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The Other Tim’s 1/72 Tamiya F-4S Phantom - USN +++FINISHED+++


Tim Moff

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I’m in with this little kit.

 

im generally a 1/48 guy, but for various reasons I’ve been away from the hobby for nearly 2 years, so thought I’d use a kit in my stash that fits the criteria.

 

I believe it’s heritage is Italeri, possibly ESCI before ? It’s reboxed as Tamiya.

 

looks to be a basic build albeit with some fiddly joins at the wing/fuselage ands nose the just goes on directly.

 

i build wheels up so Will scrabble around for some 1/72 crew.

 

Got started with the main bits off the spruce and some priming/painting.

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Getting on, bit of a fiddle fit wise, think one of the main fuselage halves is a bit warped, so took some twisting and bending to fit.

 

Got to work on a basic tub, some cheap US pilots on the way. 

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Some Mr Filler employed...

 

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Have primed the area behind the intakes as its fiddly with a 1/48 let alone 1/72. Will likely prime and paint the rear metal areas as well before the wings go on, give it a coat of clear and mask.

 

managed to break off one of the tail pitots, will have to make another...

 

Lots of test fitting, intakes need a bit if sanding etc...the engineering means a lot of critical joins that will leave gaps - with raised panel lines sanding has to be cautious...

 

 

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Pushing along steadily, get the various bits in with a bit of twisting and clamping....

 

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Have primed some areas like the exhaust area and the tailplanes so I can do the metal work first (even the basic base colours) then clear before masking for when the min paint goes on....easier with this scale I think...

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Am awaiting the paints, can't do too much bore build wise as the area behind them will need to be painted first and if needed touched up later, will look at masking the canopies etc and sealing the pit in.

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Moving on with this build, quite complex in that it needs to go together in an order, with some paint down before the intakes go on etc...

 

Got the nose on, paints arrived, put a few drops on to look at the colours, albeit on wood.

 

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I then added the numbers in the order I will paint, its confusing me just looking (the whole aim of the cam apparently!) so will take it slow...

 

Want to try to weather the paint job, so will use black basing, using lighter colours to mottle and preshade in areas, mist with a slightly lighter colour, then  post shade highlight some areas with the actual colour etc...not sure the effect will work so well at 1/72...not many colour references of the aircraft at sea or with worn paint jobs, which seems strange?

 

 

I handbrushed  blast areas behind the exhausts with Humbrol 27004, couple of coats and buffed - a fellow modeller on here (can't remember who!) told me it looked right, he'd worked on UK Tooms in the past...I then masked, then sprayed some Mr Color Chrome Silver in the area above. I will gloss that area and mask up for the main paint job...I will work on the rear area once the main paint is all on, again in 1/72 not too much !

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Masked the canopies and glued into place with micro glue.

 

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Painted the missile tips off black.....now can I ask any AIM experts out there to tell me what marks they are? What colour should they be in 1984, white as per the instructions of the light Grey FS colour now used?

 

I believe they may be AIM-7M and AIM-9L ? Any advice appreciated!

 

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No wonder you're confused about the camouflage scheme Tim. I think the underside plan has been reversed.

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On 09/05/2020 at 15:10, Tim Moff said:

Painted the missile tips off black.....now can I ask any AIM experts out there to tell me what marks they are? What colour should they be in 1984, white as per the instructions of the light Grey FS colour now used?

 

I believe they may be AIM-7M and AIM-9L ? Any advice appreciated!

I think they should be whilte (see the photo below - unfortunately undated:

 

F4S153904_2.jpg

 

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2 minutes ago, Marcin Kaminski said:

I think they should be whilte (see the photo below - unfortunately undated:

 

F4S153904_2.jpg

 

Thanks thats really helpful - trying to find references has not been the easiest!

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The AIM-9s in this kit represent the AIM-9L/M version, dostinguished by the "double delta" planform of the forward fins.  Notwithstanding the photo posted above, by 1984 most combat rounds would have been FS36375 light ghost gray. The white body seen in the photo may be a training round or "old stock," the latter all the more plausible as VF-301 was a reserve unit. As the AIM-9s are made up of "off the shelf" components you can sometimes see a single body with different sections in white or gray.

 

Regardless of the body color, the nose (guidance section) and forward fins of the AIM-9L are actually a dark anodized steel color, not black.

 

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I'm not sure about the Sparrow variant in use at this time (F or M) vs what's represented in the kit, but the bodies would have been either white or FS 36375 gray and the nose sections are an off-white ceramic (color can vary from pure white to a light gray or beige color, depending on age and exposure).

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Thanks guys - will probably stick with the old stock angle and white rounds - have always done the aim9 with the steel guidance head. Will check out some Aim 7 references, as you say heads seem to be various colours .
 

 

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Cracked on with the build:

 

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Primed with Mr Paint

 

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Painting and masking in stages....

 

Mottle with a lighter coat to try to add some tonal variation, will serve me well for the upcoming BoB GB!

 

 

 

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Actually quite technical getting the lines right with the curves on the fuselage body...Stuck some burnt Iron on the stabs

 

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Going from rear to front, lighter to darker, lots of masking!

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Dug around for some references, but not the actual aircraft...gonna go with the STBD nose pattern as per '104' in the  below pics...

 

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Hopefully get it masked and the last colour on over the weekend....

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Good to see you getting that cool paintscheme sorted Tim. That 103 and 104 show little variation in their pattern is reasuring that you're safe to use them as a reference.

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Driving on, patching and

painting !

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hopefully the unmasking will be easier and there will be no paint runs !

Edited by Tim Moff
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Got the masking off - fairly happy with he outcome.....

 

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some areas that needed sorting oot....so got the Sotor out and sorted them...

 

 

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There is an argument to paint the rest of the aft Stbd side the beige colour as some references show this, other rarer shots show it the lightest grey as do most painting guides....

 

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actual images of the airframe in VF-301 markings 153904 hard to find, obviously it went over to the Marine Corps at some point... choices, what to do!

 

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A bit of detail painting next. lights. etc and ready for the gloss coat. Colours look good, seemed to have got the worn look I was after, hopefully the gloss and matt coats won't impact on that too much.

 

Tamiya decals are famously thick, also the raised panel lines won't help...not much in the way of aftermarket either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So I relented and paint the stbd rear area the beige colour as per most pictures, sorted the lights and any small detail painting, got a Mr Paint Gloss coat on:

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decals next...

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