1:72d Fujimi Fighting Cock F-4K

[(ex)Sgtrafman]

Hiya

 

That flash does look a little small but not overly so.
I’d be tempted to redo it with paint (create a mask and spray it) or could you use the tri colour fin flash and use it as a template for a new flash as it looks more in scale to the photo that you have? 
Failing that if you can live with it leave well alone coz you may inadvertently cause yourself problems that dull your enthusiasm for the build?

whever you decide you are doing a great job well done 😎👍

[alhenderson]

11 minutes ago, (ex)Sgtrafman said:

Hiya

 

That flash does look a little small but not overly so.
I’d be tempted to redo it with paint (create a mask and spray it) or could you use the tri colour fin flash and use it as a template for a new flash as it looks more in scale to the photo that you have? 
Failing that if you can live with it leave well alone coz you may inadvertently cause yourself problems that dull your enthusiasm for the build?

whever you decide you are doing a great job well done 😎👍

Thanks! 👍  I am quite tempted to leave it alone.  I'm pretty happy with how its going so far and very conscious that I don't want to ruin that by aiming for another level of perfection that I'm not equipped to deliver 🙂  Might look better when I get the Fighting Cock on there, although the decal for that one looks a little small as well, nowt I can do about that, though!

 

Al.

[alhenderson]

Have put the Fighting Cock on the tail:

 

IMG_20200117_073243 by Alistair Henderson, on Flickr

 

Kind of makes the fin flash look even smaller 😞  I'll persevere with some more decals and see if I get over it.  Hopefully will!  Looking slightly ahead - can anyone advise whether the final finish of a late 70s camo F-4K was satin or matt?

 

Cheers,
Al.

[stever219]

2 hours ago, alhenderson said:

Looking slightly ahead - can anyone advise whether the final finish of a late 70s camo F-4K was satin or matt?

 

Cheers,
Al.

The image you’re working from is your guide: a not-quite-Matt satin finish looks to be appropriate.  Phantom camouflage started off gloss, like most of the RAF fast jet fleet, but changed to matt in the mid-to-late seventies at about the same time as the “tactical” national markings were introduced.  It wasn’t unknown for aircraft with the tactical markings to still have a gloss finish but matt finish with red/white/blue roundels was rarer than hens’ teeth.

[alhenderson]

7 minutes ago, stever219 said:

The image you’re working from is your guide: a not-quite-Matt satin finish looks to be appropriate.  Phantom camouflage started off gloss, like most of the RAF fast jet fleet, but changed to matt in the mid-to-late seventies at about the same time as the “tactical” national markings were introduced.  It wasn’t unknown for aircraft with the tactical markings to still have a gloss finish but matt finish with red/white/blue roundels was rarer than hens’ teeth.

Very good point!  The evidence was in front of my eyes!

[stever219]

56 minutes ago, alhenderson said:

Very good point!  The evidence was in front of my eyes!

Been there, done that, lost the t-shirt, wrote the manual!😖🙄😆

[alhenderson]

Few decals added over the weekend, including the checkerboards - looking like a proper fighter now 👍 Just got to put a low viz roundel over the red/white/blue one and hope it covers it properly.

 

IMG_20200120_074141 by Alistair Henderson, on Flickr

 

Loving the way that Micro Sol makes the decals really conform to the panel lines!

 

Al.

[Lord Riot]

Looking good that! I have same decal sheet in 1/48 which I'll use on the Revell Toom at some point. 

 

That paint has come up a treat.

[alhenderson]

2 minutes ago, Lord Riot said:

Looking good that! I have same decal sheet in 1/48 which I'll use on the Revell Toom at some point. 

 

That paint has come up a treat.

Thanks!  I am pretty pleased with how the paint looks, restored my faith in hairy sticks!

 

Al.

[alhenderson]

Done all the major decals now - just the stencils to do.  Trick with those is working out which ones are appropriate.  The Fujimi decal sheet is for an RAF grey or FAA machine, so having to cross check with various pictures etc.  Means its even slower going that stencilling usually is!

