DaveJL Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Hello all, Here is my entry for this GB - Hasegawa's 1/48 F-4F. I'll be marking this as a machine from Jagdgeschwader 71 (JG 71) 'Richthofen' during the mid 2000's. Kit: Extras: I'll be using Quickboost seats, Eduard Etch, Steel Beach FOD covers, Royal Resin unslotted stabilisers, Master brass pitot tube, New Ware masks, Aeromaster stenils, Airdoc decals (in the red coloured bag), Academy AIM-120s (from an F-15 kit) and Hasegawa AIM-9s. Something like this is what I'm going for: https://www.flickr.com/photos/markmcewan/38817424764 I'll be loading it up with 4x AIM-9s, 3x AIM-120s, 3x fuel tanks and an AN/ALQ -184 ECM pod. Been wanting to do this for a while so looking forward to starting. Dave 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 really a good choice! are you going to use kit decals as well? I am searching decals for the latest (this one;) scheme for quite some time... I have a Revell boxing somewhere..... wonder how good those are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 Thanks mate. No, the kit decals were swapped out to another BM'er who was in need of them. I'd planned to do JG71 for a while so they were surplus for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomBigStu Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Another great choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Finally made a start on this one. All ordnance built up: The AIM-120s are from an Academy F-15E and the AIM-9s are from a Revell F-15E (initially thought they were Hasegawa!) Wings were next and one thing I hate doing on Hasegawa F-4 kits is removing the lumps on the upper surfaces of the wings. Does anyone know what model of F-4 these were actually fitted to? The small bits of filler on the upper surfaces were a few marks from being a bit over zealous with the saw. Pylons next, with some nice details from Eduard underneath. A very weak point of these kits is the raised lines on the pylons: Cockpit tub with a few bits of etch added. Probably won't see them under paint anyway, but at least I know they're there: Fuselage halves with intakes fitted: Will paint and detail the cockpit next. Dave 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 (edited) https://www.usaf-sig.org/index.php/reference/114-research-material/136-f-4-phantom-guide-for-the-masses-jay-chladek Edited August 27, 2019 by helios16v 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Thanks for the info, clears that up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filler Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, helios16v said: Known as the "hard wing". It was a change for the C/D for the USAF to allow the use of wider, lower pressure tires that were favored at the time, rather than those required (and designed for) by the USN. Sounds like the wing could be found on early F-4Es as well, but even most of those were modified back to the "thinner" wing later on. https://www.usaf-sig.org/index.php/reference/114-research-material/136-f-4-phantom-guide-for-the-masses-jay-chladek Can I just ask for clarification about what part of the wing we're discussing? I imagine the 'thicker' part of the wing to accommodate the wider wheels is the part at the root where it meets the fuselage. Is the part that seems to often require removing on Hasegawa kits the small rectangular 'lump' roughly in the centre of the wing - as removed by Dave in the photo above? And what is that lump for exactly? Edited July 25, 2019 by Filler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 56 minutes ago, Filler said: Can I just ask for clarification about what part of the wing we're discussing? I imagine the 'thicker' part of the wing to accommodate the wider wheels is the part at the root where it meets the fuselage. Is the part that seems to often require removing on Hasegawa kits the small rectangular 'lump' roughly in the centre of the wing - as removed by Dave in the photo above? And what is that lump for exactly? Yeah, I was looking at the wing root...I see now that he was referring to something completely different. That I have no clue and didn't see it mentioned in the brief search I did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filler Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I thought that might be the case. I wonder what they are for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Maybe ECM blisters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 So not for the wheels then All I know is they are a pain to get off! They’re present on my F-4G in the stash but again, require to be removed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 The small "bumps/lumps" were there due to the beefed up landing gear leg of the Navy Phantoms. The legs were stronger to absorb the hard landings on the carriers 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 5 minutes ago, coneheadff said: The small "bumps/lumps" were there due to the beefed up landing gear leg of the Navy Phantoms. The legs were stronger to absorb the hard landings on the carriers Sounds like Hasegawa made a bit of a mess w/ the wings mixing bits of naval & USAF variants. Ah well, nothing a little filing, filling, and sanding can't fix. Good to know. I'm going to have to go look through my stash and see what the