almac Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 Evening all. This will be my entry into the F-4 Phantom group build. I will be building the very familiar Sundowners Phantom. I confess to know very little about jet aircraft but I have recently been acquiring several jet kits,mainly US Navy ones . I haven't built many but I currently have an Airfix A-4b and a Fujimi A-7e near completion. I have also built a Fujimi Rf-4b kit which stalled as I messed up at the decal stage. Anyways I will start this one soon. I will be using the Eduard etch set for the cockpit and the canopy ask set. I have also ordered a Master brass pitot tube set as I know the plastic equivalents will not last the first day as I always break these kind of bits off. Please excuse if I ask some daft questions as I say I know nothing about jets. Here is the obligatory pic of the box-top. Cheers Allan 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VG 33 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 I am looking forward. Patrick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Great choice Allan,my favourite USN scheme too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FortyEighter Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 A great choice of scheme! (Says the man who traded his Academy "Sundowners" for a "Jolly Rogers" but in my defence I did want an F-4J more than a B). Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Another for this scheme. I think I have an after market sheet for this same scheme. I suppose I should decide on which F-4 I will be building for this GB, perhaps an USMC RF-4B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 Evening all. I’ve finally got this one underway. Holidays, work etc and a lack of mojo are my excuse. Anyways I’ve spent a few evenings over the past week mainly on photoetch for the cockpit. I find using Etch a frustrating experience which for me takes a lot of time (and swearing). The results are not as good as I hoped but it’s done. I’ve closed up the front and rear fuselage and completed the first part of the wing assembly. Tomorrow I’ll clean up the seams and join it all together. With the Etch out the way I hope to progress quickly as there’s only 5 weeks to go. Cheers Allan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Morning all. Some more progress tonight. The majority of the plane is together and the fit was not to bad. Some joins will need tidying but on the whole I’m fairly pleased with how this one is coming together. Cheers Allan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 1, 2019 Author Share Posted September 1, 2019 Evening all. Progress continues tonight. I’ve tidied up the bits that needed done (primer coat will show any other bits) and stuck on various bits that needed stuck on. So primer coat tomorrow and probably more seam work, hope not too much, then I can start the painting. You know I think I might get this one finished on time.😀 Cheers Allan 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Nice progress Allan, I am using the same etch (designed for an F-4E) set on my Esci build. So it adds some extra fun trying to get stuff to fit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 Afterwards all. Moving this one on slowly. I’m about to put the canopy on and will prime later. Thought I’d post some pics before the canopy goes on. Cheers Allan 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) Hi all. Quick question before I close the canopy. The clear part on above the front instrument panel should it be painted or not. Please excuse my daft question but as I said in my first post I know nothing about jets. Cheers Allan Edited September 4, 2019 by almac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 1 hour ago, almac said: Quick question before I close the canopy. The clear part on above the front instrument panel should it be painted or not. No it is the heads up display. It reflects images of data so the pilot doesn't have to lower his head to look at the instrument panel in a fight or emergency. At the most if you really want to do anything run a bit of black paint up the sides to represent the frame for the glass plate. Dennis 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 Thanks for the info Dennis. Cheers Allan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) Heres a close up of the real thing. Edited September 4, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 Evening all. Canopy on and aircraft primed. Not looked at it closely yet but it looks ok. The canopy seems to be a bit off. I’ll sort this later and may finish it with an open canopy. It’s good to have the option to display it open but a full one-piece canopy would be nice too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 Hi all. At 10pm I thought I’d start on the white paint for the underside of the plane. Two hours later having tried Tamiya,Gunze aqueous and xtracrylic without success I finally tried Revell aqua colour white I managed to get an ok result. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong the paint is either to thick or too thin and I can’t seem to get it right. It’s not like I’m new to airbrushing,though tonight I felt like it. Anyway, enough moaning from here’s what it looks like. Cheers Allan 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 1 hour ago, almac said: Two hours later having tried Tamiya,Gunze aqueous and xtracrylic without success I finally tried Revell aqua colour white I managed to get an ok result. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong the paint is either to thick or too thin and I can’t seem to get it right. Whats the humidity like by you ? I find that can play havoc with my painting sometimes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 6, 2019 Author Share Posted September 6, 2019 1 minute ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Whats the humidity like by you ? I find that can play havoc with my painting sometimes ? It’s not at all humid just now so I can’t blame that for my paint troubles. I usually only get this issue with white. I’ll need to fix it as I plan to do lots of USN full grey and white planes. Cheers Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 (edited) Maybe use a white primer and then over thin the white paint and build it up in multiple layers ? I mostly use Tamya or enamel white and thin with lacquer thinner. Edited September 6, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Not much progress to report on this build over the weekend I'm afraid. Tonight I fixed some seams I had missed and attempted to fit the Master brass pitot and raam. I would not recommend using these,not that there is anything wrong with them I just found it virtually impossible to drill a hole in the fin to fit them into. Anyway I managed to fit them but the result is not pretty and required filler to fix the mess. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to tidy it up and make it acceptable. No pictures of my clumsy butchery as it's not nice viewing. Cheers Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 On 8/19/2019 at 11:19 PM, almac said: Evening all. I’ve finally got this one underway. Holidays, work etc and a lack of mojo are my excuse. Anyways I’ve spent a few evenings over the past week mainly on photoetch for the cockpit. I find using Etch a frustrating experience which for me takes a lot of time (and swearing). The results are not as good as I hoped but it’s done. I’ve closed up the front and rear fuselage and completed the first part of the wing assembly. Tomorrow I’ll clean up the seams and join it all together. With the Etch out the way I hope to progress quickly as there’s only 5 weeks to go I always end up not using most of the bits with these Etch kits, even though I think in general they do add a fair bit of detail, but my clumsiness negates me from doing the really tiny bits! Looks good so far, look forward to paint going on. Davey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 (edited) Evening all. After my troubles with white paint I bought some Halfords white primer and gave the kit a spray today. This gave a nice white finish to work from and helped blend in the repairs I had to do after fitting the brass pitot etc. I cloud not get any of my white paints to cover the tail fin especially where I had to use filler for the repair. I think it looks ok now so tonight I’ll crack on with the painting. Cheers Allan Edited September 15, 2019 by almac 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 I'm glad to see that your paint issues seem to have been resolved Allan. I'm a great fan of white primer too. Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 Afternoon all. More progress today. Took one hour 45 mins to do this. And 10 mins to do this. I will give it another coat tonight and put on the antennas on the top I forgot to put on before I sprayed it. Cheers Allan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 Evening all. Finished the basic paint scheme. Not without issue as I had serious overspray around the nose area where I used Tamiya flexible tape which didn’t stick very well. Anyways sorted now. Tomorrow I’ll do the metal bits round the tail and start painting the undercarriage, fuel tanks etc. Cheers Allan 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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