FIGHTS ON Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hello and here's my entry for the Group Build: (Post started as a marker and photos to be added over the weekend, so please bare with me) This is the TAMIYA 1/32 F-4C/D that I bought on Evil Bay at Christmas for a bargin at £45. The real surprise was finding in the box some additional decals AND some frames from TAMIYA's F-4J...........with this Group Build announced this kit was crying out for a challenge, it was begging to be made as an F-4B or N..... WIP posts are normally for the very brave or the actually vaguely competent modelers, whilst I am normally happy with my finished models, my WIP efforts are normally awful, so if you re a real F-4 phanatic, this WIP post might have you feeling very sick. What Am I working from: Basic F-4C/D kit + key F-4J bits (lucky, lucky me!). The NAVY "J" extras I seem to have acquired include: Top Spine 'Blank@ where USAF refueling probe receiving hole is, slotted tail stabilizers, catapult hooks, centreline Tank, underwing correct shape pylons & the extended refueling probe. I didn't get the NAVY cockpit, but I reckon a "C" isn't far off with a bit of work on the rear cockpit. I have Harold's AMS F-4A/B/N wheels. Minimizing Risk: how far could I progress with this build as an F-4B/N but still leave options to revert building as an F-4C/D.......Clearly the biggest challenge is going to be those upper wings Options: 1. Attempt to buy (find?) a set of Cutting Edge 1/32 F-4B/N conversion sets pros: They look good cons: a set went on EBAY at the beginning of April 2015 for $200 2. Attempt to buy the New F-4B/N conversion offered by ????? link below shows you the pictures http://geb.ebay.in/ImportHubViewItem?itemid=390993318615&1-32-GT-Resin-F-4B-N-Airframe-Conversion-Set-for-all-Tamiya-F-4J-Phantom-kits Looks amazing, but is for the F-4 J AND is pricey... 3. suck-it-up and have a go at the upper wings myself.......... With a wife who STILL hasn't calmed down at the £45 expenditure back at Christmas time, clearly options 1 & 2 were a NO GO should I wish to remain married AND not have parts of my anatomy removed with a kitchen knife Step 1: The Upper Wings Whilst waiting for the GB to start, I have given this much thought. My plan has been to sand down as much as I dare of the upeer wheel bulge AND add a "scab" (scientific modelling term?) of putty adjacent to the wing bulge. My theory is that the more of the original wing I can save, then the less work I will need to scratch build into the wheel wells Photos (insert here!) show the progress so far. The courage required to start sanding away at a £45 kit is really something!!!!! The result is better than I had hoped for. After several visits with a spray of undercoat to show the blemishes, re-application of finer filler (squadron white stuff) it's not far off the mark. This represents my first attempt at serious scribing work and I would say I'm nearly there. ( well near enough to post some WIP pictures on Britmodeller!) Still more fine filling & sanding to get the last of that "scab" of filler smoothed out. The plastic on those upper wings is pretty thick, I have taken the bulges down to almost paper thin (very nearly went thru' at some points). What i am trying to show with the blurred head on profile of the wings is the almost flat (certainly no discernible "bulge") profile. Not withstanding the work I'll need to do to the speed brakes AND the undercarriage doors, the wheel wells should still fit. As I work away during the week pictures and any answers to posts will have to wait until the weekends. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 It would appear that my blushes might be saved by my awful blurred photos that I took last weekend! Now I am committed to making an F-4N, here are some better "in focus" shots as to which scheme I intend to do tail markings hand painted (& ,masked) - weathering still to be done rear cockpit still needs the st'b'd canvas screen added to cover refueling probe. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Off to a good start. The tail markings are very well done. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzy19 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Nice start! Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jens Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Nice job but you will have to remove the bulges below the wings too. Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 NICE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 More WIP phots: (and this WIP does seem to be posted in a back to front mannor) The inspiration is from Hasegawa's box art (the amazing Koike Shigee - how many of us have bought a kit on impulse just from looking at his box cover art work I wonder?). I'm not doing the CAG bird, but rather the wingman #205 Because there is a lot of hand painted & carefully crafted decals (spares box) that needs work whilst on the kit, I have already started decalling(sp?) before construction is complete........walkways & roundels from TAMIYA F-4J (thanks Andrew - good luck with that RAF "J"). I have a CAM 1/32 stencils sheet somewhere (still looking!) and the lettering & numbers are from Supersacles USN numbers and some imagination with the "USS TICONDEROGA" from trumpy's 1/32 VF-162 F-8E. "USS ROOSEVELT" shown here just using the letters from "TICONDEROGA" - still some finer corrections/painting to be done Next phot is how I did the tail markings & sharks mouth. Scaled up decal sheet (1/72 - 1/32 on PowerPoint - then printed). Kitchen grease paper and that ould trick we all learnt as kids in school of "tracing" the picture then rubbing outline in soft pencil onto aircraft. Also shown in picture are the amazing AMS (nice one Harold) F-4B/N wheels in 1/32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Nose MODEX number #205: used the "white" from some spare Swiss markings, and hand painted the black These will be carefully covered in post-it notes before the completion of spraying grey/white in the nose area. Still some fine touch ups with my "00000" brush required......but as I have some days off and the wind is getting up, the urgency to get out on the water on my windsurfer is growing!!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Ingenious use of the decal stocks! Worked very nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Not in this Phantom GB, but here is another Tamiya F-4C that i did some years ago and got creative with the decals & masking. (In fact, I've yet to have ANY success with TAMIYA F-4 decals - ALL the kits (& decal sheets ) I have ever bought seem to "explode" on contact with water. Whilst I am careful to not allow my decal stash to get damp (always kept in house) I can only assume that the entire batch of TAMIYA F-4s that were shipped to the UK were on a ship that sank and perhaps were later salvaged and passed on as "nearly new"!!!) