1/48th F-4E Phantom II – 6 Sqn RAAF, Amberley 1971 - decals off

[trickyrich]

22 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Rich do you have a profile showing all four sides of the markings ? I have an “E” in 1/72 on its way and want to do it for the STGB. I have the roundels and can find the flashes, but need to see the layout and the codes. 

 I like!!!!  

 

I'll PM you them tonight. The RAAF birds are really simple to do scheme/decal wise. You just need the roundels and a pair of serial numbers, they had no other masking other than the factory stenciling. The number codes were white and look to of a standard font, so you'll probably have some in your spares somewhere.

 

Don't get too worried if your model model had the "slime lights" of the later gun barrel shroud, when they first arrived they didn't have these but over the 3 years of service here these mods and others were incorporated. Plus don't worry about fitting any missiles, they were never fitted other than for some testing purposes.    

[trickyrich]

Ok no real progress on repairing/re-doing the decal issues other than removing 95% of the affected decals.

 

….and they came off very easily…too easily in fact. So the majority of them appeared to have not adhered properly at all. Only the national markings by Hawkeye Models looked to have adhered properly and took a wee bit more effort to remove.

 

So as she stands now she looks quite patchy and a little worse for wear.

 

 

 

 

I now have to try and get the surface nice and even again and glossy, without any real damage to the paint job which was almost perfect.

 

That said there are a couple of smaller areas that I’ll correct and repaint.

 

The underside I hopefully won’t hav3 to touch as that looks really nice….though I suspect it has the same decal issues… though hidden.

 

 

Same goes with the exhaust area (it’s already been painted twice), as that AK Extreme Metal paint is a bit of a pain to use….I may have to move over Alclad in the future.

 

 

These are the new insignia decals from RedRoo, the quality of these are superior to the other set. I’ll be sticking with aircraft #9. The stencil decals should arrive while I’m away.

 

 

I’m not sure when the next update to this build will be, it’ll be on the back burning till I have more free time to spend on her…which she’ll need. But I may try to do small bits when I can. I’m still planning to have her finished by the end of the year.

[modelling minion]

Those decals did come away very easily, far too easily as you say. But that has at least meant that the paint work is undamaged.

The undersides do look to be perfectly okay which is a good thing and should save you a lot of time, and that exhaust area is superb.

[Greg B]

Thats a shame mate. Hopefully after a good clear coat on the upper surfaces you will get it back again. Unfortunately I've not heard good things about some of the domestic decal producers here in Australia. Unfortunately the RAAF seems to be forgotten by the major manufacturers as well. a decent set of 32 or 48 scale F/A-18C decals for line jets or even some of the later schemes would be welcome. But crickets....

[trickyrich]

@Greg B I must say unfortunately I have to agree with you. Most of the stuff done here is is not the best quality at all but equally bad they''re the only ones available! 

 

I agree 100% RAAF, or any Australian or New Zealand subject (excluding the Gecko stuff) for that matter is so hard to find and if you do find it of sos so quality. I can't really criticise those suppliers, at least they are sort of trying.

 

The new NovaScale decals look to be a lot better than some of their earlier stuff I have bought. If I had the time and money I'd love to be able to produce some good quality decals.

 

Least it's nice to know someone overseas is doing some really nice decals of newer RAAF subjects, this is the scheme for my EA-18G Growler for the F/A-18 STGB.

 

http://www.syhartdecal.fr/references.php?lang=ENG&ref=Syhart 119&page=description

[JOCKNEY]

Oy Rich

Stop talking about it and get on with it, some of us are really keen to see this one finished.....

Which will make a nice change for you in a GB  

Cheers Pat 

[Gidge]

On 12/04/2021 at 22:34, trickyrich said:

@Greg B I must say unfortunately I have to agree with you. Most of the stuff done here is is not the best quality at all but equally bad they''re the only ones available! 

 

I agree 100% RAAF, or any Australian or New Zealand subject (excluding the Gecko stuff) for that matter is so hard to find and if you do find it of sos so quality. I can't really criticise those suppliers, at least they are sort of trying.

 

The new NovaScale decals look to be a lot better than some of their earlier stuff I have bought. If I had the time and money I'd love to be able to produce some good quality decals.

