Zoukei Mura 1/48 F-4E Viper killer!

[my favs are F`s]

Yeah, just get that construction started! 🙂 Man oh man, that's probably the best looking F-4 cockpit in this scale I've ever seen.  

[Drew T.]

On 5/14/2024 at 11:56 AM, A-10 LOADER said:

Wowzzer, awesome work Drew !!

Steve

Thanks Steve!

 

On 5/14/2024 at 1:24 PM, RichB63 said:

Wow! I love that forward windscreen coaming. It will feature prominently on the finished model, so all that hard work pays off in the end.

 

Great job!

 

Thanks Rich!  I'm surprised no one in the aftermarket business has made a really good 3D print replacement for this area.  

 

23 hours ago, my favs are F`s said:

Yeah, just get that construction started! 🙂 Man oh man, that's probably the best looking F-4 cockpit in this scale I've ever seen.  

Thanks!  I'm definitely itching to get started on main assembly!

[Drew T.]

Hi Guys, I’ve managed to make some more progress now that the cockpit area is complete.  Like my previous builds, I decided to add some rivet detail with my Galaxy Models riveter set.  ZM does provide some nice rivet detail, especially in the unpainted areas around the exhausts, but I wanted to add more rivet detail based on reference photos.  I also used the excellent drawings created by Jumpei Temma.  You can find them here: http://soyuyo.main.jp/f4/f4-4.html#draw. Some of his panel line locations didn’t match ZM’s kit, so I filled them in with rubberized black CA and rescribed them as necessary.

 

 

Rather than use the kit part for the red light on the tail, I trimmed down a chunk of transparent red resin and glued it in place, then sanded and buffed it to match the profile of the tail.  Also, since I’m using Master Model brass probes, I cut a section of Albion brass tubing and glued it in the tail section.  When I’m ready to paint, I can easily insert the probe in this tubing.

 

 

I originally thought that ZM located the edges of the fuselage spline insert along panel lines, but reference photos do not show this to be the case.  So I carefully applied black rubberized CA along this joint to fill it in.  I took care not to fill in the rivets, as those should be there.

 

 

 

 

Based on the Modern Phantom Guide book, the jet I’m depicting should have the belly strap.  There is one included in the Hypersonic late F-4E set, but it’s vinyl, and I wasn’t really satisfied with it.  Instead, I made my own using thin sheet styrene.  I have a ZM F-4G in the stash that includes the belly strap, so I used it for guidance on how it should look.  To replicate larger raised rivets, I used my Archer rivet decal sheet.

 

 

 

I opened up the exhaust vents to add some realism in this area.

 

 

The hole in the nose for the pitot tube was too large for the Maser Model brass version, so I glued in a brass tube with an ID that better fit for the part.

 

 

I enlarged the openings of the RAM air intakes on the sides of the nose.

 

 

The tail was missing the bumps for the two RWR antennas, so I added them using a drop of thick UV glue.  I also cut off the kit tail fuel vent since I’m using the Quickboost version.

 

 

I opened up the fuel tank vents at the trailing edges of the wings.

 

 

The kit inserts for the front Sparrow missile bays is not the right shape.  The kit inserts are rectangular, but in reality, they bulge out on the sides towards the rear.  I added the bulges with strip styrene.  The slot for the Sparrow fin is also too long.  On the kit part, this slot extends across the entire length of the insert, but it should stop several inches (in real life) from the end of the insert.  I corrected this by plugging the front part of the slot with strip styrene.  Since these rear of these inserts start to retract into the airframe when the engines are off, I positioned them this way to replicate this effect.  I also opened up the vents on both sides of the nose gear bay.

 

 

Since I will show the auxiliary air intake doors open as typical for an F-4 with the engines shut down, I wanted to show more detail, as the kit does not offer much in this area.  Aires makes aux air intake bays for the Hasegawa kits, so I figured I would see if they would fit in the ZM kit.  They actually fit pretty well, although I had to chop out some of the kit engine to avoid interference.   This is no problem since it is all hidden when everything is assembled.

