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Found 24 results

  1. Here I share some pictures of the Academy 1/48 F-4J Phantom, rendered as the first of the “Black Bunnies” flown by VX-4 (The Evaluators) in the 1970s. This plane (BuNo 153783) had the “squashed” bunny head on the tailplane, which was later substituted by the correctly shaped Playboy logo. This model was built out of the box, with the only additions being the decal set (from Furball Aerodesign), the LAU-10 pods for Zuni rockets (which were scratch built, using a felt pen as the main source), and some pipes and cables added to the undercarriage and wheel bays. The kit itself gave me very little trouble, with the parts fitting well and only requiring minimal use of filler. The panel lines and riveting were heavy, so some time was spent softening the surface detail. I am also aware that the Academy kit does not have the same level of detail as some of the more expensive alternatives, but this was sufficient for my enjoyment. Most of the time in this build was spend trying to get the painting "right" to my eyes. The first Black Bunny was a well kept bird, painted in very glossy black apart for the walkways and the antireflective area in front of the cockpit. Thus, the only concession to weathering was to highlight some of the panel and riveting lines, to suggest a bit of chipping along the edges. One of the corrections was to the colour of some of the instructional stencils. The Furball decals provide all stencils in white. In reality, many of the stencils were written in yellow letters, including all CAUTIONs (also, all WARNINGs were red). This was addressed by creating yellow and red filters using equal amounts of floor polish and Tamiya clear acrylics, and applying these on top of the words using a fine paintbrush. This worked well against the very dark background. I also felt that it was necessary to subdue a bit the contrast of the white stencils, to make them less obvious. Immediately after application, all those pure white decals against highly reflective black gave the model a toy-like appearance. I did this by dry brushing the black paint (I used Tamiya X-1 enamel) over the stencils. For a more complete build report, check here, or visit my web site (link in the signature panel).
  2. If I may I'd like to throw my helmet into the ring with Hasagawa 1/48 f-4J in VX-4's Bicentennial livery. Amazing isn't it, it's not a VAC and It's not all resin, just a little piece. It's been a while since I've worked on a REAL injection moulded model. Not sure how I'll react. [ I'm not sure of the condition of the decals are, I'm thinking I will try to mask off and spray a good portion of the tri colours... or thats the plan. Hey, it's not a Vac(for once) and not your typical Navy paint job or camo for that fact. All comments, suggestions or general mayhem are always welcome. Lets begin shall we..... Once Upon a time..
  3. Hi everyone, here is my Academy F-4J 1/48 scale, the kit was built almost straight out of the box. Thanks and have a great day.
  4. Been a while since I posted photos of completed models to the site. It takes me over an hour to edit the photos and move them to Flickr, then post them up. Good thing that I'm retired I guess. Here's my Academy 1/48th F-4J in VF-84 Jolly Rogers markings. It is almost all out of the box, including decals. Only additions were the Furball cockpit decals that fit and look great. Sorry though, no photos. Trust me, they are good. I wasn't overly impressed with the Academy kit compared to the Hasegawa. Some parts are better, some not as much. In the end it looks like an F-4. I ran out of steam on this one before building up the missiles and bombs. Maybe I'll add them later...
