-1/F prototypes and pre-production models, buy the Ginter Book by Tommy Thomason.  Period. Although to be fair, the Brigade kit was released about a year before the book, so some mods to the kit may be required. 

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Hi Everyone,

 

If you're looking to buy this F4H-1 conversion be aware that Kevin, the owner of Brigade Models is very much one of the 'old school'; no website or electronic payments, selling via snail mail order or at shows. He does advertise in Scale Aircraft Modelling though (and maybe other modelling magazines) with a contact e-mail: brigademodels (at) btopenworld dot com . I got my pair at ScaleModelWorld when it was first released. I have heard that the main nose section is difficult to cast as the moulds only last a few sets, which could explain why Hannants rarely have stock. Be aware that it's intended to represent F4H-1 142259 at the time of its first flight so needs some changes such as a second McDonnell seat and the nose air conditioning intakes in order to do the later aircraft. In addition to Dutch's comments on the markings, the wing insignia are too small as they should be sized at 60 inches, not 45inches as provided.

 

The Falcon set would help with the later configurations but lacks the McDonnell seats. I built 145310 in 1/72 about ten years ago using the equivalent Falcon set with a Hasegawa F-4B (actually the F-110A boxing) and had to modify a pair of Trumpeter Vigilante seats as well as the kits' vari-ramps to get close to the correct configuration. It was a fair bit of work, especially all the orange bombs, but it'a a nice contrast to its production siblings.


As a suggestion for the sheet, how about the five Project LANA Phantoms from VF-101 & VF-121? They were all uniquely marked with red or yellow bands for identification during the race and would make a colourful line-up. The winning jet was even flown by a future Gemini & Apollo Astronaut, Dick Gordon. Apart from the intermediate intake configuration they were visually similar to early F-4Bs; given the references in Tommy's F4H book & blogs I don't think it'd be too hard to modify the vari-ramps & vents. Perhaps a more readily available decal sheet might sway someone to produce these as a complement to the markings.

 

There's also a couple of rather plainly marked but historical USAF Phantoms that could maybe fit in a corner. Two F-4Cs from McDill AFB,  63-7477 and 63-7524, conducted an amazing mission during the launch of the Gemini GT-2 capsule in January 1965. They were tasked with filming the launch to capture the point at which 'Max Q' or the maximum mechanical stress is achieved. This was vital to establish the requirements for the later manned missions. The two Phantoms intercepted the Titan rocket formating on it then climbing vetically to over 68,000ft filming it with a pair of camera pods on each jet. There's some really high quality footage in an episode of 'Air Warriors' on the F-4 that has been shown on the Smithsonian Channel. This story is told about half an hour in but the programme is worth a watch for all the other history as well. See https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/air-warriors/f-4-phantom/1003487/3461834 for a teaser. For some reason the narrative refers to these flights being carried out during the Gemini IV mission, but I doubt they would have risked a potential collision between a manned spacecraft launch and a USAF jet, particularly with a critical objective like the first EVA in the mission flight plan.

 

Thank you Kursad for considering these very early Phantoms. Along with the other two upcoming sheets it'll fill quite a few gaps in F-4 markings.

 

Jonathan

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My F4H-1/F-4A monograph is well regarded but expensive. It was preceded by a couple of posts on one of my blogs that may suffice for most modelers with regard to sorting out the differences among the F-4As, particularly the first 18. See https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2011/05/early-phantom-iis-redux.html. There is a link in it to the preceding post.

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Jonathan, thank you for your comments.  Research is the key to any early Phantom model build.

 

Hannants.co.uk currently shows 5+ Brigade 1/48 YF4H-1 resin sets in stock for £33.33 / $42.64.  This is not an endorsement, just, FYI.

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Tommy, after looking at your blog posts about early F4H-1 intake splitter plates and their evolution,  perhaps a decal could be printed to represent the different hole sizes and designs. What do you think? 

Kursad, I would be interested in your thoughts as well.

K/r, Dutch 

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On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2020 at 11:02 PM, Dutch said:

My intent is to build F4H-1 145310 all bombed up with 22 MK.82s (taken from 2x Otaki early F-16 kits.).  This airframe requires the IR seeker, 24 in. nose radome, long nose probe, bulged scoops, flush canopy and straight intakes with flush tops.  I will probably use the Brigade forward fuselage / seat & probe with the added IR seeker by Falcon and scoops from either the kit or Falcon.  I haven't decided how to tackle the intakes yet.  Right now I have a Hasegawa F-4B/N kit, but may get an Academy kit instead. Dunno, yet.  If I do get an Academy kit, I will probably use the Hasegawa F-4B/N for the F-110A.  I really want to get that TAC lightning bolt on an F-4.

