Jump to content

Recommended Posts

21 hours ago, RichB63 said:

Intakes look great Steve!

Thanks Rich!

 

17 hours ago, Piker38 said:

Can those splitter plates be slotted into position after the rest of the intake is mounted on the fuselage ?

Yes, they sure can be.  The fit is very, very positive, so it shouldn’t be a problem to align them properly 👍🏻
 

13 hours ago, Janissary said:

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. 

 

 

I am curious about this as well. Looks like it could be, just like Hasegawa's.

It is a great kit- I haven’t built a new “new” tool kit in quite awhile and it’s refreshing to have the part just fit.  That being said, it’s not Tamiya-like and the plastic is a bit pebbly and soft, but it’s pretty well engineered!

 

Steve

Link to post
Share on other sites

getting ready to pop the money for two kits, and your build makes it a must have. Have two F4c's, and really want to see ZM go thru the entire family before I croak. After the two F4e's, I'll probably pick up an F4j as I have decals for one that flew out of Chu Lai.

gary

Link to post
Share on other sites
23 hours ago, ChesshireCat said:

getting ready to pop the money for two kits, and your build makes it a must have. Have two F4c's, and really want to see ZM go thru the entire family before I croak. After the two F4e's, I'll probably pick up an F4j as I have decals for one that flew out of Chu Lai.

gary

Thanks for the compliment.  I am really looking forward to their late “E” and the “F”.  It’s definitely a kit worth the price.  Very well detailed, excellent fit and instructions, and very comprehensive decals!   

Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Falconxlvi said:

Thanks for the compliment.  I am really looking forward to their late “E” and the “F”.  It’s definitely a kit worth the price.  Very well detailed, excellent fit and instructions, and very comprehensive decals!   

I consider ZM the Cadillac of model kits

gary

Link to post
Share on other sites

You ever feel stuck in a build?   That’s me right now with this Phantom.  I have scribed and sanded and rescribed and sanded and rescribed the nose to fuselage join and associated radome swivel panel more times than I care to admit the past week.  Scribing curved surfaces is not a strong point for me- let alone an ovalish type panel that connects the radome.  I have come to a point where I am moving on.  The panel is not the correct shape, not scribed particularly well, etc.  

12GEvOT.jpg

 

 

Hopefully the black radome hides my mess a bit.  Ugh.   


rant over 😂

 

Steve

Edited by Falconxlvi
Link to post
Share on other sites

Update 11/12

 

Work continues with the intakes.  The backsides of the splitter plates were sanded smooth after filling the gaps from the assembly process with CA glue and putty.  Very little except the top and bottom will be seen, so I concentrated my efforts there.  A quick before and after below.  

nCHt0sb.jpg

 

The forward intake piece slides right into place and clicks on the big connector pin that mounts into the recessed circle on the back of the splitter plate. The fit of the piece is good, but it isn’t Tamiya or Eduard like.  A slightly larger than desired gap falls along a panel line.  I may try some 0.1mm styrene strip here to help out the gap.  


BOicZI9.jpg
 

There will be some filler/styrene strip required along the bottom.  Also, the top and bottom of the intakes have a weird mold line that needs to be addressed (I haven’t sanded it yet out in these pics).  They are circled in red in the pic below.

 

fDEr7uw.jpg

 

There are several of these on various parts and they are subtle at first glance.  It’s one of the few complaints I have about this kit - these mold lines are on both sides of the forward fuselage, top and bottom of the forward intakes, both sides of the vertical stabilizer, and horizontal stabilizers (which the instructions point out and have you remove).  They remind me of the infamous mold lines on the bottom of the 1/48 Tamiya F-14A intake tunnels.  Be warned!


Looking down the intake, the assembly looks nice.  Due to the fit between the front intake and main intake trunk, there is noticeable gap, just like you see on the outside (see the second pic above).  It’s worse on the top than the bottom for some reason, but trying to make it 100% seamless would require a level of effort I am unwilling to expend at this point.  Hopefully I’ve shown what can be done short of a full resin intake.  
OgPLTJH.jpg


So, I will report back once the external seams have been dealt with.  Then, it’s on to the outer wing panels.   Thanks for looking!

 

Steve

Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, Falconxlvi said:

Update 11/12
So, I will report back once the external seams have been dealt with.  Then, it’s on to the outer wing panels.   Thanks for looking!

 

Steve

 

Nice work Steve. Thank you for the analysis and corrective measures. I'm sure I'll be using your work as a guide for my kit build in the future.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Those are some nasty seams; personally, I'm not too fond of when they are in the same place that panel lines, even more, where there are rivet details.