  5. F-4Js of VMFA-451 out of MCAS Beaufort. Green Flag 81-3, Nellis AFB, March 1981. 153807 155813 155827 155524 Thanks for looking, Sven
  6. Hello my Dear Fellow Modellers A former RAF Phantom Navigator David Gledhill wrote in his excellent book: " You could love the Phantom or hate the Phantom but you could never ignore the Phantom". I certainly love the Phantom! Especially the British Phantom. I started this project last September and I was seriously planning a conversion to FG.1 or FGR.2. I spent hours searching for measurements, photographs and so on. I calculated and made sketches until I realized that rear fuselage will need a complete rebuild from thin styrene strips. The surface detailing would be problematic and the model would be very heavy due to extra fuselage frames. The rumors about the future release of HK Models 1/32 scale British Phantom made me rethink the whole project. So I decided to go on with an ordinary F-4J. With this to be precise: It soon became clear that decals for the F-4J(UK) were impossible to find and the white stencils wouldn't be without problems either. I have the AoA Decals' sheet for "Taproom 102" and a complete set of black and red stencils. The kit's cockpit (especially the rear cockpit) represents an aircraft after AFC (Air Frame Change) 506 with the new radar scope and controls. I haven't found any information about the date when AFC 506 came into force. Some modifications started in 1968. "Taproom 102" (BuNo 155887) was accepted by the USN in July 1969 and it went to war in August. She most likely had the "older" style rear cockpit. I couldn't find out if the aftermarket resin cockpits are of the older or later style. One other thing with the cockpits: as Mr Gledhill said, the rear cockpit was very sensitive to cameras during the Cold War. I haven't seen a single photograph of the RIO's cockpit from the late 1960s! But I have found hundreds of photos about those fist-size wire bundles in the landing gear bays. So, I will build the model trying to make it as accurate as possible. To achieve this I decided to check the measurements, shapes and surface detailing and enhance them where ever possible. I will decide later which airframe this will be. It is clear that this Phantom will be "inaccurate" or a "What If" - at least to some extent. For example I have never seen an F-4J in imaginary RAF or RN paintwork! Let's see Here is some of the references I have on the subject. Danny Coremans's book in the front is a must for every modeller. It contains excellent photos just about every detail there is on a USN Phantom. I was also lucky to find some scans of the original factory drawings from the Internet. I'd like especially to mention Tailspinturtle; a former Phantom test flight engineer who runs an excellent site. I also bought some aftermarket parts for the project. For example the seats are a must; they will save you time during the build. FORE! Let's start with the radome. Some modellers say that the kit's original radome is out of shape and too long. I checked the radomes against a factory drawing: And then the aftermarket competitor: Hummm... Many modellers are convinced that the kit's radome is bad and the only way forward is by using the nose manufactured by Airwaves. The Tamiya radome also checks out with photographs. I don't have an explanation for this. I will use the Tamiya radome. The kit's fuselage measures 55 cm parallel to the Water Line and that is some five millimeters short. The Tamiya radome will keep the overall length closer to the real thing. It looks right and it also fits like a glove. Nose details then. The kit's nose detailing is a hybrid between an F-4J and an F-4B. Look at the photos for more detailed information: Climbing on top of the nose. I made these rulers with my HP Office Jet 8600. They are scaled down (or up) copies of a metal ruler. They are extremely useful when you need to locate any number of screws or rivets with even spacing on a given panel length. Very easy and the scale is always spot on. Thank You for watching and hope to see You all again soon Antti
  7. F-4J, Bureau Number 155792, at Nellis AFB, October 1980. Thanks for looking, Sven
  8. Morning Folk's,back in 1972 when I was just settling into my second year at comprehensive school every night the news was full of doom and gloom about the state of the country,the Middle East and some far of war in Vietnam,think Vietnam air war and the Phantom will always come to mind. Academy's kit is of the famous Showtime 100 the mount of Randy "Duke" Cunningham and his RIO Willie Driscoll on a return from a strike on Haiphong they got into a bit of a scrap.https://theaviationgeekclub.com/showtime-100-vs-colonel-toon-the-most-epic-1-v-1-dogfight-in-the-history-of-naval-aviation/ The kit was given to me by my eldest most parts off the sprue but not started with the Airfix build going well I think there's time for this one.
  9. F-4Js of VMF-451 at Nellis AFB for Green Flag 81-3, March 1981. 153807 153813 155524 155827 Thanks for looking, Sven
  10. Hi, Here my Hasegawa kit with some aftermarket: Rhino seamless intakes, Eduard etch, wheels and engine nozzles. Additional weapons from Hasegawa weapon set. Wheel wells with additions from scratch. Decals-Furball. Tried to depict war weary aircraft with standard Linebacker weapon load Thanks for looking
  11. Hi friends , my last completed model. It is a Monogram's model in the Accurate Miniatures box. I am pleased that the model is made, so here's the picture. Enjoy.