 

Hi, Dutch.

 

Thanks for telling that the conversion was in stock at Hannant's. 

I would use the Academy kit with the "Brigade Models" conversion. Mostly because that is what it was designed for. I can easily imagine that there could be dimensional differences between the kits resulting in "steps" and all sorts of trouble.

Another (minor) reason is that on the Academy F-4B, the trunnion covers on top of the wing are optional. If you want an early F-4B, simply do not install them.

Maybe it's just me..."step elimination" and "trunnion cover removal" tend to look messy when I do it. :crying:

I know about trunnion cover removal because of the Hasegawa 1/48 F-4E and F-4G kits which use the wings of their F-4J and F-4S.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

  

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Stefan, Yes I agree, it would be best to match the Brigade F4H-1 prototype resin to the Academy kit.  I took photos of the pieces, but they are too large to post, so here is a photo of the prototype parts (minus the probe) which I found on Britmodeler circa 2017.  Here is a link on ARC Forum for the Brigade F4H-1 build by Rhino53.  Note that the production Brigade set includes one EJ seat, two different cockpit combings as separate pieces, tailhook fairing and nose probe.

 

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BTW, there is a Cutting Edge CEC48494 1/48 F4H-1/1F set on ebay for $625 + $20 shipping.

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@KursadA,  Here is link to an article form ThisDayInAviationHistory showing the first delivery of actual F-4Cs to TAC in 1963.  It also has a photo of YRF-4C 62-12201 with a SUU-23 20mm centelrine gun pod.  The U.S. AIR FORCE titles and Buzz number definitely appear to be blue, not black.  In another post, there is a photo of an early F4H-1 with a F6F-5D drone kill marking under the forward cockpit windscreen.  

 

Lastly, here is a b&w photo of 149405/06 in USAF the interim F-110 markings at Nellis AFB during 1962.

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13 hours ago, Dutch said:

Tommy, after looking at your blog posts about early F4H-1 intake splitter plates and their evolution,  perhaps a decal could be printed to represent the different hole sizes and designs. What do you think? 

Kursad, I would be interested in your thoughts as well.

K/r, Dutch 

👍

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The AeroMaster 48-763 decal sheet (photos from the web) has the early F-4C (gray/white) markings in black.  (See below).  I believe that they should be dark blue.  Does anyone know for sure?  From the photos of the actual aircraft, it appears that the tail serial number is black, while the fuselage and wing titles and buzz numbers are blue.  Kursad, what does your F-105 research show?  Are the tail numbers black or blue?  I am only posting these photos to show that sometimes decal printers get it wrong. 

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AM_48-763_b.JPG.d7ff0a22a5b7a8cd696c30f61fc230af.JPG

Edited by Dutch
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For early F-110A / F-4C markings, here is page 3-62 from USAF Tech Order T.O.1-1-4 1964.

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FS15044 = Insignia Blue

FS17038 = Black

FS17975 = Insignia White

Code 509 = Red

Code 633 = Arctic Red

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So, my assertion in the preceding post is correct; the aircraft data block (B) & tail serial number (F) are black; while U.S. AIR FORCE (A), USAF (E), & Buzz Number (I) are Insignia Blue.  Notice that the diagram calls for the jet turbine warning stripe (H) to be FS17038 Black.  I have only ever seen it red.  That is odd.

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I had multiples of these Cutting edge sets, and last year I decided I didn't need them all because in reality I was never going to build more than one.  I priced it at $250 buy it now and it lasted about a day.  Should have gone higher, but $625 is a reach.  The set isn't just resin bits and pieces, it also has vinyl masks,  and a very comprehensive large decal sheet.  But it's not $625 comprehensive.

 

Rick L.

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4 hours ago, Dutch said:

Bueller?  Bueller?

Hi Dutch - it will take me a while to start working on this, I have so many projects that I am working on. I am slowly collecting reference material.

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2 hours ago, KursadA said:

Hi Dutch - it will take me a while to start working on this, I have so many projects that I am working on. I am slowly collecting reference material.

Okay, no worries.  My offer stands.

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