wings look like on my various kits (have both naval & USAF variants). I'm sure I'll need to do some research and leg work before I bust one of them out. I'm not super critical when it comes to my models...but I would at least like to get the right wing/stab/nose configurations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Filler said: And what is that lump for exactly? Its a strengthening plate that prevented the main gear legs from going through the wing. The early "B's" started having issues from hard carrier landings. If memory serves the lumps were added in the J/N/S series. Dennis Edited July 25, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filler Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Thanks for that info. Seems they're on a lot of Hasegawa kits whether they're need or not. Not too tricky to remove though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 Thanks Alex and Dennis for the info! 25 minutes ago, Filler said: Thanks for that info. Seems they're on a lot of Hasegawa kits whether they're need or not. Not too tricky to remove though. I found them a bit tricky to get off 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filler Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 18 minutes ago, DaveJL said: Thanks Alex and Dennis for the info! I found them a bit tricky to get off I've done it once. In fact it's the only thing I've done on my Hasegawa F-4G. A good few years back and I actually can't remember it too well. I imagine I went for the surround with masking tape and furiously sand away technique. The problem for sure is doing it well enough that you'd never known they'd been there. And I confess, in truth everything in this hobby is at the very least tricky!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 26 minutes ago, Filler said: I've done it once. In fact it's the only thing I've done on my Hasegawa F-4G. A good few years back and I actually can't remember it too well. I imagine I went for the surround with masking tape and furiously sand away technique. The problem for sure is doing it well enough that you'd never known they'd been there. And I confess, in truth everything in this hobby is at the very least tricky!! I used a thin bladed Tamiya saw and cleaned up with sanding sticks. The plastic itself wasn’t too hard to get off, more so the location was tricky! Of course I made some scratches on the surrounding plastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 More done. Cockpit was sprayed and detailed: IPs with the lovely Eduard etch (though of course the grey doesn't match the Dark Gull Grey of the cockpit!) Installed and fuselage closed. The join line between the halves will need a bit of a clean up. Much, much easier to do with the kit parts than the Aires 'pits (had one nightmare with that on a previous build, never again ) The Royal Resin stabs were removed from their casting blocks, cleaned up and a small metal rod popped in to secure them to the fuselage: Will hopefully get the wings on and the fuselage join cleaned up tomorrow. Dave 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 More done. Wings on, some filler required at the forward join, fuselage seams cleaned up and some other bits added: Some etch added to the cockpit area and I popped on some spare bits of 'piping' running from the back of the WSO's IP: Noticed after the pictures were taken that the etch antenna on the upper fuselage is too far forward, so this was stripped and relocated further back. There's a few more small bits to add and clean up but once that is done I'll be able to spray and mask up the remaining cockpit area before priming. More soon. Dave 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 Last few bits done. The etch HUD frame added along with an etch vent just aft of the nose cone. Majority of sub assemblies (minus landing gear and exhausts) ready for the paint shop: The Steel Beach FOD inserts were replaced with examples from Phase Hanger Resin. I'm fairly busy with work for the next week or so, but hoping to at least get the cockpit coamings etc sprayed black before adding and masking up the canopies in the next few days. Dave 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Finally got back to this over the last few days after a busy spell at work. Sprayed and detailed the sub assemblies. A few of my reference photos show the AIM-9 pylons in a dark green colour so I went with that to add a bit of variation to the grey. Landing gear, FOD covers and exhausts all done as well: Quickboost seats: Ordnance and fuel tanks: Replaced the Revell AIM-9s with examples from a Tamiya F-14. All decals from the spares. I also noted from some references that the centre fuel tank could be heavily weathered, so that's what I went with. The airframe itself was primed and then I sprayed the landing gear wells, nose cone (flat gull grey) and all the metallic areas at the rear. All masked up and did some (very) rough pre-shading: ] Will make a start on the airframe painting tomorrow. More soon Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Nice update, that's coming on well. This is another prompt for me to get cracking with my F-4S! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Cheers mate! Look forward to seeing your S model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now