  12. F-4Js of VF-103 out of NAS Miramar at Nellis AFB for an exercise, November 1980. 155510 AD204, drag chute still connected and wrapped around the missile launcher to avoid tangling during taxi back to the ramp - nice weathering subject... 155733 AC212 155754 AC203 157307 AC202 taxiing out Thanks for looking, Sven
  13. Dear Brit modellers, This is my 3rd model this year, the awesome F-4J Phantom II by Zoukei Mura. The kit is really awesome, Full of details and all parts fits together without gaps. Aditionally I've purchased several aftermarkets: Pilot & operator crew with ejection seats by Aerobonus Resin Exhaust noozles by Eduard Wheels by Eduard With this model I've tried for the first time to use oil washes to cover the pane lines.
  14. Hello gentlement, I have a weapon question for you, regarding F-4J (UK) weapon configuration. I'm currently building a 1/32 F-4J Toom and will go with centerline SUU-23 gun pod (painted dark/olive green). I have a reference pic, showing such a green painted pod under a J, it seems there is as well two inert skyflash or Sparrow, one dark blue and another some kind of light grey, the pic caption states that these are ballast missiles ... That's OK, I will remove the kit Sparrow fins and that'l doo the trick. My question is, will there be can an inert AIM-9 be carried as well ? Config should be like that 2 wing gas bags, inert winder on the left inboard rail centerline SUU-23 pod 2 inert Sparrows in the front wells Thanks for your input. Best, Stef (#6)
  15. F-4J Phantom - Rockin Rhino 1:48 Eduard Limted Edition If you have not heard of the Phabulos F-4 Phantom then where have you been! The F-4J was an improved version of the F-4B Used by the US Navy and Marine Corps. Improvements were centred on improving the Phantoms air-to-air combat capability. J79-GE-10 engines were fitted which could provide 17844lbf of thrust. A new AN/APG-59 pulse Doppler radar was fitted which was combined with the AN/AWG-10 fire control system to provide look-down, shoot-down capability. Additional avionics in the form of an AN/AJB-7 bombing system were also added which significantly improved the bombing capability of the aircraft. New larger main gear wheels were added which brought in wing bulges as seen on USAF Phantoms. Slatted tail planes were added along with ailerons which drooped to 16.5° when the landing gear and flaps were deployed. These two improvements brought about a decrease in landing speeds. Martin Baker Mk.7 seats were fitted to give a zero-zero seat. An improvement over the Mk.5 Zero-90 seat. The F-4Js visual difference from the F-4B were the over wing bulges, larger radome, longer exhaust nozzles with turkey feathers, and the removal of the IRST sensor from under the nose. 522 F-4Js were built for the US Military, with the first production airframe flying on 1966. The Kit The kit Eduard have used is the new Academy F-4J kit. To this they have added Brassin Wheels, Exhaust nozzles, and ejection seats; two sheets of photo-etch; and masks; along with and two decal sheets with extensive markings & stencils designed by Furball decals and printed by Cartograf. Construction starts in the conventionally enough in the cockpit area. Virtually all of the detail on both instrument panels are replaced by the included PE; as is that one side consoles. Additional PE parts are added to the sides of the cockpit tub below the side consoles. PE rudder pedals replace the kit parts also. The front gear well is then constructed and added to the bottom of the cockpit tub. This competed assembly is then added to the front lower fuselage section. The five part main gear wells are then completed, the main gear legs then need to be added to the wheel well at this point. Don't leave them off thinking you can add them later as you can not. The attachment points are then sandwiched between the gear well walls and the main wing in the next stage of construction (I cant say I am a fan of this). The insides of the speed-brake wells are also installed in the lower wing at this point. Once these and the gear wells are in the lower wing, the top inner wing panels are added. The next area of construction for the modeller is the exhaust nozzles. For each one there are three resin parts and two PE