F-4EJ KAi of 301 Sqn

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

Despite my awful started/finished kits ratio and the late date in the GB, I'd like to enter with a Finemolds 1/72 F-4EJ Kai.

It will be my first Finemolds Phantom and I'll build it as the last one built (17-8440).

 

 

Good attention to detail by Finemolds, they provide two 301 Sqn badges: the one from Nyutabaru has 5 stars on the frog's scarf, the one from after the move to Hyakuri has more stars.

I'll build it as I saw her at Nyutabaru.

 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[trickyrich]

welcome along Stefan, with what is sure to be a lovely model, Finemolds do release some lovely models.

 

Don't worry it's never to late to join in a GB, even if you don't complete her in time, it's all about joining in the fun. The threads stay open so you can always update the build if you miss the finish date.

 

Well good luck with the build their are lots of Phantom Phanatics here who will Phollow the build with interest.

 

Am very jealous you got to see this one in action!!!!  

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome, Rich. 

So far, it has indeed been a very enjoyable experience to work on this model. I've done some small sub-assemblies and everything fits very nicely together. 

The only surprise I got was how small the mating surfaces for the Sidewinder rails are (attaching the parts D5 to E9). In the end, I got them on there but it's something to watch out for.

I haven't taken pictures of the small things I've been doing, but I'll take one tonight.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

A lot small tasks have been done,  a couple more and I can begin to assemble the airframe.

  

 

Cheers, Stefan;

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

This is still largely a loose collection of sub-assemblies, but I wanted to show at least something before I started the final week-end of this GB.

Part E8 (top of the spine) has been glued on, you may notice that there's a gap. I have seen models online where this was filled with putty. I decided to leave this one alone and see what think of the final result.

 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[Stefan Buysse]

 

 

double post

Edited August 6, 2022 by Stefan Buysse
double post

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

This is how it looks like when glued together.

I can unsee the gap near E8, but the one between the front and rear fuselage will get filler. 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[trickyrich]

looking good, that is a fairly fixable gap to fill, hopefully it won't be too hard to sort out.

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

This is about as far as I got before the dead-line of the GB.

I intend to finish this model fairly soon, within a week or so.

I had a great time getting to know the Finemolds F-4. I think I'll build another F-4EJ Kai in the prototypes/ Special  Schemes later this year (the black one from 302 Sqn's retirement pair).

 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[trickyrich]

no worries at all in not finishing her, there will be a lot of others too who couldn't quite make the deadline.

 

Please feel free to update the thread so we can see her completed, and thank you for joining in, that's the most important part.

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

Well, it's a Phantom...so all those stencils take a bit of time. The stabs and the wheels are ready, but I haven't installed them so that they don't get knocked off during the decaling.

 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[Stefan Buysse]

Hi,

 

I'm calling this one done. I'm pleased with the model. As always, some lessons were learned about modelling in general and certainly I got to know the Finemolds F-4 a bit better.

 

 

 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[Wings unlevel]

That’s a very fine Phantom

[Stefan Buysse]

Thank you for the kind words, Wings Unlevel.

 

One thing that I'm going to do differently on my next Finemolds F-4's is that I'll install the stabs into the keel area and then attach that to airframe.

The stabs have good interlocking tabs, but it is a thight fit. With the keel area already attached to the airframe, I could not see what I was doing inside. I did not want them to break off and finally settled for a "stabs unlevel" situation.  

If you leave the keel area off, you can see what you do.

Here's one for an F-4J, I have circled the area that you want to be able to see in red.

 

 

Cheers, Stefan.

 

[helios16v]

Nice result.  Glad to see you were able to get to the finish.  

I feel your pain on stencils.  I just started the decaling stage on a 1/48 EJ Kai.