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DIY 1/32 Spey Phantom conversion


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 Morning all,

 

Like 99% of those who enjoy building large scale Phantoms, I've been eagerly awaiting a 1/32nd scale RR Spey powered version for as long as I can remember. There is of course the Wild Hare conversion that usually sells for more than my car is worth (on the rare occasion one actually comes up for sale) and rumours are abound that HK were looking at doing one, but I thought life's too short to wait around any longer and it's time to start hacking about at the classic Tamiya F-4J kit. 

 

Before I go any further, it's important to say that this is not going to be wholly accurate and the majority of this is being done with the MkI eyeball and approximate measurements. I'm simply not interested in this (or any of my models for that matter!) being accurate to the nearest half-mill, and therefore what you'll see is something that (hopefully) will look like a British Phantom but won't necessarily be the definitive way to go about such a conversion - you'll need to check @Anthony in NZ's rather epic thread for that!

 

I wasn't going to run a WIP for this as I was concerned about burn-out and failure, but I've actually come a lot further in a short space of time that I had initially anticipated, and I think  broken the back of this conversion, so thought I'd share my efforts just in case there's someone else out there considering the same thing...

 

I thought I'd begin somewhere nice and simple, so tackled the belly of the beast and the inlet doors on the underside. The UK Phantoms have these further forward than the US examples, so it was a case of cutting out the new doors in their forward position, and filling the old ones with plastic card blanks:

 

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These were then filled, re-scribed and given a quick squirt of primer:

 

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Step one complete!

 

The next step was the far trickier intakes. The Speys demanded more air and thus the intakes were significantly wider than the US versions. There is much debate and head-scratching about how exactly the shapes differ, but I've done a bit of digging around and modified mine as I see fit. 

 

In 1/32nd scale, my calculations work out that the intakes are roughly 3mm wider at the front than the US examples. Therefore, I sourced some 3mm strip and carefully cut the kit intake sections in half, front to back, adjacent to the grills on the inner edges of the intakes (the pictures will explain this better). 

 

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Here you can see how much wider the UK version intakes are than the US version - quite a significant gap emerges when test fitted to the unmodified rear sections:

 

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To remedy this, the fuselage will of course need widening too, and the shaded area in the picture below shows the section in need of modification:

 

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To do this, horizonal cuts are made along the top of the intake trunking, with vertical cuts made to allow the section to be opened up. There is a lower horizontal cut, too, made at the wing root to allow to original kit fixings to mate together for strength whilst allowing the wider intake to slot over the upper wing surface:

 

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A wedge of plastic card in then inserted, with the forward-most part being 3mm in width to match the modified intakes:

 

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Lots of reinforcement was given to the interior too:

 

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I'm going to use FOD guards on mine as life is too short to tackle the notorious intake interiors on this kit, but if you were to have them open a further 'wedge' would be needed to plug the gap seen above. Before I went any further, I wanted to check the modified fuselage would allow the wings to fit - which by luck more than careful calculation they did!

 

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The modified intakes were then test-fitted to the modified fuselage:

 

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Before they were glued firmly into place and allowed to set for 24 hours:

 

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The join wasn't perfect but considering the amount of butchery that went on I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Some Milliput White soon made light work of the affected areas:

 

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And after some re-scribing and a shot of primer, things look good!

 

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You can see in the picture above I have started work on the back end and opened up the extra doors the Spey versions have on the rear fuselage. I'm going a later version with the pod on the top of the fin, so plans were consulted and a rough shape made for these from plastic card laminates:

 

52529266295_92e4375910_b.jpg

 

This still needs an awful lot of refining and surface detail added, but it's a good start. 

 

I'm now going to have to concentrate on getting the cockpit done and then I can begin hacking about at the rear end. The Spey exhausts are a fair bit bigger than the US ones, so the hacksaw and filler are at the ready!

 

When done, I'll update this again...

 

All the best,

Tom

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Hi Tom, here are some 3D files that you may find useful http://soyuyo.main.jp/f4/f4-3.html . The files are for the Airfix British Phantom in 1/72 so maybe they can be enlarged and used as a basis for your Phantom ?

 

Also they are free to use.

 

Regards

Robert

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This looks very interesting Tom, and you've already achieved a brilliant result. I wholeheartedly agree with you approach to create something without going to the nth degree. I look forward to progress on this one.

 

Cheers

 

John 

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LOVE IT!!!

Tom, I’m so pleased you’re tackling this monster and so far looks fabulous! Don’t forget Ali does some bits that will save you some time with those engines.

 

What scheme are you after? I might be able to help with spare decals? Or anything else for that matter.  Just let me know if I can help 

 

cheers Anthony 

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Worried about burn out and failure? Not the man who built the awesome 1/32 Sunderland! Looking forward to seeing what you'll do with this. I'm really a jet person but have always loved the Phantom.