parts. The intake trunking is also assembled at this time. This is full length down to an engine fan front. The intakes and exhausts are then added to the main wing section from before. The front lower fuselage section with the cockpit is then added to form a complete lower section. Construction then moves to the upper fuselage. With this kit it is one part so no tricky centre seam to have to deal with. Provision is made for the Navy style extending refuelling probe. This can be modelled in either the closed or extended position. Additional PE is then added to the canopy rail area of the cockpits. Once this is done the upper fuselage can be added to the completed lower fuselage section. An insert is added to the top of the fuselage which covers where the USAF Style refuelling receptacle fits as it would seem this is a common part on the Academy kits. Next up the splitter plates are attached to the intakes. The air-conditioning intakes are added, along with the radome. For the cockpit area the front under canopy are is added along with the support between the two cockpits. Moving swiftly to the rear of the model the tailcone and arrestor hook are added. Construction then moves to the control surfaces. The vertical fin is added, along with the fin tip and rudder. The tailpanes are added at the rear as well. For the main wing the flaps are added along with the outer wing panels. Surprisingly there is no option to fold the wing tips. Next up are all the dangly bits. The front undercarriage is completed and installed, along with the gear doors. The main wheels (in resin) are added to the main gear legs, and the main gear doors are installed. The speed brake doors and their actuators are also installed here, along with the auxiliary intake doors under the main fuselage. A full selection of fuel tanks, pylon and weapons can then be installed under the aircraft. A main fuel tanks, and the two Sgt Fletcher outboard tanks are supplied. Separate outboard wing pylons are supplied if you wish to use these for bombs. Multiple ejection and triple ejection bomb racks are included. For weapons Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles are supplied as well as what look like 12 MK.82 bombs. For the finishing touches we move back to the Phantom's cockpit. The seats are mini kits in themselves. The man seat is one part to which the head boxes are added. There are then a multitude of small PE parts to be added all of with are prepainted. Included are seat pads, ejection handles, all seat belts and leg restraints. Next up are the canopies and a full set of PE mirrors are provided here. The canopies can be shut as well as open, but who wants to hide all that detail? Lastly the cockpit step can be in the down or up position. Canopy The canopy contains the front screen, centre section and individual front & rear canopies. The parts are very moulded and crystal clear. Decals The decal sheet provides 5 sets of markings for colourful USN & USMC users. Decals are by Cartograf and should pose no problems. Airframe and weapons stencils are also provided on a separate sheet. The stencil sheet is one of the best layout I have seen in a kit sheet with all the markings clearly identified and laid out in separate sections. It looks like the Playboy bunny decal has been split possibly to avoid licensing issues. 153775 from VMFA-451 "Warlords", USS Forestal 1976, wearing Red/White/Blue 1776-1976 153882 from VF-92 "Silver Kings, USS Constellation 1973. 157270 from VF-114 "Ardvarks", USS Kittyhawk 1971. 153887 from VMFA-235 "Death Angels", MCAS Kaneohe Bay, 1972. 153783 from VX-4 "The Evaluators" NAS Point Mugu 1972. This is famous Black Bunny airframe. Conclusion The Academy new tool F-4J is already a great kit. Once again Eduard have taken a great kit; added PE, Resin, Masks & great decals to produce a Phabulous kit. Review sample courtesy of