 

 

 

With this work out of the way, I can get the main assembly started.  Thanks for looking!

 

Drew

 

Edited June 3, 2024 by Drew T.

[jmel]

This is my favorite thread.  Outstanding work!!

 

Jake

[rom]

wow! first class build!

[A-10 LOADER]

Stellar work as always Drew.

Steve

[RichB63]

Great attention to detail. In addition to being a talented modeler, I can tell you’re a Phantom Phreak as well! 👍

 

Rich

Edited June 9, 2024 by RichB63

[Drew T.]

Thanks everyone!  The Modern Phantom Guide Book is a big help in catching alot of these details.  I highly recommend it if you can find it if you're building a later service F-4.  I wasn't a Phantom expert at the start of this project, but I think I will be by the time I have it finished!

[GeneK]

On 6/8/2024 at 2:30 PM, RichB63 said:

Great attention to detail. In addition to being a talented modeler, I can tell you’re a Phantom Phreak as well! 👍

I think you and Drew are Model Phreak Brothers.

 

Gene K

[Thadeus]

I admire people who have the patience to tackle every little detail. No matter how small. Very fine work.

[Drew T.]

Thanks Gene and Thadeus!

Happy 4^th everyone to those of us in the US!  I’ve made some more progress since my last update.  The intakes took some work because of minor fit issues.  I wanted to eliminate as much as possible misalignment between the inner and outer intake sections.  I would have liked to completely eliminate any gap between these parts, but filling and sanding this joint would be nearly impossible.  On the plus side, this joint is located right at the border between the camouflage color and white intake color, which helps to hide the transition between these two parts.  I added styrene to the inside of the outer intake sections to minimize the gap between these parts.  I also relocated the pitot tubes in the intakes.  The kit positions them near the front lip of the intakes, but in reality, they should be positioned farther back.  With some fiddling, I was able to create an almost seamless transition between the inner and outer intake sections. 

 

 

 

Once the outer intakes are assembled, there multiple gaps on the back side of the assembly, which will be visible when assembled to the fuselage.  I filled this area with UV curing putty and sanded everything down. I then painted this area before attaching to the fuselage since it will be difficult to paint this area once assembled. 

 

 

I took some time to detail the rear of the intake vanes on the top and bottom.

 

 

 

Once the intakes were glued to the fuselage, there was a slight gap between the back of the intake and the fairing on the fuselage side.  I used Vallejo filler in this gap since it could be easily cleaned up and smoothed out with water.  Sanding would have been almost impossible in such a tight spot.

 

 

The kit provides parts for the formation lights, but they are overly thick. I made my own from 0.005” thick sheet styrene.

 

 

 

 

I used Albion tubing to represent the drain just above the wing root and grounding point ahead of the wing root, as well as the drains under the intakes.

 

 

 

I used Archer raised rivet decals to add rivet detail to the underside of the arrestor hook.  The black area in front of the arrestor hook is rubberized CA that I used to level this area.  I added panel line and rivet detail to this area since it was totally missing on the kit parts.

 

 

I also carved out a divot at the end of the arrestor hook based on reference photos. 

 

 

I trimmed the front of the ailerons so they would fit deeper in the wing when lowered.  When built out of the box, it looks like both the flaps and ailerons sit too far back when positioned in the lowered position.  I also carved out the ends of the ailerons and flaps to match reference photos. 

 

 

 

I glued on the Quickboost fuel dump.  Hopefully, I won’t break it off during painting.

 

 

Since ZM makes the outer wing a separate piece from the inner wing section, you end up with a straight seam along the joint where the outer wing hinges to the inner wing.  This isn’t really accurate since the inner and outer wing are joined with a “finger” or “sawtooth” joint that allows the outer wing to swing up for storage.  To replicate this, I filled the joint between these two sections along the section of the joint where the “fingers” are located.  It’s hard to see in these photos, but it will be easier to see when I spray a coat of primer.  Also, since I’m not adding the outer pylons, I added detail to where the outer pylon connects to the wing, including the cleat.

