Wings unlevel Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 I phigured a phestive looking Phantom would be a phine way to phinish off the year! With only a month to go I’ll be pushing it to finish by the GB deadline, especially as I’m still working on my Meteor. But then I have time off over Christmas and new year so I’ll give it a go. I’ll be joining @Chrisj2003 in building a Fine Molds F-4EJ Kai. Which I’d actually started in the Turning Japanese GB, but barely got beyond painting some cockpit bits before I got waylaid by the flu and COVID (mild) and work and life and put it aside, so it’s well within the 25% limit. My Phantom will be finished in Double Excellent Model’s beautiful decal set for F-4EJ Kai 77-8399 in 302 Sqn’s black 2019 retirement scheme. These are beautiful looking decals, and a pretty funky looking special scheme. I reckon in its red and black and gold colours it has a bit of a festive feel about it, so an appropriate build for the festive season. Should be phun! Gerard 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisj2003 Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Got to live a DXM special scheme with all the separate stencils. Phantastic. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Nice subject choice Gerard with a great kit and decals to realise it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 Who doesn't love the Japanese Phantom’s. Very nice choice with this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motty Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 Well, if you need reference. ... Hope these help. Cheers, Motty. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 On 08/12/2022 at 18:43, Motty said: Well, if you need reference. ... Phabulous photos Motty, both as references and inspiration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 That is a magic scheme, I'll be following this for sure. I can almost feel a need coming on. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 14 hours ago, stevehnz said: That is a magic scheme It is! I also have the Hasegawa F-4EJ Kai boxing with the the white 302 Sqn retirement scheme too. I did contemplate a double build at one stage but that might have been just a little optimistic given the time remaining! On 08/12/2022 at 04:47, Chrisj2003 said: Got to live a DXM special scheme They really are beautiful decals - can’t wait to apply them! On 08/12/2022 at 07:31, Col. said: Nice subject choice Gerard with a great kit and decals to realise it Thanks for the welcome Col, looking forward to taking part in another of your GBs! On 08/12/2022 at 11:15, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Who doesn't love the Japanese Phantom’s For sure! Choosing which one to build wasn’t easy! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Just now, Wings unlevel said: For sure! Choosing which one to build wasn’t easy! I figure I need about 20 Phantoms alone just for JASDF schemes. I really like their aggressors but some of their anniversary and Final show schemes are tops as well. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motty Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 20 hours ago, Wings unlevel said: Phabulous photos Motty, both as references and inspiration! Thanks very much. I look forward to following your progress with this project too. Cheers, Motty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted December 31, 2022 Author Share Posted December 31, 2022 Some progress, phinally! I was ambitious taking this on the in the time available, but I’m glad I did. Now that I’ve had the time to I’ve enjoyed tinkering away on this in the last few days, despite playing with PE, as it’s a beautifully engineered kit. I have next week off so I should be able to make some good progress from here, I think once the cockpit is finished it will come together really quickly, and I can’t see it needing much in the way of filler/cleaning up. Ultimately I’ll probably miss the GB deadline, but I’ll give it a shake, and will have fun trying! Gerard 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 So long as you're enjoying the project the deadline is a secondary consideration Gerard. Besides, @Enzo the Magnificent did talk of extending this GB by several months so there may be time yet 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 6 hours ago, Col. said: So long as you're enjoying the project the deadline is a secondary consideration Gerard. Besides, @Enzo the Magnificent did talk of extending this GB by several months so there may be time yet Well the kit does practically build itself, so “several months” should be ample! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 I finished dressing the cockpits with the Eduard etch yesterday . Fiddly as always and the inevitable happened and one of the smaller pieces (a screen for the backseater’s centre pedestal) flicked out of my tweezers, never to be seen again, so I used a kit decal as a replacement, but I think it has come up pretty well. I didn’t bother with a wash figuring that the JASDF would have kept this jet close to immaculate. Today, with the cockpits finished and a lot of the major component assembly already done, the airframe came together fairly quickly. Fit, for me, was near but not quite perfect, there are some tiny misalignments at some of the joins, especially the forward and main fuselage join. Looks ok in this photo but is a bit more pronounced in the flesh. I’ve read so many great things about this kit so I’m sure that was more my fault than the kit’s. Oh, and I managed to knock over my bottle of Tamiya extra thin today! Got some on the left side of the nose but no great damage done, hopefully. So a rewarding and frustrating day today, all at the same time! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisj2003 Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Looking good. In my experience the worst joint is the heat shield to the rear, theres no way you can paint that separately and attach after (in case you were thinking of following the instructions on that) Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 3 hours ago, Chrisj2003 said: In my experience the worst joint is the heat shield to the rear, theres no way you can paint that separately and attach after Thanks for the heads up Chris, I’ll give that some thought. It does seem to dry fit ok for me but glueing prepainted parts has always been fraught for me. 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Wow nice looking office. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 9 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Wow nice looking office I have Eduard to thank for that! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 Seats are done. Which means I can finish the cockpits. I’m pretty happy. From a distance it looks decent, if lacking finesse compared to what others achieve - fine detail work for me is very much a skill in progress! I didn’t use all the PE, I don’t have the skills or dexterity for all the tiny harness pieces, but I think viewed from a safe distance it looks something like what it should! Canopy masking and then painting next. If I can start decaling during the week I probably won’t make the deadline but I’ll get close… Gerard 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 With the seats installed I masked and fitted the canopy. And then I dry0fitted the tai, for no other reason than to appreciate that iconic shape... An iconic shape about to get fully dressed in black... I didn't use primer, just slowly built up thin layers of SMS black, thinned and at low-ish pressure. The end result is very difficult to photograph(!) but I think I have a nice consistent and smooth finish, with all the kit's beautiful detail showing through nicely. I think I'll paint the blue leading edges to the wing and horizontal tails, rather than using the decals, so that, and painting the hot-end, is next. Hopefully I can apply the decals this weekend, that's when the fun will really begin! Gerard 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Everything is looking good and smooth in that black Gerard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 They always look sinister in all black. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 11, 2023 Author Share Posted January 11, 2023 20 hours ago, Col. said: Everything is looking good and smooth Thanks Col, that’s not the best photo in the end but I’m pretty happy with how neat it is. 7 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: They always look sinister in all black. They do! Time to add some colour so it doesn’t look so intent on evil! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 This nearly slipped through the net Gerard, that's a great scheme, I view all my models from a safe distance so your finished cockpit looks fine to me too. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 11, 2023 Author Share Posted January 11, 2023 7 hours ago, nimrod54 said: I view all my models from a safe distance so your finished cockpit looks fine to me too. Thanks John, I find squinting helps too! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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