Paul Bradley Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 (edited) A late entry, if I may? I'll be building a kit that holds a lot of memories for me. IMG-0934 by Paul Bradley, on Flickr This is H-179, the 1/72 F-4E Phantom, a kit that was released in 1976, but is most likely a modified version of Revell's original 1965 F-4B kit (H-110). It would have been 1976 or thereabouts when I first built this kit. My dear nan bought it for me, probably (and rightly) thinking that the dramatic box photo would be attractive and exciting to a 12-year-old budding aviation fanatic such as me. I don't know if this was a birthday or Christmas gift, but I'm sure it would have been rushed to my desk for assembly very shortly after being received. I do vaguely remember painting it in USAF Vietnam colours and using the kit's decals, and being very pleased with it, putting it in pride of place on one of the shelves that ran around my bedroom walls, shelves my dad had put up just for my models. It was one of those shelves that led to this model's downfall as, not long after completion, one of the shelves came loose and crushed the Phantom. I was distraught; I remember a flood of tears. My dad felt rather guilty and bought me a replacement kit - the Airfix F-4 Phantom kit, which I finished as an Israeli AF version as part of my burgeoning IAF collection. But that's another story... So this build will be of that 1976 Revell kit in honor of my dear late nan, who died not too long after I received this kit. I found one of these on eBay for a song - I guess with so many modern Phantom kits, this oldie doesn't receive a lot of love. My intent is to try to give the kit a bit of love, by rescribing, adding some (but not too much) detail and generally smartening it up. It is a near-60 year old set of moulds, so I don't expect too much in the way of sharp detail and fit, but we'll see what I can do. As the original decal sheet is rather nasty - and I don't build Vietnam stuff - I'll be substituting some period decals from Modeldecal for a Japanese ASDF machine. Edited November 13, 2021 by Paul Bradley 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 Sprue shots: IMG-0932 IMG-0931 As you can see, there's not much to it. Looky - instructions with real words and all! IMG-0933 These are the Modedecals I intend to use. They date from around 1977-8 IMG-0930 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 Great choice! Best wishes for the build Paul. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) Cheers, Johnson! Starting to look a bit Phantom-shaped: I knocked down the rivets and re-scribed the major panel lines. I had delayed construction a bit in the hope of being able to pick up a cheap pair of ejection seats or some other greeblies to tart it up a bit, but no joy. So I went with the kits 'detail'..... Just look at those highly-detailed ejection seat boxes..... At least the crew figures covered up a lot of nothing. The suggested Medium Gray paint 'for extra detailing' as suggested on the instruction sheet didn't do much - clearly, I had the wrong shade..... Fit is optional, but luckily I have lots of filler and I bought some new sanding sticks yesterday. But I am having fun. Really! 🤪 Edited October 17, 2021 by Paul Bradley 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted October 20, 2021 Author Share Posted October 20, 2021 Wings are on. Once again, fit was optional, but Perfect Plastic Putty covers a multitude of sins: 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) Thanks for the likes, guys! A week away from the bench hasn't made the kit any better, merely a week older; nevertheless, "以降" * A quick squirt of black over the masked canopy and some pre-shading, followed by a coat of white primer, which I felt would be a good base for the Light Gull Gray and White colour scheme. As the undercarriage and undercarriage bays are also all white, it seemed like a good idea to add them at this stage. Tomorrow will see the metal areas of the rear fuselage painted and perhaps the white undersides will receive a final coat. * Onwards! Edited October 31, 2021 by Paul Bradley 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 The gear give it something to stand on. Looking good under a first blush of paint. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 Cheers, Thom! Not worthy of a pic, but did get a second white primer coat on this afternoon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 Not forgotten, I've just been sidetracked by other matters. So I've been slowly working on the paintwork. After that primer coat, I added a little pre-shading with black along the prominent panel lines and a bit more heavily on the often stained in real life undersides. This was followed by a coat of Light Gull Gray, followed by a little masking so I could add a final white undersides coat. This morning, I started decalling, using Future as a decal set. The Modeldecals are OK, but the aged glue leaves a white residue that needs to be removed before the decal can be applied to the model. Next up will be the Natural Metal areas at the back end, followed by some more decalling. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Fast work! Very much like the build, the kit and the sentiment behind it 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 12, 2021 Author Share Posted November 12, 2021 Thanks, Alan! Almost done: Just need to add the drop tank, give it a panel line wash and a final coat of Future. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 And finished! Had a small issue with the canopies - a little paint seeped under the masks in places, so I had to go round with a cocktail stick to clean up some of the framing. And a few little flecks of paint also managed to get into the canopy - grrrrr.... Overall, an interesting and nostagic build! It turned out a lot better than I thought it would, though it is still definitely a '1/72' model - as in 'one views it from 72 inches'.... Still, for a 1965 kit, it does look like a Phantom. And completing it means I now qualify as 'Revell Official Master Modeler'! I have a crisp new Dollar bill to put in an envelope - now when does the mail truck come by...? I don't know if I can wait 6 weeks, I'm so excited! Where should I hang my Official Club Membership Certificate? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 Great job you made of her paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Revell Official Master Modeller! Sharp build Paul, that looks neat as a pin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 Cheers, guys - I appreciate it! 3 hours ago, Alan P said: Revell Official Master Modeller! Now I need to work my way up to Grand Master Modeler! Wonder if I'll get an even snazzier certificate for that...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Great job Paul. Nostalgic modelling at it's finest. Congratulations on your new certification too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 Cheers, Dave - I feel so masterful now....! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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