Falconxlvi Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) J79 engine update. Still a work in progress but most of the base colors are down. I think. I may do some more heat staining. The base colors are Alclad Aluminum, Magnesium, Gold Titanium, Jet Exhaust, Tamiya Burnt Iron and Chrome Silver. After a few more details were painted up... And the other side... Anyways, the next steps are picking out the rest of the various fuel and oil lines with their appropriate colors. - Steve Edited October 16, 2020 by Falconxlvi . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Very nice! I'm really looking forward to the "G" model coming out after seeing this come together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bazooka Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 WOW! Great job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 On 10/15/2020 at 7:22 PM, 82Whitey51 said: Very nice! I'm really looking forward to the "G" model coming out after seeing this come together. I'd LOVE a WEASEL version !! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 On 10/15/2020 at 5:22 PM, 82Whitey51 said: Very nice! I'm really looking forward to the "G" model coming out after seeing this come together. Me too! 3 hours ago, bazooka said: WOW! Great job! Thank you 😊 55 minutes ago, A-10 LOADER said: I'd LOVE a WEASEL version !! Steve It’s coming - I believe next year was the plan! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 The J79 engines are done. Well, at least the one that got the extra TLC 😉. Now, I have to finish the display stand...take a few more pics, and bury this beauty in the belly of the beast! But, for the super-detailers out there, ZM has provided an excellent starting point out of the box and I hope I’ve done it some justice. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arnobiz Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Beautiful metal paint job, thanks for sharing I can't wait for mine to arrive 😉 Arnaud Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, arnobiz said: Beautiful metal paint job, thanks for sharing I can't wait for mine to arrive 😉 Arnaud Thanks for the kind words Arnaud! You will not be disappointed with this kit. Here are the final shots of the engine with the included display stand that is cleverly part of the sprue runners! Steve Edited October 18, 2020 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircommando130 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 That's awesome! I can almost smell the JP-4 turning into the "sound of freedom" Cheers...Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 Update 10/23 “Seamless” intakes...putty, sand, repeat, putty, sand, repeat 😂 Ok, I’ll admit- there are some flaws behind the curve. Since you can’t see them from the front, I didn’t bother sanding them to perfection. Paint is square bottle white Tamiya surface primer thinned with AK lacquer thinner. I brushed on a layer of future after I took this video to get a glossy surface. That only took a week 😂🤪 I also assembled and painted the gear bays, which are nicely detailed. Then it was time to bring the top and bottom fuselage halves together. The engines mount into a bulkhead piece which provides some nice internal strength. The intake lip and engine exhausts have tabs that lock into the fuselage bottom as well to aid alignment. Goodbye engines 👋🏻 The fit is excellent BTW. Thanks for taking a look. Onwards! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brad-M Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Great work so far, thanks for posting. Is that the kit cockpit with just AM belts? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
joeltc Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Interesting that the bulkhead reinforcement piece is a new inclusion to their kits. All the other ZM Phantoms don't have it. The instructions just say to be careful with the joint between the engines and the intakes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 (edited) On 10/18/2020 at 5:29 PM, aircommando130 said: That's awesome! I can almost smell the JP-4 turning into the "sound of freedom" Cheers...Ron Thanks Ron! The F-4 is a beast! I was lucky to get a ride in the backseat if an RF-4C at Tyndall during my time on the USAF. I was impressed with the raw power of the darn thing! Definitely a different feel than the refined F-15E experience 😂 3 hours ago, Brad-M said: Great work so far, thanks for posting. Is that the kit cockpit with just AM belts? Yes sir, that’s it...just AM belts. The included decals go down very well over the raised detail 👍🏻 And thank you for the compliment! 2 hours ago, joeltc said: Interesting that the bulkhead reinforcement piece is a new inclusion to their kits. All the other ZM Phantoms don't have it. The instructions just say to be careful with the joint between the engines and the intakes. Interesting 🤔 I didn’t know that. The fit of everything is very straightforward. I would imagine that without the bulkhead things might be a bit fiddly! This kit is really great and I am very much enjoying it! Edited October 25, 2020 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Matt Foley Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 On 10/24/2020 at 9:29 AM, Falconxlvi said: Update 10/23 “Seamless” intakes...putty, sand, repeat, putty, sand, repeat 😂 Ok, I’ll admit- there are some flaws behind the curve. Since you can’t see them from the front, I didn’t bother sanding them to perfection. Paint is square bottle white Tamiya surface primer thinned with AK lacquer thinner. I brushed on a layer of future after I took this video to get a glossy surface. That only took a week 😂🤪 I also assembled and painted the gear bays, which are nicely detailed. Then it was time to bring the top and bottom fuselage halves together. The engines mount into a bulkhead piece which provides some nice internal strength. The intake lip and engine exhausts have tabs that lock into the fuselage bottom as well to aid alignment. Goodbye engines 👋🏻 The fit is excellent BTW. Thanks for taking a look. Onwards! Steve Steve are you priming anything prior to paint? