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1:72 Hasegawa McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II VMFA-321 Hell's Angels


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Hi mates,

 

I have a confession to make. I hate grey jets. Really. But I like pointy planes that go fast. What to do? Find colourful prototype, retirement or anniversary schemes and just say no to low viz! And that's what we did. I built this for the F-4 Single Type Group Build here on Britmodeller, and I'm adding an RFI thread here for those of you who don't peruse the Group Builds (you know who you are).

 

The build process is detailed in the WIP thread here.

 

Project: McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II

 

Kit: Hasegawa Kit No. 00067

Scale: 1:72 (as revealed in the scriptures)

Decals: From the kit for VMFA-321 Hell's Angels "Triple Nuts" (litres of decal solvent supplied by builder - not included with kit); stencils and other decals from the Magic Box of Stickers
Resin: Verlinden Set 553 for ejection seats and radar components; True Details 72009 F-4J/S tyre set
Photoetch: Verlinden Set 553 for cockpit, radar, and interior exhaust details; Eduard No. SS209 for instrument panels, control panels, rudder pedals, and HUD
Turned Brass: Master Model No. 72-035 F-4 Phantom pitot tube, RAM air inlet, angle of attack probe
Canopy Masks: Not required by order of Fire Marshall
Paint: Gunze H34 Cream Yellow, H58 Interior Green, H77 Tire Black, H86 Red Madder, H90 Clear Red, H94 Clear Green, H305 FS36118 Gunship Gray, H317 FS36231 Dark Gull Gray, H319 Light Green, H315 FS16440 Light Gull Gray, H322 Phthalo Cyanine Blue, H333 Extra Dark Sea Grey; Testors 1181 Flat Aluminum, 2143 Semi-Gloss White RLM 21; Floquil 110004 Crystal Cote; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black; Alclad ALC101 Aluminum, ALC103 Dark Aluminum, ALC111 Magnesium, ALC314 Klear Kote Flat
 

Weathering: Consider this model a "what if." As in, what if the aircraft just left the paint booth after application of the retirement scheme and all the nearby birds were nesting.

 

Improvements/Corrections

  1. Cockpit sidewalls, canopies, and canopy sills detailed with Verlinden photoetch
  2. Added Eduard Color Zoom instrument panels, control panels, rudder pedals, and HUD
  3. Replaced kit ejection seats with Verlinden resin seats; raised the rear seat to proper position
  4. Opened the radome and added photoetch and resin radar details
  5. Removed reinforcement patches from top of stabilators (not present on USN and USMC Phantoms)
  6. Added Master Model pitot tube, RAM air inlet, and angle of attack probe
  7. Added stencils

Thanks for reading all that. You're more infected than I am! :):)

 

Photos:

 

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And a nice family shot. Doesn't that look better than boring low viz grey? :)

 

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Cheers,

Bill

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Very nice! For my taste a tad too clean, but if it's just out of the paint shop... well done!

Alex

Thanks! I think it was just out of the paint shop when this photo was taken - pretty clean bird:

Link

Sorry for the link, but the photo is copyright Cloud 9 Photography so you have to view them over at their site.

Cheers,

Bill

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...what are the funky stencils on the wing root?I think I can make out "No Step". But why the added hexes?

The added hexes seem to be a McDonnell Douglas thing back then - you'll see these on Phantoms and Eagles. Why this was done is a mystery to me - no other manufacturer did it to my knowledge. On the F-15s, the hex pattern was often in yellow so it wasn't so prominent.

Stunning Bill, I cant get through bigger scale ones let alone this standard in this scale, superb.

Thanks Steve! My thinking is that I should keep building in the smaller scales in order to prevent my motor skills and overall brain function from deteriorating as I get older. I wonder if that works - you know, use it or lose it. We'll see, I guess, because I am getting really old! :)

Very nice, even if it doesn't have Turbofans too big for the fuselage stuffed inside!

Thanks Duncan. No need to worry, at some point I'll get to the pile of Fujimi RAF and FAA Phantoms in the stash. :)

That's an outstanding model of the Phqntom there, nice to see a Marines bird get a look in too. Awesome stuff.

Thanks! Yeah, for some reason you don't see a lot of USMC aircraft. That's probably a reaction to the awful "Gomer Pyle USMC" TV show from back in the 60s. This is only the second Marines aircraft in my collection, and the other is an F-4J (although 1:32 scale, back when I used to build the big stuff. Awful Revell USA kit, what a piece of junk - but it's still in my display case.)

Nicely done !

Thanks Robert!

Brilliant, amazing detail work :)

Thanks Val! I appreciate everyone's comments! :)

Cheers,

Bill

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Hi Bill. Hope you are well. Beautiful work as always. You are a true master of this kit making malarkey!! That is a truly stunning Phantom. Brilliant! Well done.

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Hello,Navy Bird - Well,what can I say??She looks absolutely stunning -even with my unbiased eyes.My full compliments on a superb build.I adore the Hell's Angels Scheme.A St.Louis Stunner!!All the best,Paul.

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FYI, The Hexagonal stencils on the no-step areas at the wing root of the Phantom denote the parts of the aircraft constructed from "Honeycomb" composite materials, . Definitely a no step area! (No way would it support a fully laden liney of my stature!).

Other conventionally metal constructed "No step" areas like the leading or trailing edge flaps just got the No Step legend.

Cheers,

troffa

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