Phantom conversion, USA to UK- Nearly there!

[chadders]

Wonderful job so far

One question...How good does Milliput stick to the plastic? I'm afraid using cause it doesn't "react" with the plastic like regular filler.

In my opion Milliput is one of the best modelling fillers around. Sculptable, sandable, works well with water to blend in. Its been my number 1 choice for 20 odd years. The thing I like about it is the fact the it DOESNT react with the plastic, and I've never had any crack either

[HL-10]

In my opion Milliput is one of the best modelling fillers around. Sculptable, sandable, works well with water to blend in. Its been my number 1 choice for 20 odd years. The thing I like about it is the fact the it DOESNT react with the plastic, and I've never had any crack either

I agree with you Chadders. I use Milliput for large filling jobs as its so stable, free from shrinkage or cracking.

I also like Humbrol's own plastic filler for smaller fine jobs.

Been thinking of giving some of the water based fillers a go, such as Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty Filler.

[HL-10]

I needed a break from all that intake trunk sanding, so I decided to tackle what I think will be the most complicated and fiddly

part of this project, the rear end.

I read, re-read and read again the part in Frank Mitchell's article about this part.

Then I measured (Not easy as its in inches and I only know metric!) and I re-measured before I started cutting.

This is the rough layout around the rear end. The shape will need some refining!

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From the inside:

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I also marked out and cut open the suction relief doors, and I drilled out the compressor bleed port as well.

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This is definitely the most complicated conversion I have ever tackled!

Thanks for keeping on looking!

[Darth Vader]

This is great, youre very brave to attempt this but as the SAS say" Who Dares Wins "

Intakes look great

[HL-10]

Until Tailspin pointed it out to me, I didn't know that the suction relief doors on the belly were further

forward on the K/M Phantoms.

So in between sorting out the intakes and re-shaping the rear, I tackled these.

After removing the bays and putting them to one side I marked out the are where the new doors needed to go with Dymo.

It gives a nice edge to cut against and protects the surrounding area from slips of the knife!

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Once the new openings were made, I cemented the bays into their new position and I used the parts removed

to block up the old location:

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Now that is all done, its back to sanding air intakes!

[HL-10]

I have attached the lower fuselage/wing to the main fuselage.

Loads of clamps, Cyano, tape and prayers!

As there is going to be a lot of sanding to refine the shape I have "reinforced" the insides with Milliput to prevent any break through.

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So once the Milliput has set, its back to sanding!

If I manage to finish this project, I think I will go for an RAF grey/green camouflage machine, mainly due to having found one of these to hang off it!

http://www.wolfpack-d.com/

[Silver Fox]

Wow, thats real modelling, well done.

[perdu]

I really really like this

excellent modelling and brave as it gets

Well done

[buccymad]

i notice that you appear to be following the frank mitchell build in how you modify the back end .

the arrestor hook on the FGR`s was modified by thinning the point at which it attaches to the fuselage to accomidate the speys .

i have seen pictures (although i cannot remember where,anyone?)from directly underneath the aircraft and the difference is stark

the fuselage isnt much wider but it is modified at the point of the hook so that the speys sit closer together (j79 shown)

if you draw a line from the hook straight down ,that is aproximatly where the fuselage bulge stops on the spey modification .

sorry if i didnt explain it well,but in this case a picture would paint a thousand words. might find this link useful http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=37887&&page=8

Edited December 13, 2013 by buccy mad

[buccymad]

check out the walkround sections ,you will see what i mean when you see the pictures!!

[Tailspin Turtle]

The fairing was narrower, but I suspect that this had more to do with the fact that the Spey nozzles were bigger around and thus the distance between them was less at that waterline. My guess is that the distance between the inboard sides of the Spey nozzles was the same as on the J79 if not slightly greater (the Speys were slightly towed in at the front.

[HL-10]

Thanks for that gents

Very helpful information, and greatly appreciated

[Tailspin Turtle]

check out the walkround sections ,you will see what i mean when you see the pictures!!