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 As pointed out by "Jens" (post # 5) I still have the underside wings to do........(Jen is your profile picture Camp Price, Gereshk (Helmand) by chance or Tattooine!) ......thread drift! My plan!!!!!! (vaguely cunning as Baldrick would say): I have deliberately constructed the wings with the wheel wells included as their detail is way, way better than anything I could build. The phot clearly shows where the biggest "bulge" is and my plan is now to cut away the "raised" "flat" lower wing that sits between the wheel well & the speed brake (and put to one side). I will then "shave down" the wheel well bulkheads (sides to you ignorant land lubbers) to the desired depth (easier to judge now wings are in place). Then I will either bend (or cut into 3 pieces) the previously removed "flat" and re-install. I figure the much "slighter" bumps at the front of wheel well & aft of speed brake can be sanded out. Question, with the narrower wheels, will the metal TAMIYA main legs work or will the "step" have to be reduced? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jens Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 As pointed out by "Jens" (post # 5) I still have the underside wings to do........(Jen is your profile picture Camp Price, Gereshk (Helmand) by chance or Tattooine!) ......thread drift! The original picture is from the Helmand province but the edited background is Tattooine. Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Moff Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 When were you there Jens? We had a Danish recce company attached to us in 2006, 3 PARA, the 1st Brit unit there in May. They came over to UK to train with us as well before....and blew up (denied!) a Recovery vehicle in the desert when it lost a wheel to a minestrike, much to our QMs horror - we presented the Logistics guy with the P1954 Bill at the end of the tour....great guys and gals to have along....(SORRY! - Thread drift continued!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jens Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I was there in 2008 (well, also in 2005/2006 but that was in the Kabul area). Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 the weekly upload of photos. The wheel wells: before removing ridge: after raised parts removed, reshaped and replaced. (Sanding & painting to follow): a view of both sides (still to be sanded and fine filler added) note that the Port (right side of photo as you look) has had the "other" raised parts sanded down, but not yet done on st'b'd side 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Jens, here our a couple of phots from my time with you crazy Danes in Gereshk. Why use the road when you can drive like a crazy Viking across the sands! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 And finally, some overall phots of where I've got to with the Phantom. Next week work will be on the undercarriage, doors & speed brake. Then back to the cockpit to work on the wiring & seats etc. That upper wing isn't looking too bad I reckon?[/url] 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 oh, yes there is a very obvious mistake that I have just spotted (nothing like NOT using references!!!!) Stopwatch running to see who sees it first, but pretty obvious if you know your F-4s metal work AND those "05" tail numbers still to be done properly! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzy19 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 That is looking the business! Really nice. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgrease Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Fifty-eight, sixty-eight... just a difference of ten. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Fifty-eight, sixty-eight... just a difference of ten.Yeah seriously, who's really looking that hard anyway? This is looking really good. Credit to you for doing this conversion, and particularly the way you've approached it with ingenuity rather than throwing loads of expensive aftermarket stuff at it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Fifty-eight, sixty-eight... just a difference of ten. Good spot......need to go back and adjust that number.....however there's an even bigger error in my paint work in the tail area...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air-to-Air Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 It would appear that the metallised area extends a panel or two too far forward, is that what you're concerned about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIGHTS ON Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Rob, yep that's the one! good job I haven't posted any pictures on a website that might get seen by anyone.......D'oh! not sure I'm brave enough to go back in there & mask it and paint it right...... Weekend was supposed to be getting on with this build...instead a great Force 5/6 wind dictated that i get out windsurfing, (the wind had the added advantage of drowning out that awful noise we hear on the mainland from the isle of Wight festival!!!), so the only update is on the undercarriage: pictures show how I've cut the kits undercarriage door in 3 places, reassembled (FLAT!) and filled & sanded. one tiny piece of plasticard added where the kit part was too curved. Success i think, i have retained the majority of the TAMIYA kit detail, but now have a F-4B/N flat door. The AMS resin wheel is a perfect drop in fit onto the Tamiya metal leg. My worry before this project was would I have to modify the kit legs (risk = loss of strength). But the phots show it seems just right (centre (from head on) lines up correctly). I have masked & resprayed the aft metal areas (Alclad) and will try IIking's tip (see his F-4E Group build) and spray on some Tamiya smoke (thanks - great suggestion) Kit has made it's final weekly commute from work (London) to home, so I will take some of the smaller parts, (seats etc) and detail up in the evenings at work this week), next weekend (wind permitting) is the respray of the white. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Your doing well FIGHTS ON. I hope to see it in the plastic if you get chance to bring it to the club. Regards, Joe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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