1:72 FineMolds F-4EJ Kai Fighter (2020 Special Marking Blue)

[TheBaron]

Sorry to hear about the medical problems with your intakes Bill but the fuselage is coming along very nicely.

[Navy Bird]

On 04/09/2023 at 09:02, bissyboat said:

Coming along nicely and great photos of the whole working progress on the Ghost. ⚓👍

 

Thanks. She's progressing more slowly than I would have liked (our local contest is on September 17). Maybe she'll make it.

 

On 04/09/2023 at 11:07, David H said:

Also interesting to hear about the gear leg alignment. That aspect drove me batty with the Hasegawa Phantoms; the retraction struts are too short and if built from the box it gives the model a weak, bow legged look- Not the wide, confident stance that a Phantom really has.

 

Really nice design work by Fine Molds. I was a bit concerned when adding the main gear struts until they literally snapped into position, nice and solid. As far as my Mk.I ciliary zonules can tell, alignment is spot on. 

 

Ah, the Zonules of Zinn. That's either a good name for a band or a Doctor Who episode. 

 

14 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Sorry to hear about the medical problems with your intakes Bill but the fuselage is coming along very nicely.

 

Stickeration is in progress. Billions of stencils. And now I remember why I was leery of the metallic blue markings - whatever process is used to print those results in a rather thick decal. Tons of solvent, and some ares of "not what I'm used" surface compliance. But I think we'll get there - some nasty looking wrinkles on the neckerchief/cravat eventually settled down overnight.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

In-process stickerating:

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

[SebTartar]

That is a clean job!👌

 

I am usually not fond of anniversary liveries but  this one looks nice.

[cpoud117]

Nice job dealing with those large decals!

 

On 9/6/2023 at 2:12 AM, Navy Bird said:

Thanks. She's progressing more slowly than I would have liked (our local contest is on September 17). Maybe she'll make it.

This should be no problem, you're on the homestretch already!

[giemme]

Great job there, Bill!  An absolute nightmare for me, I'd never venture into placing large decals like those, for my own sanity   

 

Ciao

[lyn]

A great work well done

[Terry1954]

The stickering process seems to be going well Bill.

 

I dread stickering. I mean, I don't just not like it. It's not that. It's usually the final phase of bringing a model to life (OK some post stickering stuff to be done as well). The model comes alive with stickers ................... but if they don't work as advertised on the tin, it's a massive frustration, so late in the build..................

 

Having got that off my chest, I can re-confirm, your stickering is going well!

 

Terry

 

 

[Navy Bird]

More coming soon...right after I recharge the battery on my camera.    

 

In the meantime, here is how I spent my summer vacation:

 

 

And I do mean SPENT.     💵  💲  💶

 

Me and the old lady - who conspired with all those kids to demolish my retirement portfolio:

 

 

And, of course, little 2-year old Dexter who wanted to play in the sand and not have to pose for pictures:

 

 

He actually calls this look his "evil eye." Kids nowadays...

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Oh, 7-year old Carter finished his RF-4C. Need to get a picture of him with that as well.

[giemme]

Love the Hawaian shirt, it really suits you

 

Little Dexter looks like he means business

 

Ciao 

[David H]

I know i've said it before but.... Mee Likee.

[Terry1954]

That first picture is awesome Bill. It's what life is all about, for me! 

 

Dexter looks scary, a future fast jet jock perhaps?

 

Terry

[Navy Bird]

OK, battery is recharged.  

 

Stickers are on and required little touch up. How I accomplished this is beyond me - as I mentioned, the decals were quite a bit thicker than I'm used to.

 

 

I decided on a semi-gloss finish, courtesy of MRP Super Clear Semi-gloss lacquer. Still, with the right lighting you can see the "thickness" of the decals. And that is after I shot several coats of Mr. Color UV Cut clear gloss with Mr. Leveling Thinner hoping I could, in fact, level things out before the final coat. I give up.

 

 

I'll get a better shot later, but I added the PE HUD framework from an Eduard F-4J fret. I'm painting up a pair of old Verlinden resin Mk.7 ejection sets which fit well and look so much better than what's in the kit.

 

Stencils, anyone?

 

 

The more I look at the this scheme the more it reminds me of a Pepsi can.    

