Is there time for Phantom?

[reini]

 

I hope so - because in contrary to what I said earlier - it seems that I still have to do a Phantom in addition to a MiG for this GB  Oh boy, why I always do this...

 

Italeri F-4 Phantom is the subject, Esci moulding from 1982. World has seen better Phantoms since for sure (not that I have done much research on them but I'm guessing) - but I've always had a soft spot for Italeri/Esci kits. Let's see what this kit includes:

 

 

Some instructions and nice big decal sheet by Cartograph.

 

 

 

Clear parts. Look pretty clear to me.

 

 

 

 

Two set of sprues...

 

 

... which look like they've been around for a while now. Luckily flash is quite easy to clean. Detail itself is pretty nice.

 

 

 

Weapons. To be honest, these look quite simplistic, lacking pretty much all detail. I might look to alternatives on my bits box or from the Hasegawa weapons set. Or just use these, I can't affort to be too picky now, I'm quite short on time.

 

Wish me luck! I'm gonna need it...

 

 

 

[modelling minion]

There's always room for another Phantom Reini, whether you have time to build it is another matter!

The ESCI kit might have been around for a while but it builds into a nice looking model.

The decal sheet looks very comprehensive indeed, no need for aftermarket sheets there, do you know which of the options you are going to build?

[JeroenS]

What, no MiG?? 

 

Anyway, of course you have time to build it, it's 2 sprues for pete's sake! 

 

Get cracking will you!

[trickyrich]

Now everyone say altogether "There's always time for a Phantom Reini!!"  

 

Or do I have to invoke the rule "You say it, you build it!", plus you need something to keep those Commies at bay!

[reini]

3 hours ago, JeroenS said:

What, no MiG?? 

 

Anyway, of course you have time to build it, it's 2 sprues for pete's sake! 

 

Get cracking will you!

 

Sir, yes sir!  

 

57 minutes ago, trickyrich said:

Now everyone say altogether "There's always time for a Phantom Reini!!"  

 

Or do I have to invoke the rule "You say it, you build it!", plus you need something to keep those Commies at bay!

 

I don't think it matters - it's happening anyways 

 

 

Tonight, mostly just cleaning up parts and setting up the cockpit so that I can paint it. Just out of the box, I'll be using the decals. The belts for the ejection seat I did pick up from my spares, probably not correct ones but better than nothing! No time for research, really  

 

 

 

I glued some parts, like the intakes and wings. The fit of the intakes didn't seem to great when put against the fuselage, but that might chance once the wings are added to the mix.

 

What's the correct color of the intakes btw? White? Or the underside gray? Or something completely different?

 

 

 

Glued on several other parts too and tried to hide few of the ejector pin marks and seams.

 

Sanding and cleaning up continues tomorrow, hopefully with some painting too.

[Zorglub]

White!

 

I still like the ESCI kit, even there are better in the world today, according to me it's still a nice kit. 

 

Which one are you going to build ?

[JeroenS]

See @reini, you're almost done!

[Chrisj2003]

12 hours ago, reini said:

What's the correct color of the intakes btw? White? Or the underside gray? Or something completely different?

 

@reini cam colour for a certain distance inside then white. See various builds on BM inc the nice ZM toon in this GB. 

 

Chris

[modelling minion]

Moving along at a fair old pace Reini, and going together nicely too.

Those belts might not be made for the Phantom but they really improve the look of the seats.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

22 hours ago, reini said:

What's the correct color of the intakes btw? White? Or the underside gray? Or something completely different?

It varied from 12”, 24”or 36” in the intakes of the fuselage color adjacent to the intake. I believe there was an order as to which got what length but Im not 100% sure. 

[reini]

@Chrisj2003 & @Corsairfoxfouruncle Thanks for the info!

 

-------------------------

 

I'm doing this version:

 

 

 

 

 

There are quite a lot of sink marks with this kit, some of which I have already puttied over. Still lot's more to go.

 

 

First layer of paint. I was meant to use flat black but it seems I used gloss black instead. Oh well, this is mostly just a base layer for other colours so no big deal. If it shines through, I'll just matt coat over it.

 

 

 

Just checking, kit missiles on the left are wrong version, right? Too modern? I was thinking of using Hasegawa replacements on the right (Aim-9B), those should fit nicely?