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said: Steve are you priming anything prior to paint? I kinda did a “two-in-one” process. I used Tamiya square bottle white surface primer as my white finish. So, yes, there was some priming and sanding, but the final finish is still the white primer (ok, with future on top). That video above is Tamiya white primer. Things are still progressing well in the build. I’m just working on refining the finish on the various fuselage joints (they are close to perfect between the two pancakes, but not quite). Aft fuselage join after CA and putty. Forward fuselage join The wing to fuselage fit is perfect! The wing leading edges are great too! The intakes and splitter plates have several ejector pin marks that need to be dealt with. Steve Edited November 2, 2020 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Matt Foley Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 3 minutes ago, Falconxlvi said: I kinda did a “two-in-one” process. I used Tamiya square bottle white surface primer as my white finish. So, yes, there was some priming and sanding, but the final finish is still the white primer (ok, with future on top). That video above is Tamiya white primer. I assumed as much, what paint are you planning on using for the finish? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 (edited) 53 minutes ago, Mr Matt Foley said: I assumed as much, what paint are you planning on using for the finish? Mr Color lacquer over Mr Color 1500 surface primer. The plastic has a bit of a pebbly texture, so I might do a light sanding with 1k grit before the final coat. I haven’t built a phantom as an adult modeler and it definitely has some unique painting considerations- namely, you have to paint the camo behind the splitters before joining them. I’ll be doing that soon- maybe tomorrow. Steve Edited November 2, 2020 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Matt Foley Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 2 minutes ago, Falconxlvi said: Mr Color lacquer 👍🏻 Looking forward to that. I am going to be brave and use MMP acrylics despite the naysayers on Facebook. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 1 minute ago, Mr Matt Foley said: Looking forward to that. I am going to be brave and use MMP acrylics despite the naysayers on Facebook. They do great as long as your surface is super clean before applying them and I cannot recommend the poly additive enough. I’ve had good luck with Mission Models Acrylics after figuring this out. (see my two Hellcats earlier this year and P-51 last year). 👍🏻 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruiz Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 (edited) Hi Steve Glad to see that you are making progress with it; for a moment I thought maybe you have jumped to the SU-27 (not that it will be a bad thing either). Keep on with the good work you are doing. Carlos Edited November 2, 2020 by cruiz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 3, 2020 Author Share Posted November 3, 2020 (edited) Update 11/3 I managed to finish up the front intake assemblies this morning. The interlocking construction is fuss-free and allows easy for painting. After filling the ejector pin holes in the intakes and backside of the splitter plates with CA, everything was sanding smooth and primed with Mr Surfacer 1500. I put a little shading on the splitter plates for some visual interest. And backsides sanded smooth... Add paint (Mr Color) and an enamel wash... Check out the cool assembly! All together... I see I need to cleanup the flash on the intake lip a bit and I will. Nothing like a giant picture to reveal flaws 😂 Onwards! Steve Edited November 3, 2020 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 3, 2020 Author Share Posted November 3, 2020 On 11/1/2020 at 9:25 PM, cruiz said: Hi Steve Glad to see that you are making progress with it; for a moment I thought maybe you have jumped to the SU-27 (not that it will be a bad thing either). Keep on with the good work you are doing. Carlos Thanks Carlos - I really want to start the Su-27, but I need to finish something! This kit is going together quickly enough and the build mojo is there, so I should see it through to completion 👍🏻 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichB63 Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Intakes look great Steve! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Piker38 Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Can those splitter plates be slotted into position after the rest of the intake is mounted on the fuselage ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Janissary Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) I'm watching this with great interest. It looks awesome so far and I can't wait to see more. I will be waiting for the slatted E, but this sure is a great reference thread about what to expect. 4 hours ago, Piker38 said: Can those splitter plates be slotted into position after the rest of the intake is mounted on the fuselage ? I am curious about this as well. Looks like it could be, just like Hasegawa's. Edited November 4, 2020 by Janissary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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