 

 

 

Underwing serials are going to be interesting, as they slightly overlap the undercarriage doors.  Might have to try and blu tack them in place, apply the decals and then cut round the door with a scalpel.  Or something...

 

Al.

[stever219]

16 hours ago, alhenderson said:

Done all the major decals now - just the stencils to do.  Trick with those is working out which ones are appropriate.  The Fujimi decal sheet is for an RAF grey or FAA machine, so having to cross check with various pictures etc.  Means its even slower going that stencilling usually is!

 

 

 

Underwing serials are going to be interesting, as they slightly overlap the undercarriage doors.  Might have to try and blu tack them in place, apply the decals and then cut round the door with a scalpel.  Or something...

 

Al.

Don’t put the underwing serials on just yet: I’ve found one image of a 43 Squadron jet with toned-down national markings and RWR fit on the fin where the underwing serials have been moved forwards a few inches to clear the undercarriage doors.  I’ve not yet found anything to confirm that ‘571 received this modification to her paintwork but it’s not always possible to see that area in images so I’ll keep looking.

 

Edit: found some!

XV572 N,

XV577 M,

XV575 C,

XV588(?) T,

XV587 G (Squadron checks on RWR fairing),

XT892(?) X,

XV568 T,

XT875 K,

XT861 C (grey radome).

 

There’s a lovely photo of the 43 Squadron line on t’interweb but I can only read the serial on the jet closest to the camera.  Although this isn’t proof irrefutable that ‘571’s underwing serials were moved there’s enough anecdotal evidence there to suggest that they probably were.

[alhenderson]

1 hour ago, stever219 said:

Don’t put the underwing serials on just yet: I’ve found one image of a 43 Squadron jet with toned-down national markings and RWR fit on the fin where the underwing serials have been moved forwards a few inches to clear the undercarriage doors.  I’ve not yet found anything to confirm that ‘571 received this modification to her paintwork but it’s not always possible to see that area in images so I’ll keep looking.

 

Edit: found some!

XV572 N,

XV577 M,

XV575 C,

XV588(?) T,

XV587 G (Squadron checks on RWR fairing),

XT892(?) X,

XV568 T,

XT875 K,

XT861 C (grey radome).

 

There’s a lovely photo of the 43 Squadron line on t’interweb but I can only read the serial on the jet closest to the camera.  Although this isn’t proof irrefutable that ‘571’s underwing serials were moved there’s enough anecdotal evidence there to suggest that they probably were.

Wow!  Thanks for that! I was looking at the positioning and thinking - it only just overlaps the undercarriage doors - why make it so awkward??  I have pictures of XV571 but you can't see the undercarriage doors due to the drop tanks.

 

Happy days 🙂

 

Al.

[stever219]

5 minutes ago, alhenderson said:

Wow!  Thanks for that! I was looking at the positioning and thinking - it only just overlaps the undercarriage doors - why make it so awkward??  I have pictures of XV571 but you can't see the undercarriage doors due to the drop tanks.

 

Happy days 🙂

 

Al.

My pleasure Al.  As I’ve got 2 1/48th Hunters and a 1/72nd Phantom to do a similar job on at present I know what it’s like cutting and fiddling those tiny bits of numbers into place.

Edited January 26, 2020 by stever219

[Lord Riot]

I found this photo of 'A' of 43 sqn, you can just see the 'XV5..' under the wing and that it doesn't appear to be over the undercarriage doors. 

 

 

 

[alhenderson]

3 minutes ago, Lord Riot said:

I found this photo of 'A' of 43 sqn, you can just see the 'XV5..' under the wing and that it doesn't appear to be over the undercarriage doors. 

 

 

 

Aha - I think you might be right!  Great news.  Glad I posted a cheeky little update - saved a load of grief 🙂

[72modeler]

On 11/13/2019 at 5:24 AM, alhenderson said:

The painting of the white bits has consumed most of what little time I have. 

Al,

 

On those intake interiors, you might try spraying a flat/matte acrylic white, then spray a coat of semi-gloss or gloss clear over that. White primer would be even better as the base coat. Don't feel bad about snipping off the fuel dump by mistake- guess how I know?

