TonyW Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 My first build is going to be a repeat of my first ever Matchbox kit. I built the F4 when it first came out and really enjoyed the process. This latest one will be done pretty much as I did the first, canopies open, boarding ladders in place and full loadout underneath. Here's the raw material. All I need now is the sound of the starting gun... 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Great choice Tony The GB lasts till June, I hope that's enough time to get all the decals on ! Best of luck. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 I recall having the exact same Matchbox Phantom box and the sprues and coloured plastic are absolutely identical. I don’t ever think I finished mine, so may actually still have various bits and pieces still lying around. Your Phantom kit looks to be in great condition Tony and the full on load out is the only real way to model this great kit. I cannot wait to see what you do with it! Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 Bit of advice. Built this one myself a few years ago. The weak point in the kit is the canopy. For some reason Matchbox moulded the canopy frames to the fuselage (they are quite clear in your sprue shots) and had the clear parts seperate, and when the matchbox glass is fitted in the closed position the canopy top line looks far too low, and this arrangement also makes an open canopy almost impossible. Saying that, the cheap kit I got on fleabay had the clear parts missing, but a request on britmodeller sourced me a closed hasegawa canopy to replace these. I cut out the canopy frames from the fuselage and then attempted to fit the Hasegawa canopy. It fitted absolutely perfectly! Which to me says a lot about the Matchbox kit. And it looked the absolute business when finished. Selwyn 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 One minute after you posted that, I opened the page! It must be Karma. Thanks for the tip, it would have taken me a bit by surprise without your warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 Cool I have this kit as well in the stash. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 Nice to see the Phantom take a bow Tony,great choice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dean Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 (edited) On 27/12/2021 at 12:45, TonyW said: All I need now is the sound of the starting gun... One of my favourites. Looking forward to seeing what you do with (to) it. Edited December 29, 2021 by Mike Dean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 Bang! I'm off and running. An hour or two this morning see's three builds underway, including the mighty F4. Basic groundwork stuff really. Bombs, rocket pods and Gatling gun assembled, white primer on wing tank halves, wing undersides, crew ladders, missiles and pylons. Satin black added to the MATRA noses, cockpit interior and fuselage nose. All done as undercoats to highlight anything I've missed on the brief clean up I've done on the parts earlier. There's a big bit of me wants to up the detailing on this one but I'm going to ignore that and stick to a pretty much out the box build. I started down the detailing route with an early Airfix USN F4 over in another GB. In the end I went for a cleaner version of the type of build I did when I was nine or ten. It turned the build around and I ended up having a whale of a time building it. If the current Phantom turns out anything like that one, I'll be more than happy. Onward and upward! 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 That Airfix F-4B, posed with the box, paint, cement and brushes looks period perfect! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 I had a buddy who spent many a happy hour chopping the noses off these behind the cockpit and replacing them with the front bit of the original Hasegawa F4J kits, then finishing them with Modeldecal markings. I think he eventually got through all the operational RAF squadrons and colour schemes. I believe there was a bit of a retooling done to address the slightly squashed appearance of the nose but I've never seen one. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 That kind of detailing takes dedication and a substantial modelling budget. Impressive to have a full line up though, it must have been quite a sight. I'll be dialling back a bit from that level and working with what Matchbox provided. A bit of thinning down on the access ladders and some cockpit assistance should be enough for me, I hope. A bit more got done yesterday afternoon, but only a bit. Parts de-sprued and trimmed along with a bit more undercoat here and there. A tray for the project has been dug out as an attempt at keeping the three current builds in some sort of order. The other builds are in similar trays. I've done a bit of work on all the stores as some of them might get used later down the line. This build will get the MATRA pods, wing tanks and Gatling gun. There's a Matchbox Buccaneer that might get a GB look in later on, and that one has no stores provided. If I can add a few and keep them in house by using Matchbox stuff, so much the better. The bomb racks might be OK there. I'll not even look into that until the F4 is done though. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klr Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 This was the very first Matchbox kit I built, on Christmas morning 1978. And I do mean "morning" - I built a second kit later that morning, and me in my sick bed and all ... then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth, all before the end of the day. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Phantoms always look great. Just stick every conceivable missile/bomb on it and it will be a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 On 1/9/2022 at 10:52 AM, John said: I believe there was a bit of a retooling done to address the slightly squashed appearance of the nose but I've never seen one. I have both versions - this original one (PK-404) with the rather stunted nose, and the second release (PK-412) which had a much better nose and the RWR mod on the tail. Sadly they didn't correct the canopy... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 On 1/14/2022 at 7:18 AM, Galligraphics said: I have both versions - this original one (PK-404) with the rather stunted nose, and the second release (PK-412) which had a much better nose and the RWR mod on the tail. Sadly they didn't correct the canopy... We would love to see the PK-412 Phantom version built up here @Galligraphics, can we tempt you to build yours on here perhaps? Cheers.. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 On 1/15/2022 at 4:35 AM, Rabbit Leader said: We would love to see the PK-412 Phantom version built up here @Galligraphics, can we tempt you to build yours on here perhaps? Definitely not. No… well… maybe. Oh, go on, then… 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 If you need any inspiration to model a RN one have a look at this : Have a look around 15:46. How lucky is that Phantom! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Thanks for that clip, I've watched it a couple of times now and will no doubt watch it again over time. That carrier seemed to get smaller and smaller as the Phantoms and Buccaneers blast off and return. The long front leg on the Phantoms always looked a bit desperate to me, but the wheel off launch of the Buccaneers is just terrifying. I suppose the catapult is going to launch you regardless of how many wheels are on the deck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 For inspiration, I always remember the BBC documentary “Sailor” about Ark Royal, and specifically one particular shot with the sun coming up over the flight deck to the strains of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 All these videos and memories got me fired up to get on with the F4! Quite a bit has been achieved over the last day or so. The airframe is all one bit now and an undercoat of dark grey is currently drying. There are a few areas that need a bit of further sanding and some filler will be needed as well. Fit is generally good with everything pretty much building itself. I've added nose weight using airgun pellets and Milliput. The Phantom build is now running alongside an RAF Buccaneer one, and so far the two builds slot in together quite well. My HiTec drying system (An instruction sheet sat on a radiator) is currently full of builds. Happy days. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dean Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 The Buccaneer is a big plane. I don't know why it didn't make it into the red range alongside the Phantom, rather than dumped in the orange range. Maybe the lack of stores stopped it: Even if they had matched just the Phantom's bomb load, that would have would have been something to kick it up a notch. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 That’s true you say that @Mike Dean and something I’ve never quite thought about until you’ve mentioned it. The lack of stores is probably the difference between the two ranges however no doubt Matchbox sold more pocket money Buccaneers than the more expensive Phantom back in the day? Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 The Phantom hasn't been forgotten, it's getting a bit of attention alongside a few other builds. A bit of filling and sanding has happened, along with yet more undercoating. The wing tanks have also been painted and will be assembled tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a hopefully crisp and clean demarcation line. No picture, I'll add one later. The nose shape is starting to bug a bit. I can see a bit of filling and sanding taking place here as well. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 The neglected Phantom got some attention today. Its been a while. A coat of dark grey to see how the filling has worked and while that was drying a start was made on assembling the six rocket pods. Plenty of sanding down required followed by polishing with S 'n J powder. They were then fitted to the pylons. The missiles got a bit of gloss white when the Skyknight build currently underway was painted. The tail pieces were undercoated and the splitter plates added to the intake cowls. The wing tanks were assembled and the gun pod painted. More later, after this lot dries. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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