 

Richie

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Looks like another legendary build thread in the making!

 

And additional thanks for actually explaining what the differences are! I’ve always known British Phantoms were “different” due to a new engine but never knew how they differed.

 

Regards,

Adrian

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Well done Tom! I really admire the work that Anthony is doing over in NZ but it’s way beyond my skill, motivation and patience level however your approach is pragmatic enough for me, so I’ll be looking in and taking notes.

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You know, I’m so pleased to see this build. Even though I’ve spiralled totally out of control with my own one, the whole idea was to hopefully help others take the leap and do it too.

 

Not that I think I had any impact in your case as you’re madder than I when it comes to crazy projects lol. But this is a totally doable conversion and not as scary as some might think. I hope this build stimulates a few others to give it a go.

 

 I hope I’m wrong but I think that the new RAF Phantom by RPM kit in conjunction with Sprue Brothers will end up as an F-4J (UK). As I say, I hope I’m wrong as I wouldn’t mind doing an FGR.2 as well one day and I don’t fancy converting another Tamiya kit. 
 

Thanks also for the inspiration to forge on with mine!

 

Cheers again 

Anthony

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17 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

Brilliant start, and incredibly ambitious. 
 

Will you be doing her as grey or grey/green camo? 

I have the Cutting Edge sheet with lots of options. Am leaning towards a red tailed 56 squadron bird, but time will tell. 
 

16 hours ago, Robert said:

Hi Tom, here are some 3D files that you may find useful http://soyuyo.main.jp/f4/f4-3.html . The files are for the Airfix British Phantom in 1/72 so maybe they can be enlarged and used as a basis for your Phantom ?

 

Also they are free to use.

 

Regards

Robert

Many thanks, Robert - I’ll wander over and have a nosey!

 

16 hours ago, Viking said:

This looks very interesting Tom, and you've already achieved a brilliant result. I wholeheartedly agree with you approach to create something without going to the nth degree. I look forward to progress on this one.

 

Cheers

 

John 

I’m very much a ‘if it looks right, that’ll do’ type modeller! However, this seems to be shaping up well so far. 
 

14 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

LOVE IT!!!

Tom, I’m so pleased you’re tackling this monster and so far looks fabulous! Don’t forget Ali does some bits that will save you some time with those engines.

 

What scheme are you after? I might be able to help with spare decals? Or anything else for that matter.  Just let me know if I can help 

 

cheers Anthony 

Thanks, Anthony. I have the cans already but the rest will be done from scratch. I have a cunning plan for the jet pipes which I think will work and add a lot of strength to the rear which will be significantly weakened by lots of cutting. All to be revealed in due course - if I can make it work of course!

 

12 hours ago, Cees Broere said:

Ah British Toom? Hmm, now that’s an idea.😂

I wonder who influenced this decision..?!

 

12 hours ago, RichieW said:

Worried about burn out and failure? Not the man who built the awesome 1/32 Sunderland! Looking forward to seeing what you'll do with this. I'm really a jet person but have always loved the Phantom.

 

Richie

No doubt I’ll hop back to other projects along the way with this, but I’m hoping I’ll get there in the end. 
 

12 hours ago, k5054nz said:

There are no words to adequately convey my excitement levels upon seeing this.

Glad to be of service!

 

11 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looks like another legendary build thread in the making!

 

And additional thanks for actually explaining what the differences are! I’ve always known British Phantoms were “different” due to a new engine but never knew how they differed.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

11 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Same here, it's nice to see the differences plainly shown, and tackled in fine phasion! Ambitious, but well worth it.

Never be afraid to take a saw to plastic!

I’m far from a Phantom guru but have done a fair bit of research on this - both about the real aircraft as well as how to do this conversion. It won’t be definitive, but it’ll hopefully give a good insight into how to undertake such a task. 
 

10 hours ago, CJP said:

Wow Tom you and Anthony in NZ are rewriting the book on modelling 1/32 Spey Phantoms - great start.

CJP

 

This won’t be a patch on Anthony’s. If you want to see it done properly, head his way!

 

1 hour ago, galgos said:

Well done Tom! I really admire the work that Anthony is doing over in NZ but it’s way beyond my skill, motivation and patience level however your approach is pragmatic enough for me, so I’ll be looking in and taking notes.

I’ll do my best to keep explaining how it’s done so keep your pen at the ready!

 

1 hour ago, SafetyDad said:

Beautiful work neatly undertaken Tom, and so clearly explained. 

 

Not usually interested in Jets, but I'll make an exception for a conversion like yours!

