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Alabama Phantom


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Here is a little project I've been working on, on the side. My photos don't do this kit justice, but I seem utterly incapable of capturing a good shot, so these will have to do for now. 

The kit is Fine Mold's excellent F-4D in 1:72nd scale. The kit has wonderful details, is generally easy to build (but don't expect flawless fit like their Star Wars models), and comes with a few interesting options. The F-4D comes with several tail antenna arangements, optional early and late fuel tanks, and a nose with or without anenna bulges. Sadly, there is no LORAN towel rack antenna, and no weapons.

I added an old set of True Details resin seats, and an even older set of Microscale decals, and still older Hasegawa weapons sets. Paint comes from the AK Real Colors USAF Europe set, modified with some Tamiya whites and yellows where necessary.  I strongly recommend the Fine Molds kit, but I learned a few lessons during this build, which I'll be applying in future FM Phantoms (and I already have two more in the stash)

1. glue the metallic bottom tail part, the flanges around the engine exhausts and the vertical rudder before painting. FM supplies these as seperate parts to ease in masking, but none of them fit all that well. Your call, but I prefer to mask than to have to fettle with painted pieces, which leads to a mess and requires masking for retouch in the end. 

2. The horizontal tails interlock in in just ONE correct way. You have to keep at it many times until the tabs slide over one another just right. But it will happen, and then they will line up correctly. Be patient. 

3. The sidewinder rails can be added at the very end

 

And lessons from the additional parts and paints

4. AK Real Colors medium green is REALLY BRIGHT but stands out well from their Forest Green, in scale. So leave it be 

5. Old Microscale decals silver even with a gloss undercoat. They silver where the adhesive has dried out. Silverving has more to do with poor adhesion than with a smooth substrate. 

 

6. The Old Esci and Italeri Phantom kits has slightly shorter (chordwise) tails, and the old Microscale decals sized for them need a little paint touch up to fit this kit

 

7. Invest in a Fine Molds weopons set. The old Hasegawa sets really haven't aged well. 

8. I miss True Details. 

Anyhow. 

This aircraft represents an F-4D flown by the Alabama Air National Guard around 1985/1986. At the time, some of the Alabama and Georgia ANG units were deployed to West Germany. I don't know if they trained in dropping LGBs, but I love assymetrical loadouts, and the blue training munitions look really great against the drab scheme, and so I could not resist a bit of artistic license. 

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Brilliant build and a beautiful paint job.

There is something special about the long nosed Phantoms.

 

Congratulations.

 

JR

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