[reini]

 

Apart from the seats and cleaning up the washes - the cockpit is pretty much done in this pic. The decals were alright for the side consoles and instrument panels, but I enhanced them a bit by adding few dots of color here and there.

 

 

 

Fuselage closed up and seats done.

 

 

 

I've been cleaning up all the small bits on the side, like these wheel well doors. They had some ejector pin marks (like most of the small parts in this kit) - and also required cutting in order to display them open.

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Your miniature paintwork is fine as always Reini!

[modelling minion]

Really nice work Reini, the cockpit decals look excellent.

You are right that the kit missiles are too modern, you need the AIM-9B's like you have found.

[reini]

A week gone by already! 

 

 

I painted all the white stuff.

 

 

 

Also took care of the small seams on the side of the forward fuselage.

 

 

 

Seam on top was fine with just some light sanding.

 

 

 

Wings and intakes glued on. Starting to look like a Phantom!

 

 

 

The seams on the intakes an underside of the fuselage was pretty bad. I will see if Vallejo Putty is enough to hide them all, it's good that you can clean it up with just water so you don't damage the details. Bad thing is that it's not as good as a putty as Tamiya is for example. Rubs off too easily, not good for sanding. So I will most likely need to add another layer of Tamiya putty or sprue goo to properly hide some of the seams.

[modelling minion]

Definitely very Phantom shaped now Reini.

You have done a great job of getting her built up this quickly and so well that I have no doubt that you will make the deadline.

I know what you mean about the plastic putty, it's great stuff for small seams that need filling but for anything that requires sanding into shape then I use something else, usually Revell's filler.

[reini]

 

 

I think Vallejo Putty did the trick, but after some paint I can be sure.

 

 

 

Clear parts are on, fit was pretty nice. Some masking and painting next I think!  On the side, I've done some work on the missiles, landing gears etc. so I'd have them pretty much ready when build reaches it's final stages.

 

It's gonna be bit tight time wise to pull this off as there are all kinds of other stuff going on before christmas, but it's still a week so I'm not too worried yet!  

 

 

[JeroenS]

You'll make it. You have to!

[modelling minion]

It does look like the putty has done it's job Reini but as you say you will know for sure when you get some paint on her.

Keep going, you have every chance of getting her done in time having seen how quickly you have got other things done before.

[trickyrich]

gosh there's no messing about with this build, you're powering through it!

 

...... and some very nice work being done too, I like the cockpit work and I agree those seems look really nice.

 

Will the next update be the completed build?

[reini]

Sorry, not gonna happen. Between the real life, just doesn't feel like rushing it and my compressor starting to leak I decided to shelf this until things are sorted out. 

 

Anyways, I will update the thread as progress happens. And I do know there is still time left but I have already moved onto the Blitzenbuild...

 

 

 

I have spent some time on the smaller stuff such as weapons and landing gears as I thought it would pay up in the end. Sparrow missiles waiting for the decals.

 

 

 

The decals were a tad rigid and would not want to settle without any softener...

 

 

 

... but I got there in the end.

 

 

 

Masking the canopy.

 

 

 

Landing gear bay doors in place. Easy masking!

 

 

Anyway, this will happen, but most likely next year  Thank you for a great GB @trickyrich & @modelling minion (and @JeroenS, trying to push me over the finish line in time - maybe next time! Now I have to be content to just four builds😆).

 

For the next year, I will migrate back over to the Interceptor GB so see you all there  

[JeroenS]

Too bad, but you pulled your weight with the 4 MiGs 🙂

[modelling minion]

No shame on not finishing Reini, as Jeroen says you have more than pulled your weight with your Migs.

Great job on the Sparrows, your 1/72 ones look better than what I produce in 1/48.

I look forward to seeing her when she is finished as I know that she will look great.

[trickyrich]

that was a fantastic feat completing 4 superb MiG's, so not being able to finish this build is not something to be concerned about.

 

I hope you keep updating this thread, looking forward to seeing her finished eventually.

[reini]

Well, it is done, finally  I have some WIP shots, but I think I will just post the RFI thread, which can be found here 

 

 

Thanks for looking