  16. F-4J interior 1975 modification - for Academy Kit 1:48 Eduard The Academy F-4's are now becoming the new standard for this legendary aircraft. This set from Eduard provides one colour fret on nickel plated metal and one brass fret. The coloured fret provides mainly cockpit details with new instrument panels side consoles, and cockpit interior parts. The brass fret provides details for the canopy rails and sills, plus the canopy frames. A new HUD is provided along with framing for the parts between the cockpits. Conclusion These frets should enhance an already great kit. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  17. F-4J Phantom Update Sets 1:48Eduard - For Academy kit The Academy F-4 series are great kits in their own right, even in today's world of ever expanding mould quality there are areas in which resin still provides extra detail. Exhausts These three part resin and two part PE exhausts really do pop with the detail. Wheels The resin wheels do pop with detail you just dont see o the kit parts. Overall these new parts from Eduard do provide an advancement over the kit parts. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of
  18. F-4J Exhaust Nozzles (For Academy kit) 1:72 Eduard Brassin The new tool Academy F-4J is a great kit. Like any plastic kit, injection moulding can only do so much and resin replacements can enhance some parts. These new exhausts from Eduard are a direct drop in replacement for the kit parts. The two PE parts must first be added at the engine end, then the engine end cap put on. Once this is done they go straight onto the kit. Review sample courtesy of
  19. Hello all, First WIP on britmodeller and I begin with some phantom builds, maybe 4-5 by the end (If I stick with them all long enough ). Some will be in flight, some parked with possibly flaps down. I know they will not be up to some of the standards set here (unbelievable dedication to detail on this forums) but I hope to learn a lot in the thread and you guys enjoy as much as I do some of my builds. So first up, some of the decals. The airdoc sheets are excellent, especially the grouped stencils for the luftwaffe jets, some are unbelievably tiny! The model decal sheet is old but hopefully usable, I'll spray some micro decal film on them to make sure they do not brake apart when I eventually place them in water. The first along the line will be an F-4J from 74 Squadron, not sure exactly which one yet, but it will be a repainted jet in barley grey as I'm not too fond of the odd blue/green on the US painted jets. This is the Hasegawa kit which to me has captured the phantom shape the best out of any kit in 1/72. I fitted some resin intakes from goffy models and they did not fit very well at all. I bought a few sets a while back and since they seem OOP, maybe because they make steps to the lower fuselage/side fuselage of greater than 1.5mm! Certainly will not use them on any other phantom kits. I will use the slotted stabs from the fujimi kit. The load will be 4xaim-9L, 4xSkyflash from Hase F3, 2 wing tanks and a fujimi gun pod. Currently just finishing the seam work and will begin the rescribing. I read off the forums that the 3M blue tape is ideal for rescribing and I have found exactly that, far better than dymo tape, highly recommend it if you have not tried it yet. Here are some seats and pilots. 2 are fujimi and 2 are hasegawa, they still need details adding yet. Also two pilots for the F-4J, Revell nato crew I think, still need work but I have always been rubbish at painting figures . The second jet along the line is an FGR.2 from 2 squadron circa early seventies. Thinking of using full colour roundels on this and a final gloss finish. It is the Fujimi FG.1 Navy kit converted buy using a spare hasegawa fin tip, filled the catapult hooks and will use stabs from a revell/hase kit. I will go ahead and purchase the odds and ordinance phantom recce suite as I need the strike camera and E.M.I recce pod. I was thinking of buying another fujimi kit for these spares and build that into another FGR.2 but seeing a few go on eBay recently at £40-£50 , I'll get the OAO replacement set. Again the cockpit needs to be finished, atm just finishing the filling phase. Nice fitting kit but had a few sink marks in a few places. Thats all for now, probably a few days cleaning up the F-4j before primer. I will try and use xtracolor paints as much as possible but for the barley grey. I think humbrols hue is a better match, so I have a question. If I mix humbrol matt barley grey with their 'gloss cote' will it spray to a nice glossy finish like xtracolor and actually dry? Best regards, David.