 

Least it's nice to know someone overseas is doing some really nice decals of newer RAAF subjects, this is the scheme for my EA-18G Growler for the F/A-18 STGB.

 

http://www.syhartdecal.fr/references.php?lang=ENG&ref=Syhart 119&page=description

 

I suspect lots of them do a big run for economies of scale. But RAAF and NZAF markings are a niche market so they probably sit in storage for a while. That and they are often poorly marketed so nobody knows to buy them and when we do they've deteriorated and don't compare to newer ones printed in higher resolution on more modern printers.

[Gidge]

Sad to see your project has had these setbacks. I've been eying one of these kits and toying with either an Australian or Israeli scheme. I hope you get things sorted out, will be following this one with interest.

[trickyrich]

well the stencil sheet has shown up, and gosh it is amazing, the reference material for decal placement is 12 pages long!! Well it does cover the F-4C, D, E, F, G, & RF-4C.

 

Plus the quality of the decals is top notch, hopefully they'll go on nicely.

 

Now I just need to book in some time on her..... way too many build to finish at the moment, so probably later in the year.

 

Will post some photos of the decals a bit later.

[Gidge]

On 12/04/2021 at 09:30, trickyrich said:

 I like!!!!  

 

I'll PM you them tonight. The RAAF birds are really simple to do scheme/decal wise. You just need the roundels and a pair of serial numbers, they had no other masking other than the factory stenciling. The number codes were white and look to of a standard font, so you'll probably have some in your spares somewhere.

 

Don't get too worried if your model model had the "slime lights" of the later gun barrel shroud, when they first arrived they didn't have these but over the 3 years of service here these mods and others were incorporated. Plus don't worry about fitting any missiles, they were never fitted other than for some testing purposes.    

If that's the case, would it be viable to just buy a paint mask set rather than roll the dice on iffy aftermarket RAAF decals? I've seen these advertised

https://shop.maketar.com/?product=132-raaf-roundels-modern-copy 

 

[trickyrich]

Oooo I haven't seen these before. Oh bugger and dam you!!!!  

 

Guess I'm going to have to buy some of these now!!!! 

 

Painted insignias do look soooooo much better!

[Gidge]

4 hours ago, trickyrich said:

Oooo I haven't seen these before. Oh bugger and dam you!!!!  

 

Guess I'm going to have to buy some of these now!!!! 

 

Painted insignias do look soooooo much better!

 

They're advertising on Scalemates.

[trickyrich]

6 hours ago, Gidge said:

 

They're advertising on Scalemates.

I've just bought the RAAF & Israeli sets! 

[stevehnz]

On 4/8/2021 at 1:18 AM, trickyrich said:

If there is a positive the new NovaScale decal for the RAAF markings are really nice, a huge improvement over the original ones I was using.

Rich, I've been meaning to post this for a bit. First, I'm puzzled, I've long thought Nova scale were a bit dodgy, too translucent etc & Hawkeye were the good ones. I', keen to do one of these in 1/72 & was going to get Hawkeye but now don't know which way to jump. Hawkeye do decals for an RAAF F/A-18 in the Hi Viz scheme they wore when I saw them at an Airshow at Harewood (Christchurch) airport on 1988-89(?) & to get both from the same source would be a saving. As to the woes you had with the Zoukei-Mura decals, I reckon some of this could have saved you a lot of grief.

Steve.

[Gidge]

1 hour ago, trickyrich said:

I've just bought the RAAF & Israeli sets! 

Nice. 

 

I ordered these two reference texts recently which seem to be pretty definite. The Forward is written by Israel's top Phantom ace, Amir Nachumi (7 kills in a Phantom, 7 in an F-16) 

 

 

 

https://shopofphantoms.com/rhino/Pulsar/en_US.Shop.displayShop.5286./adr-32002-_-junkers-ju-88-a-0-to-a-3-a-5-_small-tires-1100x375mm_

 

https://shopofphantoms.com/rhino/Pulsar/en_US.Shop.displayShop.5287./adr-32002-_-junkers-ju-88-a-0-to-a-3-a-5-_small-tires-1100x375mm_

 

https://www.scalemodellingnow.com/bookreviews-aircraft-israeli-phantoms-the-kurnass

[trickyrich]

5 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Rich, I've been meaning to post this for a bit. First, I'm puzzled, I've long thought Nova scale were a bit dodgy, too translucent etc & Hawkeye were the good ones. I', keen to do one of these in 1/72 & was going to get Hawkeye but now don't know which way to jump. Hawkeye do decals for an RAAF F/A-18 in the Hi Viz scheme they wore when I saw them at an Airshow at Harewood (Christchurch) airport on 1988-89(?) & to get both from the same source would be a saving. As to the woes you had with the Zoukei-Mura decals, I reckon some of this could have saved you a lot of grief.