 

 

 

 

While working on prepping the Kazan landing gear, I noticed that the two nose wheels are identical.  However, based on the design used to attach the wheels to the strut, each of the wheels should be a mirror of each other.  I fixed this issue by plugging the opening in the wheel and making a new opening that is a mirror image of the original opening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Drew T.]

The nose gear door also had some problems.  First, there is an arm that connects from the gear bay to the slot on the door.  Unfortunately, this slot was offset from the location where the arm connects to the gear bay.  Also, there was a minor depression, almost like a sink mark, on the inside surface of the gear door.  Because of these issues, I considered just using the ZM kit door, but I liked the detail the Kazan door had on the front and outside surfaces.  To fix the issues the 3D printed door had, I sanded smooth the inside surface and filled in the depressed area.  I then used a combination of styrene, stretched sprue, and Archer raised rivets to restore the lost detail.  I also engraved the slot for the gear door arm in the correct location. 

 

 

Next step is to get everything prepped for primer.  Thanks for looking!

 

Drew

[RichB63]

The awesomeness continues…love it!

 

Rich

[Mr.Happy]

Incredible scratch building and problem solving. 
 

I just picked up the ZM F-4E Late Version. I’m going to book mark your build to use as guide on what to lookout for.👍🫡

 

Happy 4th to you and all of our ARC alumni.

 

Be safe and keep cracking on.

 

Mr. Happy

[phantom]

Excellent details you have added.

[Drew T.]

Thanks guys!!!!

 

I haven’t made a ton of progress, but I figured I’d share what I have accomplished over the past month or so.  After getting an overall coat of black Mr. Surfacer 1500, I set about painting the bare metal areas around the exhaust.  With previous builds, I would save painting the bare metal areas until the main camouflage had been completed.  The problem with this is that overspray from metallic paints can get everywhere, so no matter how well I mask off the rest of the model, I would find metallic flakes in areas far away from where I was painting.  So I decided to flip the script with this model and paint the bare metal areas first.  Once I had the basic painting done, I used blue tac to carefully mask around the rivet lines on the stabilators.

 

 

I then painted the exposed areas a lighter metallic shade to replicate the pattern that most F-4’s show on the stabilators.

 

 To replicate the ribbing that’s visible in the area surrounding the exhaust nozzles, I cut masking tape into narrow strips using my Infini cutting mat.  I then carefully applied them, leaving narrow gaps between them.

 

 

 

I then lightly airbrushed a highly thinned coat of black paint.  After removing the tape, I further built up the black soot, then followed up with brown and light tan oil paint to replicate heat discoloration. 

 

 

 

I also applied black artist oil paints over the entire area to replicate overall griminess and grease buildup around the stabilator actuators as shown in reference photos. 

 

 

 

The exhausts were first given a coat of black Mr. Surfacer 1500.  I then sprayed the areas between the pedals a coat of Aclad aluninum and followed up with a thin coat of flat black paint.  To achieve a worn look, I used my fiberglass scratch brush to wear down the black paint to reveal the aluminum paint.  I then masked off these areas and painted the exhaust pedals with Model Master Exhaust Metalizer.  I then followed up with a light drybrushing of sliver enamel paint to give the exhaust pedals a worn look.

 

 

In the past, I have used a lacquer clear coat over the natural metal areas along with the rest of the model.   This time, however, I wanted to avoid using a laquer clear since it kills the metallic effect of the Aclad.  I first tried a coat of AK’s Intermediate Gauzy Agent.  Since it’s water based, it does not affect the Aclad, but it also did not stick well to the surface.  It would easily peel up with masking tape.  Since I need to be able to mask these areas to paint the rest of the model, I reverted back to using some old Future floor polish I used to use years ago.  I figured if it’s tough enough to stick to floors, it would stick to the Alclad as well.  Sure enough, it did stick much better than the Gauzy Agent.  To kill some of the shine and to replicate oxidation, I mixed a bit of Tamiya Flat Base X-21. 