  20. F-4J VF-96 Showtime 100 1:72 Academy Does the F-4 Phantom really need an introduction? Probably one of the most recognisable aircraft ever which severed with many NATO and Allied Nations Air Forces. The aircraft was originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft as a long range, supersonic interceptor/fighter bomber for the US Navy. Its use would then expand to the US Marine Corps, the US Air Force and many other nations. The F-4J model was an improvement of the original F-4B for the US Navy and Marine Corps, the emphasis to was improve air-to-air capability. new engines would give additional thrust, a AN/APG-59 pulse Doppler radar couples with an AN/AWG-10 fire control system would give a look-down shoot-down capability. Larger main wheel would be fitted giving rise to the larger wheel housing bulges similar to the USAF F-4C. New slatted tailplanes would be fitted, along with ailerons dropping to 16.5° which would bring down the aircrafts landing speed. Zero Zero ejection seats would be fitted to enhance crew survivability. There would be no IRST sensor under the nose of the F-4J. Show Time 100 is probably the most famous F-4 Phantom in the US Navy. Lt Randy Cunningham and Lt(JG) Willie Driscoll were to shoot down 3 MiG's on the 10th May 1972 while taking part in the Linebacker campaign. This would make Lt Cunningham the top scoring US Navy pilot and ace in Vietnam taking his tally to 5 victories. Lt Driscoll as the Radar Intercept Officer would also become an Ace in line with US practice in crediting both crew members with victories. Showtime 100 or F-4J 155800 would not be so lucky, as on the return from the famous engagement she was to be hit by a Surface to Air Missile. Both crew would eject to safety. Both crew members would receive the Navy Cross. It is sad to reflect that Randy Cunningham will be remembered more for his subsequent corruption conviction than his Navy record. The Kit There was quite a lot of talk when Academy announced the release of a new tool F-4J in 1.72 scale, this turned a bit to scepticism when it became apparent this would be snap together kit, however this has proved to be a bit misleading. The kit is designed in multi coloured plastic with the ability to put it together without any glue, or paint; and to this extent a set of stickers is provided in addition to the normal waterslide transfers. However this has not resulted in a toy like model. The kit features full length intake trunking with engine fan fronts and one part exhausts. The detail level appears to be outstanding and modeller who have the kit say that the fit is good. The one downside that is visible straight away is that the weapons supplied seem to be a little undersize. In a flashback to the Matchbox days the kit arrives on multi-coloured sprues. You get three sprues of white plastic, two of grey plastic, and two of black plastic. In addition you get a one part main fuselage (no pesky centre seam to deal with), and a one part (closed) canopy. All the parts look to be well moulded with no flash. Construction starts with shockingly enough with the cockpit. The control column and rudder pedals are made up fro the front seater, these are then added to the cockpit tub along with the front and rear bulkheads and rear side consoles. Next the front instrument coaming, and the rear engine bulk head are added to the one part upper fuselage. Following this the completed cockpit tub, two internal bulkheads and the one part engines are added to the lower fuselage/wing part. Once these are in the upper fuselage can be attached as well as the rear fuselage part above the engines. Once the lower wing & main fuselage parts are together its time to work on the underside of this main assembly. The aux intake doors are added along with the arrestor hook. Construction then again shifts to the top side. The three part ejection seats (no firing handles supplied) are made up and added to the cockpits. The full length intakes are then constructed. These are four part. A front and back, the engine face and the splitter plate. It would like the splitter plate can be added later for painting purposes, but the modeller would need to double check this. Once made up the intakes are attached to the main fuselage along with the radome. Next up the upper wings are added, along with the tail plane and the fin cap. Construction then moves back to the underside of the aircraft. The main landing gear legs are made up (leg, wheel, strut and door). The tyres on these are split n the traditional way. The main gear, the gear doors, and underwing airbrakes are then added. Next up is the nose gear. This consists of the main leg, scissors, retraction strut, and small door. This sub assembly is added along with the main nose gear door, and then the cooling inlets on the nose. It should be noted that all gear doors can be fitted in the closed position and the landing gear left off if the modeller wishes to do so. The last construction step is to add the underwing stores. Fuel tanks are supplied for the wings, and the main under fuselage one. Sparrows are supplied for the fuselage wells, and for the inner pylons Sidewinders and what look to be 5000lb bombs are supplied along with their TER's. It is slightly disappointing to see the weapons look undersize. Lastly the canopy is added, this is one part and can only be used in the closed position. Decals & Stickers Once again for an F-4J we get markings for Showtime 