 

Anyway, you are doing a great job and surely will know how to deal with them. I will be looking forward to more progress in this build.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Carlos

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
On 11/13/2020 at 10:34 AM, skystreak80 said:

Really great work so far i have just started mine

 

Cheers Lee

Thanks Lee!  Be sure to post some build pictures here (please 😊)

 

On 11/13/2020 at 6:13 PM, cruiz said:

Those are some nasty seams; personally, I'm not too fond of when they are in the same place that panel lines, even more, where there are rivet details.

 

Anyway, you are doing a great job and surely will know how to deal with them. I will be looking forward to more progress in this build.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Carlos

I hear you Carlos- it definitely wasn’t fun trying to restore all the details.  In the end, this is what it looks like.  At least there isn’t a canyon like junction at the intake join anymore.  
NC8pD6Z.jpg

 

Thanks for your encouraging words, as always 😊👍🏻
 

Update 12/11

 

The F-4E soldiers on...and it needs to!  I have a bazillion WWII projects underway or upcoming.   Ok, not a bazillion, but about 11.   🤪

 

The stabs were cleaned up with the stiffener plate guides removed (for the late Es I think 🤔).  ZM plastic is super soft and easy to sand.  A few passes with 600k paper and some 1k/1.5k pads did the trick.  The stiffener lines go through the panel lines and those were scribed as well.  

 

Before:

m57MrbV.jpg

 

After:

23zKIoS.jpg
 

And with that, I ran out of parts that aren’t landing gear, pylons, or weapons...guess I better paint it 😂

 

nntBQsw.jpg
 

JOMJ5E0.jpg
 

Also, I had a bit of a sink mark on the tail that needed to be fixed 🤷‍♂️

jPlyirJ.jpg
 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Steve

Edited by Falconxlvi
Link to post
Share on other sites
23 hours ago, Chris L said:

 Hi Steve . Watching your progress on the Phantom .

 How would you rate it compared to the old Hasegawa E model.  ( I have one yet to be built  )

 Regards, Christian

I have never built the Hasegawa E model but I have it in the stash.   Comparing details - the ZM kit is superior!  I really can’t comment on the fit 🤷‍♂️
 

Steve

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Steve . Thanks for your answer . I'm curious if you mean the interior  , exterior or just all around ? 

I was really afraid afraid that you would say that and now  I will have to covet another phantom .

 

 Regards, Christian

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Chris L said:

Hi Steve . Thanks for your answer . I'm curious if you mean the interior  , exterior or just all around ? 

I was really afraid afraid that you would say that and now  I will have to covet another phantom .

 

 Regards, Christian

Well, I would say everything!   Sorry 😆

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 10/14/2020 at 11:49 PM, Falconxlvi said:

You won’t regret it Carlos- this kit makes modeling fun!  It’s been a long time since I’ve built a new tool kit and the way this just effortlessly goes together makes me motivated to get to the bench each day.  I really think Zoukei Mura knocked it out of the park- this is light years ahead of the old Hasegawa kit!

 

Steve

 

The bold part is what I wanted to hear before even thinking of buying this kit. Thanks.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...

Looking great so far. I'm eagerly awaiting my ZM F-4E, and am pondering buying either a C or J model. I have Hasegawa C/D and J in my stash, but after reading reviews, I may just let them collect dust and build these newer kits.

 

(On the same note, I'm looking forward to building the Tamiya F-14D.....the Hasegawa kits are a lot of drudgery.)

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/14/2020 at 7:46 PM, Rodney said:

Looking great.  I bought the ZM early F-4E based on your build and started the ZM F-4J.  The Phantom is a cool looking plane.

 

Rodney

 

Hi Rodney, sorry I missed your comment earlier.  How is your J coming along?   It’s a great kit isn’t it?

I hope to get back to the Phantom in April 😊 

 

4 hours ago, MA Cooke said:

Looking great so far. I'm eagerly awaiting my ZM F-4E, and am pondering buying either a C or J model. I have Hasegawa C/D and J in my stash, but after reading reviews, I may just let them collect dust and build these newer kits.

 

(On the same note, I'm looking forward to building the Tamiya F-14D.....the Hasegawa kits are a lot of drudgery.)

 

Yeah, the ZM kits are superior for sure!  And you won’t be disappointed in the Tamiya F-14 either- I built the A and it went together like a dream!

 

Steve

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 3/10/2021 at 11:23 PM, Falconxlvi said:

 

Yeah, the ZM kits are superior for sure!  And you won’t be disappointed in the Tamiya F-14 either- I built the A and it went together like a dream!

 

Steve

 

The factory shrink-wrap had only made it to the recycling bag, and would you look at that - a ZM F-4J shows up at my door! I have three Phantoms I want to build - C, J, and E models. all Hasegawa. May be ordering a C model, too.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...