 

SD

Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, Anthony in NZ said:

You know, I’m so pleased to see this build. Even though I’ve spiralled totally out of control with my own one, the whole idea was to hopefully help others take the leap and do it too.

 

Not that I think I had any impact in your case as you’re madder than I when it comes to crazy projects lol. But this is a totally doable conversion and not as scary as some might think. I hope this build stimulates a few others to give it a go.

 

 I hope I’m wrong but I think that the new RAF Phantom by RPM kit in conjunction with Sprue Brothers will end up as an F-4J (UK). As I say, I hope I’m wrong as I wouldn’t mind doing an FGR.2 as well one day and I don’t fancy converting another Tamiya kit. 
 

Thanks also for the inspiration to forge on with mine!

 

Cheers again 

Anthony

Yours is certainly an inspirational build and I have it book-marked for reference. I confess mine won’t be anywhere near the accuracy levels of yours, but I’ll do my best with what I’ve got. 
 

And you can bet your bottom dollar that as soon as we’ve finished ours, a top of the range injection kit will be along!

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  • 1 month later...
On 11/29/2022 at 10:19 AM, tomprobert said:

And you can bet your bottom dollar that as soon as we’ve finished ours, a top of the range injection kit will be along!

 

Hey Tom! This will certainly be worth watching and great work so far, along with @Anthony in NZ's as well!!

 

As a result of Anthony's build, I've ordered the parts from Ali at Aerorcraft and will start mine at some point soon, possibly for the 'Go Large or Go Home' GB. With three of these on the go, surely someone will release a 1/32 Brit ish Phantom??!! :pray:

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10 minutes ago, Mark said:

 

Hey Tom! This will certainly be worth watching and great work so far, along with @Anthony in NZ's as well!!

 

As a result of Anthony's build, I've ordered the parts from Ali at Aerorcraft and will start mine at some point soon, possibly for the 'Go Large or Go Home' GB. With three of these on the go, surely someone will release a 1/32 Brit ish Phantom??!! :pray:

Go Mark!!!

 

Yup, that's gotta get the chances even higher for a release as soon as we finish...or almost finish LOL

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@Ali62 seems to have bypassed the UK postal problems with shipping overseas as my order, sent on the 5th January, arrived today! Thanks Ali!

 

So now I have the exhausts / burner cans (a ridiculous amount of detail on these!!) plus the canopy and splitter plates, I don't suppose that it's too much to ask for a resin seamless intake section like Alley Cat did for the Hasegawa Phantoms? You might know about those Ali?! ;) I also bought the Lightning 1/32 Canopy for Trumpeter's kit which is stunning! So, whilst I am at it, I cannot recommend Ali's stuff enough! Head over to see where he hangs out here on Britmodeller https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/forum/619-aerocraft-models/ as well as checking out his own site https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com

 

As and when I do get around to do mine then in the decal stash I do have a set of 1/32 decals for the Alcock and Browne trans-Atlantic anniversary commemoration aircraft, FGR.2 XV424 (XV486 was also painted in that scheme) and these were released by CAM and maybe they knew something back then, but a 1/32 RAF Phantom is still missing from the model shop shelves! Anyway, I do have the beginning of a plan!

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Hi Tom, what a cracking conversion. I'm liking the way you are tackling it. Marks build is monumental or should that be just mental?

The work on the intakes has worked very well and I would have gone for the intake blanks too.

I'll follow with interest.

 

Colin

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20 hours ago, Mark said:

@Ali62 seems to have bypassed the UK postal problems with shipping overseas as my order, sent on the 5th January, arrived today! Thanks Ali!

 

So now I have the exhausts / burner cans (a ridiculous amount of detail on these!!) plus the canopy and splitter plates, I don't suppose that it's too much to ask for a resin seamless intake section like Alley Cat did for the Hasegawa Phantoms? You might know about those Ali?! ;) I also bought the Lightning 1/32 Canopy for Trumpeter's kit which is stunning! So, whilst I am at it, I cannot recommend Ali's stuff enough! Head over to see where he hangs out here on Britmodeller https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/forum/619-aerocraft-models/ as well as checking out his own site https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com

 

As and when I do get around to do mine then in the decal stash I do have a set of 1/32 decals for the Alcock and Browne trans-Atlantic anniversary commemoration aircraft, FGR.2 XV424 (XV486 was also painted in that scheme) and these were released by CAM and maybe they knew something back then, but a 1/32 RAF Phantom is still missing from the model shop shelves! Anyway, I do have the beginning of a plan!

Mark thank you for the kind words, glad you like all the sets supplied, slowly I do hope to add more for the Phantom and the Lightning. As far as shipping goes, well that is a total lottery at the moment, but glad your shipment worked out well.

 

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