100, as it is probably the most phamous F-4J it is understandable but still frustrating. As well as these marking you get markings for another F-4J from VF-96 on the USS Constellation at that time, nose number 107 (again flown by Lt Cunningham this time with Lt Smith in the Back seat. Unlike other Academy kits these decals seem to be in house and not by Cartograf. They seem to be well printed with minimal carrier film, no registration issues and seem to be colour dense. There is not much to say about the stickers, they look well printed, how long they will stay on for I dont know. Conclusion The kit has main items in its favour such as the one part upper fuselage, full length intake trunking and one part exhausts. The kit should make up into a good looking model, it still looks toy like in some ways to the reviewer (more so if you look at the weapons). The kit should be useful in helping to bring younger modellers into the fold as it can be assembled without paint, glue or waterslide decals and will look pretty good if done like this. Adult supervision will still be needed as there are parts to be removed from the sprues and trimmed. The kit should also appeal to adult modellers who will make a good job of the kit. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for
  21. The second of my three completed 1/48th F-4 Phantom IIs is this ancient ESCI F-4J, this was the Item 4067 boxing 'Bicentennial Phantom' which was released in 1982. I have made several of these kits and I wanted to try out more weathering. The original kit does not include weapons or alternative decals so I had to source these elsewhere. This was supposed to be a quick build but it still took a while! The markings are mainly from Superscale 48-857 'F-4J Phantom, VF74 USS America, 1972' with stencils and walkways taken from an old Hasegawa kit in the stash. The Superscale decals went on well for an old sheet but I had to apply a lot of Decalfix to stop the large red flashes from breaking (one did break). The old Hasegawa decals were very hard work, they took a lot of soaking to release from the sheet. The paint scheme is a standard USN light gull grey over white with 'natural metal' leading edges of wings, stabilators and fin. All colours were Humbrol enamels and Metal Cote for the exhaust areas. Weathering was a home made wash of black paint mixed with white spirit, this was applied to the panel lines with a fine brush and capillary action did the rest for me The weapons load consists of 4 x AIM-7E Sparrows and 4 x AIM-9B Sidewinders, these were sourced from the spares box (they might be Revell/Monogram). The ejection seats are from a Hasegawa Phantom FG.1 and these help to bulk out the cockpit. One of this kits problem areas is the poor fit of the cockpit canopies and I have not done a good job here, it would have been better to have had them open but as the cockpit detail relies on transfers I closed them - poor decision! Oh yes, I also masked and sprayed the cockpit transparencies separate to the aircraft and used the wrong shade of grey! This view of the top shows the panel lines in better detail: The model was finished with a final spray of Humbrol enamel matt varnish from a rattlecan, this is the first time I have used spray varnish and I am fairly pleased with the result, the only down side is that it has negated the metal effect of the Humbrol Metal Cote on the jet exhaust area. So there she is. I am pleased with this build, yes there are errors, but given that the original kit cost me something like £8 on eBay and the decals £3, and I have tried some new techniques - the end result is worth it. Critiques and pointers very welcome Michael
  22. Don't know if this has been covered before but I'm sure someone will point me in the right direction. I picked up a bargain QF-4S Hasegawa Bloodhounds boxing, with the engraved panel lines, and looking at options. I would prefer to do a Hi-Viz F-4J instead of a Low-Viz F-4S and wondered about the conversion. Other than the minor surgery the big one is the slatted wing (Sprue M) and wondered if anyone has converted a slatted wing to non slatted. If its straightforward I'l give it a go. Cheers
  23. US Navy Group Build? There just has to be a McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II somewhere here! Back in the later half of the 60's the F-4 Phantom *was* the US Navy and the 'Double Ugly' reigned supreme and she was probably the aircraft that became most publicly associated with the Vietnam War. Currently I have got the midsummer building blues so I want to do something which is easy and gives a good visual result. As a result I have chosen to start another ancient ESCI 1/48th scale F-4J Phantom. The kit is ESCI 4067 'Bicentennial Phantom II' which suggests that it is an F-4B but in reality is an F-4J. I have the SuperScale decal No.48-857 which is a very showy F-4J operated by VF-74 'Be-Devilers' off the USS America in 1972 somewhere in S.E. Asia. She will most likely be kitted out with a 600 US gallon centre line fuel tank, four AIM-9 Sidewinders and several AIM-7 Sparrows. What's in it for me? This kit has excellent recessed panel lines and I want to work on my wash skills as well as overall weathering effects. I could still change my mind however a USN F-4J she will definitely be Michael
  24. Has anyone used these? Are they good and do they fit well, or are they undersized like others? Thanks Andrew
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