 

That’s all for now, thanks for looking!

 

Drew

 

 

[Scooby]

Fabulous work!

[GeneK]

Great, detailed tutorials! Thanks.

 

Gene K

[Drew T.]

Thanks Scooby and Gene!

[A-10 LOADER]

Killer work so far Drew !

 

Steve

[Drew T.]

Thanks Steve!

 

I now have the camouflage painted.  I used Mr. Color C301, C303, and C309, which match the FS numbers for the Euro 1 paint scheme.  The gray in particular looks a little "off" compared to some reference photos, but I have read that this paint scheme is hard to photograph, so I don't think it's worth trying to chase my tail getting the colors to match up with photos.  The demarcation lines of this paint scheme also seemed to vary greatly from one airframe to the next, so I tried to match the couple of photos I have of the exact jet I'm replicating.  Apparently, this jet was painted more than once in this paint scheme when it was used by the NJ ANG, as the camouflage pattern varied between a couple of photos taken within a 4-5 year time span of the exact same jet.  All the painting was done freehand with the 0.2mm nozzle in my Harder and Steenbeck airbrush. 

 

 

 

 

To add some tonal variation to the finish, I sprayed some highly thinned (about 90% thinner to 10% paint) black and white paint in an irregular pattern over the model, especially the tops of the wings and fuselage, which typically see the most wear from sun fading and personnel walking on the surface.  Also, I wanted to replicate fluid leaks that are typically seen on Phantoms around the wing root and wing tops around the flaps.   In the past, I have done this with oil paints, but after seeing it done convincingly with Tamiya Smoke, I gave that a try.  I created a very thinned down mixture by adding just a drop of Tamiya Smoke to a bit of Mr. Color thinner and sprayed it with the 0.15mm nozzle in my H&S airbrush holding it no more than a half inch from the surface of the model.  This is probably the most tedious bit of airbrushing I have tried, and I had to redo things a couple of times before I was satisfied, but I was happy with the end result.  It's a little difficult to photograph since the smoke paint is glossy vs the semi-gloss finish of the Mr. Color paints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that complete, I'll start painting some of the markings, then apply a gloss coat in preparation for the decals.  Thanks for looking!

Drew

Edited August 30, 2024 by Drew T.

[JackMan]

14 hours ago, Drew T. said:

 ... All the painting was done freehand with the 0.2mm nozzle in my Harder and Steenbeck airbrush. ....

 

To add some tonal variation to the finish, I sprayed some highly thinned (about 90% thinner to 10% paint) black and white paint in an irregular pattern over the model, especially the tops of the wings and fuselage, which typically see the most wear from sun fading and personnel walking on the surface.  Also, I wanted to replicate fluid leaks that are typically seen on Phantoms around the wing root and wing tops around the flaps.   In the past, I have done this with oil paints, but after seeing it done convincingly with Tamiya Smoke, I gave that a try.  I created a very thinned down mixture by adding just a drop of Tamiya Smoke to a bit of Mr. Color thinner and sprayed it with the 0.15mm nozzle in my H&S airbrush holding it no more than a half inch from the surface of the model.  This is probably the most tedious bit of airbrushing I have tried, and I had to redo things a couple of times before I was satisfied, but I was happy with the end result. 

 

 

 

I think you did an awesome and very realistic job on the "fluid leak" look.  The overall effect is very realistic looking.  Also appreciate your detailed explanation of your techniques, type of airbrush and nozzle size that you used. Very helpful for people like me who want to learn.

Edited August 31, 2024 by JackMan

[RichB63]

Paint job is extraordinary!

 

Edited August 31, 2024 by RichB63

[Alternative 4]

You nailed that paint job.

[A-10 LOADER]

"Excellent Smithers" !

 

Steve