Mike

[stever219]

2 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

I found this photo of 'A' of 43 sqn, you can just see the 'XV5..' under the wing and that it doesn't appear to be over the undercarriage doors. 

 

 

 

@Lord Riot star player!😎

[alhenderson]

Thanks to all who chipped in last night regarding the underwing serials.  Had I bothered to look in one of my main references (the "British Phantoms" bookazine I've had for a while - fab publication) then I'd have found plenty of photos showing the slightly adjusted serials.  They also moved the serials inboard to avoid the wing fold join which was even more convenient!  Although I'm sure micro sol would have made short work of that!

 

IMG_20200127_073122 by Alistair Henderson, on Flickr

 

Whilst I don't want to go overboard on the weathering, just about every picture I've seen of the underside is filthy.  I'm familiar with the dry brush technique for weathering, which I used to do when I was a lad.  Just wondering how I might best go about achieving the kind of effect seen on the F-4 above?

 

Cheers,

Al.

Edited January 27, 2020 by alhenderson
Adding stuff

[John_W]

On ‎17‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 08:34, alhenderson said:

Have put the Fighting Cock on the tail:

 

IMG_20200117_073243 by Alistair Henderson, on Flickr

 

Kind of makes the fin flash look even smaller 😞  I'll persevere with some more decals and see if I get over it.  Hopefully will!  Looking slightly ahead - can anyone advise whether the final finish of a late 70s camo F-4K was satin or matt?

 

Cheers,
Al.

I lived in Leuchars during the 70s and always remember the Phantoms being a satin finish on the open days. The RN Phantoms that used to live there when the Ark Royal was in port were always much shinier.

[alhenderson]

Time for an update to prove I'm still doing something 🙂  I'm slowly approaching stencil hell, I think.  All the major decals are on, just the teensy weensy ones to go..  I have got underwing serials, though.  Thanks to the help above I didn't need to break out the scalpels to try and cut round undercarriage doors!

 

 

 

Apart from that, the topside looks more or less the same, you can't really see the stencils that have gone on - which makes me question why I'm bothering!  

 

 

 

Realised today that I need to find a code for the nose wheel door.  No black letters in any of my sheets (first kit for years so no stash to speak of).  Will mull that one over, wonder how hard it is to mask and paint a letter A? 🤔  Think I'll soon be back on construction to put on the undercarriage and missiles etc.  Probably need to get a move on, think the good lady wife will have a significant list of jobs to be done in the coming weeks as we get a bathroom refitted...

 

Al.

[alt-92]

On 1/27/2020 at 8:42 AM, alhenderson said:

I'm familiar with the dry brush technique for weathering, which I used to do when I was a lad.  Just wondering how I might best go about achieving the kind of effect seen on the F-4 above?

No personal experience yet (it's on it's way) but it seems a good candidate for Flory Washes (water/clay based). Otherwise, oilpaints after sealing with (gloss) acrylic varnish.

[alhenderson]

13 minutes ago, alt-92 said:

No personal experience yet (it's on it's way) but it seems a good candidate for Flory Washes (water/clay based). Otherwise, oilpaints after sealing with (gloss) acrylic varnish.

I think you are right - saw yesterday do exactly that with Flory Wash.  Did you order it online?  If so, from where?  Might have to get me some...

 

Al.

[alt-92]

There's only one distributor over here in the Netherlands

anyways, https://www.florymodels.org/store for UK home market seems logical 

[alhenderson]

1 hour ago, alt-92 said:

There's only one distributor over here in the Netherlands

anyways, https://www.florymodels.org/store for UK home market seems logical 

Thanks,  you are of course correct.  And having seen from the video how easy that looks, I've just ordered a bottle 🙂  While I'm at it I may as well get a decal sheet for my nose wheel door code letter, I suppose... easy come, easy go.

[billn53]

Just be advised that Flory washes are water based and don’t like to stick to gloss finishes. Panel lines will come out fine, but if you’re goal is to “dirty up” the Phantom’s belly then best bet is to first put a clear semi-gloss or satin coat where you want the dirt to accumulate.