Steve.

Hi Steve, I've had sort of mixed results in the past with NovaScale decals, when they're good they are good (these new ones look good) and when they're bad....... they are!!

 

The Hawkeye ones looked good when I bought them, but when one I noticed the edges to be quite soft colour wise, not a nice distinct finish to the colours. Plus they are printed on a solid sheet so you have to trim them, which with them being think gave you a noticeable edge. For most it may no be a problem... but once I noticed it I couldn't not see it.

 

These new masks for the insignias should do the trick. I actually can't wait to get back to this build. But I have to clear the ones I have first or I'll end up with lots of unfinished builds and none completed on time.

 

Everyone keeps talking about Future, but it's so hard to get here, one of my club members was selling some last year for $25 a bottle!!! 

[stevehnz]

1 hour ago, trickyrich said:

but it's so hard to get here, one of my club members was selling some last year for $25 a bottle!!! 

The Pascoe's long life self shining polish behaves much the same as Future in a trial I did with it a couple of years ago, even on Academy decals. I don't know if mine is the original or "improved" ie not as good, so maybe try some on a test piece if you get some. At least it is cheapish.

Steve.

[helios16v]

11 hours ago, trickyrich said:

I've just bought the RAAF & Israeli sets! 

I'm probably fixing to do the same in the near future.  Once my current Hellenic fetish subsides.  

 

I've talked myself out of another early E.....for now.  But realistically, I'm going to want 3 Es total...1 RAAF (early), 1 HAF (late), and 1 IDF (early or late).  I need to look at the others (EJ, Fs, G) and figure out if I currently have more slatted wing Phantoms or non.

 

Despite the decal debacle, it's looking beautiful.

[trickyrich]

13 hours ago, stevehnz said:

The Pascoe's long life self shining polish behaves much the same as Future in a trial I did with it a couple of years ago, even on Academy decals. I don't know if mine is the original or "improved" ie not as good, so maybe try some on a test piece if you get some. At least it is cheapish.

Steve.

 I may have to do a run down to Bunnings and have a good look at what they have. Plus I have some of new lacquer clears to try, so am bout to come up with something.

[Andwil]

I use the Pascoes and it seems to work fine.

 

AW

[phantom f-4]

hello

 

I want some guidance.

Will ZuOki Mura vote for the Phantom Zoo Mora F-4E with slot angles and Tiseo camera in the future?

http://<a href="https://uupload.ir/view/s-l1600_(26)_0b0f.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://s6.uupload.ir/files/s-l1600_(26)_0b0f_thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="آپلود عکس" /></a>

 

 

 

[Gidge]

7 minutes ago, phantom f-4 said:

hello

 

I want some guidance.

Will ZuOki Mura vote for the Phantom Zoo Mora F-4E with slot angles and Tiseo camera in the future?

http://<a href="https://uupload.ir/view/s-l1600_(26)_0b0f.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://s6.uupload.ir/files/s-l1600_(26)_0b0f_thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="آپلود عکس" /></a>

 

 

 

Yes it's on their roadmap, though I'm not sure when it's due. The wing in the E and EJ Kai kits has a ridge to mount the TISEO camera.

 

The next version they're releasing is the F-4G.  

 

However there is a resin conversion kit on the market to turn the Zoukei-Mura F-4E into a late one. I think Hypersonic make it

[phantom f-4]

On 1/31/2022 at 12:35 PM, Gidge said:

Yes it's on their roadmap, though I'm not sure when it's due. The wing in the E and EJ Kai kits has a ridge to mount the TISEO camera.

 

The next version they're releasing is the F-4G.  

 

However there is a resin conversion kit on the market to turn the Zoukei-Mura F-4E into a late one. I think Hypersonic make it

 

 

 

Hello
Thank you dear friend for your answer.