PeterB Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Above is a link to the Phantom I started in the F-4 GB but did not finish - I got this far. As and when time permits I will add the u/c and vertical tail and then start painting it. It will soon be joined with a couple of F-14's and an F-11F-1 which I hope to coninue in the KUTA. Cheers Pete 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 I have moved it along a bit, and now it is ready for painting. I had a bit of a panic when I could not find the nose wheel doors until I realise they were on the clear sprue! I have deliberately left off the vertical tail for the moment as the small probes are far too vulnerable at this stage, and the "horizontal" tail gets in the way of putting decs on I gather. Otherwise I have just about completed all the build steps except for the nose doors, cockpit and wheels, and of course the armament. Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) Lot more to do but it is beginning to look the part. I will paint the radome and then close up the cockpit next. Then I can start on the fairly complicated paintwork around the jet nozzles and tail. Pete Edited January 13, 2022 by PeterB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 (edited) Since Airfix started releasing their latest generation of kits about 10 years ago reviews often mention the well thought out engineering and excellent fit of the parts and I generally agree, though there are exceptions, for example the engines and nose glazing on the Beaufort I built last year. This kit is generally pretty good but the canopy was far from perfect. I suspect it would have been better if I had used the 4 individual parts, but the closed option is rather a different matter, perhaps due to its length, so it needed a bit of filling. I have built 10 Phantoms to date starting with the old Airfix F4H-1 aka F-4B back in the 1960's but have never got round to an RN F-4K until now. I remember them from the TV documentary "Sailor" shot on Ark Royal in 1976, when I thought that both the Phantoms and Buccaneers were painted a dark blue, but of course it was just the way the normal Extra Dark Sea Grey responds to lighting, particularly when faded/weathered a bit. To my mind it is a good camo colour, at least over the Atlantic, and I have always wondered why the USN switched from Sea Blue to Gull Gray uppers as it seems to be a poor choice either over water or land. I had a look in one of my Monogram "guides" on USN/Marine colour schemes and it states that the order to change to gray was issued in February 1955, saying that it gave a degree of camouflage and also good protection against the thermal shock from a nuclear explosion, so I guess the latter aspect was considered more important than not being easily seen! In 1977 another change was ordered for fighters, getting rid of the Insignia white unders as they gave away when the plane was manoeuvring in combat - shades of Vulcans and Buccs at Red Flag! Anyway, just a little touching up to do and then I can start with the multitude of decs. I expect they will take me quite a few days so in between doing them in batches I can get the rather complicated tailplanes painted, together with the pylons, tanks, missiles and wheels. I can also probably work on the 3 other kits I have currently on the go, and maybe even make a start on my F/A-18A. For anybody not familiar with this kit the decs are numbered 1 - 260 and in some cases there are multiple decs with the same number. I am not going to count them but I guess there could be in the region of 300 in total. For the sake of my sanity, and accepting that my eyes and hands are not as good as they used to be, I suspect some (maybe lots) will be missed off. The most I can remember doing previously was in the region of 100, and that was probably the Fujimi Tomcat in the GB - 55 "no step" to start with and then the rest! Bye for now. Pete Edited January 14, 2022 by PeterB 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 I have made a start but it is going to be very slow - including those for the tanks, missiles and pylons, and the two other schemes the kit offers there are probably nearer 400 decs, laid out in just about numerical order cramped together on the sheet. Some are so small, and when black on the Extra Dark Sea Grey paint are just about invisible so a few may well be missed out. The layout of the decs means that my normal habit of concentrating on one area at a time when putting decs on - say under a wing, is not practical. as the placement is a bit random numbers wise. Instead I think I will end up working through them numerically, crossing them off as I go. Hopefull it will be worth it at the end! Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 A bit more progress. The photo is a bit out of focus but you can see where I am at the moment. I have just reached decal number 105, so plenty more to go. I noticed that in my last post the little black stencils did show up on XDSG paint so I have put the ruddy things on after all. Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Maas Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Ah stencils. So annoying, but the Phantom just doesn't look right if it's not complete covered with them. Very nice work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 I have taken a break from putting decs on to finish painting the payload. Of course now I have to put decs on the missiles and belly tank! Hopefully should be done by the end of this coming week. Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) So, after a short excursion on the railways - see elsewhere on this GB, I am back on the decs. I know I said I would miss some out as they did not show on the XDSG background, but then found that they in fact do once in place and varnished, so I have tried to put them all on (more fool me perhaps). I say "tried" as a few just went AWOL during the process and they are so hard to see that some may not be in quite the right location, but anyway I am up to dec number 160 and the upper surfaces are almost finished. the rest will be on the white unders and more visible - at least in theory! With luck the decs will all be on by the end of the week and I can start finishing this off - it has been a while! Pete Edited February 6, 2022 by PeterB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 At last! All the airframe stencils are on. Of course, as you can see from the smll "no step" ones on the upper trailing edge, it is for some reason impossible to see them against the XDSG when putting them on, but once they have a coat of varnish on it becomes clear they are not lined up correctly! I won't bother with the small ones on the next kit. So that just leaves the missiles and pylons and then I can glue on the rest of the bits and put the plane spectific decs on. Pete 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 It's amazing that the plane could fly under the weight of all those stencils! It's looking great though Pete and good to see that you're almost there. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 At last, it is finished except for a final coat of varnish. This really is rather a nice kit and the fit is mostly excellent. I have mentioned earlier a slight problem with the canopy, and the decs with the stripes for the Sidewinders were rubbish - far too long and stiff so unlike the similar sized ones on the Sparrows, they just would not wrap round the body of the missile - they would have gone round 3 times if they had! I used stock line decs instead. I have only one minor grumble - I had fancied doing it with the nose leg extended in the take off position, but after decades of providing crew figures, Airfix have apparently now decided to leave them out! Ok, I could have bought some aftermarket ones easily enough but I could not be bothered. Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Hi Pete, well done! How you managed to glue all these stencils is beyond me. If they don't give you an OBE for this, then apply for a sainthood. You should get it! Seriously, this is madness. But it was worth it. Congrats on a splendid Phantom! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravnos Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 That looks great! well done on the stencils. I've got one of these kits on my to do list so I'll remember the tip about not doing the tail till after painting 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 Finally got some decent weather for photos so it is finished. The sun shows up the blue shift on the XDSG paint rather well. It is a nice kit and I enjoyed finishing it off - except for the several hundred stencil decs!. Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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