Thanks for the reference to Julien's walkaround. I finally got a good look at the different fuel vent configuration that was used on the F-4K/M and added it to my post on the differences between the J79 and Spey Phantoms: http://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2012/05/spey-powered-phantom-changes.html

[Tailspin Turtle]

FYI, I've made some changes and additions to my Spey-powered Phantom post over the past couple of days: http://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2012/05/spey-powered-phantom-changes.html

[HL-10]

I obtained some of this stuff:

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Its really easy to apply, it dries quickly and is easy to sand.

It can be smoothed before it sets with a moist applicator such as a finger or cotton bud.

It came in handy for fairing in the wings:

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I also used it around the intakes to finish levelling things off:

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Turning to the rear end.

I wasn't too happy with the shape of the rear end so I cut a section out to remodel the

cross section:

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The cross section is closer to what it should be, more of the Perfect Putty is put to use to make good the guts and more sanding is necessary.

[perdu]

Good stuff isn't it, very popular round here partly because it doesn't stink

If my gaffer gets a whiff of "chemical" she gets an Asthma attack, she tells me...

I'm loving the way this is going together, very much so

b

[HL-10]

I've been toying with how to make the Spey's exhaust cans.

Here a couple of prototypes made from thin metal sheet and cut up ping pong balls!

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Still umming and eering about these.

Its difficult finding something of the right diameter.

Meanwhile, I've started on the tail fin mounted ECM fairing:

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At the same time I'm still working away on getting the shape of the rear end right:

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Here I've offered up one of the prototype cans just to get an idea of what it would look like.

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Thanks for looking

[bentwaters81tfw]

That's a novel approach, I suspect they will look good after some paint.

[Tomjw]

The burners look awesome. I can't wait to see what they look like primed and painted. I am totally impressed with your work.

Thanks,

Tom.

[HL-10]

This whole project has caused me more than a few headaches.

The endless reshaping, sanding, filling, more sanding, more reshaping has left me with blurred double vision and piles of sanding dust!

Last week or so I have been focussing on the Spey exhaust cans.

I have been wondering around the house, and shops looking for tubes with a suitable diameter, and taper, tobuild the cans out of and just when I thought I was on a losing run I discovered that a 75p Wilkinson's light fitting may have the answer!

I got two of them, and when I offered the tapered part up to the fuselage, I could see some promise.

They would need shortening and they would need thinning but they were definitely a promising way of gettingtwo Spey like exhausts for my Phantom!

This is the finished can sitting on top of the bit I cut away:

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The finished part is alongside the cut away piece:

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I engraved and cut the details into the part:

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To make the inner part, I raided the Christmas tree for a bauble:

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From which I cut away a piece, and then cut a hole in the middle.

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To make the petals, I made a paper template, and used this to cut them from Dymo Tape.

I used Dymo as it is self adhesive and make it easy to attach to the part.

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With the petal actuators fashioned from plastic strip to finish it all off, I'm pretty satisfied with the

finished parts:

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Thanks for looking

[brianthemodeller]

Love it!

[Max Headroom]

Genius!

Trevor

[John]

There was an article *many* years ago in Scale Models by (IIRC) Tim Laming on converting the Revell J into an FGR2. I think he finished in in 17 Squadron markings. While it might well be of no more than academic interest, it could have some useful pointers if anyone still has a copy.

John

[Viking]

Brilliant solution! I love inventive ideas like this

Cheers

John

[HL-10]

I think I've got the new shapes as close as I'm going to get them:

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Next step is going to be re-scribing the panel lines and details list by all that sanding

and filling, and sanding again!

In the meantime, I have started on the cockpit.

I know that there are some major differences in the cockpit, especially the rear, so I took a quick trip toHendon to take some photos of their FGR-2 for reference, and popped into Hannants too, it would have been

rude not to!

I also found some very good reference diagrams here and elsewhere on the web.

I'm starting with the Aires cockpit set for the F-4J as it is close to what I need.

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I'm also using their Quickboost seats as they have moulded on seat belts.

I've started to paint the parts that do not require any major modification:

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The next major part of the project is making the rear instrument panel.

I plan to use the kit parts combined with the Aires' bits to get what I need.

Thanks for looking!