 

I've mixed up some paint to "almost" match the metallic blue, as I needed this when I painted the front of the drop tanks. I made this from two Gunze flavours - H88 Metallic Blue (too green by itself) and H35 Cobalt Blue. If you don't look very close, you'll swear it matches.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Vultures1]

Looking great, Bill!

[giemme]

Utterly impressive, Bill!  

 

I gave away the decals that came with my FM kit, but just by looking at the sheet they seemed very thick - now that you confirm that, I'm glad I did

 

Ciao

[cpoud117]

7 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Still, with the right lighting you can see the "thickness" of the decals. And that is after I shot several coats of Mr. Color UV Cut clear gloss with Mr. Leveling Thinner hoping I could, in fact, level things out before the final coat. I give up.

Honestly, if you had not told, we wouldn't have guessed. Great work!

 

I'm with @giemme with the FM decals and Japanese sheets in general. I'm especially baffled by the way they bundle up stencils in group using clear film. While everyone else tries to trim excess film, they give you the option to cover half your model with it 🫣

[alt-92]

They're a bit like Tamiya decals in that regard, so treat them as such.

Warm/hot water, and a stronger decal solution (Mr.Mark Setter works, I've heard).

[Navy Bird]

7 hours ago, alt-92 said:

Warm/hot water, and a stronger decal solution (Mr.Mark Setter works, I've heard).

 

Didn't help much in this case. I learned this trick a while back with respect to the decals on the Tamiya F4D, and have always done this with these type of decals. In this case, I used Micro Set/Sol, Mr. Mark Setter/Softer, MiG Ultra Decal-Set/Ultra Decal-Fix, etc. I didn't try my old bottle of Solvaset as it might melt the plastic...

 

*****

 

Thanks guys. I just need to finish up the canopies, seats, and drop tanks and that's it. The decals on the drop tanks are particularly nasty, as they have to conform over a surface with compound curvature (different curvature in different directions). I flat decal won't do this without a LOT of help. Ugh.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Fritag]

Great family photo's Bill and I'd echo what G said about the shirt.  Altho' I'm not allowed to choose my own shirts so my judgment may be suspect...

 

15 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

How I accomplished this is beyond me

 

Well the stickering itself weren't, Bill - that's the main thing.

 

Looking like a typically immaculate Navy Bird Bill.  There ain't much higher praise than that to be had.

 

 

 

[Navy Bird]

On 15/09/2023 at 11:51, Fritag said:

Great family photo's Bill and I'd echo what G said about the shirt.  Altho' I'm not allowed to choose my own shirts so my judgment may be suspect...

 

I have an entire closet full of Aloha shirts. Plus other goodies too - like a Spanish Inquisition t-shirt and a certified Medina Sod bowling shirt (from The Big Lebowski). I don't do tuxedos very well.     🤵

 

*****

 

So, let's add Covid to the list. I tested positive yesterday, as did my granddaughter Leah. We were both at the model contest on Sunday and I suspect we picked it up there. Symptoms are mild so far. Leah was my cashier at my vendor table - she even made a nice sign:

 

 

Based on her spelling, I think she knows about my predilection for craft beers. Anyway, the sign did the job as I sold everything I brought - 54 kits plus all the aftermarket I had for each kit. As far as the contest goes, I had a good day (bribing the judges always helps). Gold for my Valom Northrop BT-1, Silver for my Airfix A6M2b Zero, Gold for the Revell/Matchbox PB4Y-2 Privateer, Gold for the Emhar F3H-2 Demon, Silver for the Airfix A-4B Skyhawk, and Silver for the Fine Molds F-4EJ Kai. Plus, the Privateer won the Best Aircraft award.

 

Speaking of the F-4EJ Kai, here she is:

 

 

RFI to come I suppose.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. You'd have to pay me a lot before I'd do these decals again. The kit is amazing, but someone like Xtradecal need to make some THIN stickers for this scheme.

 

PPS. Still looks like a Pepsi can and I'm not the only one who's mentioned that.

[Terry1954]

The F-4 is looking superb Bill, as we knew it would. A very colourful finish to an iconic aircraft.

 

Too bad re the Covid pickup, let's hope it's not too bad a dose.🤞

I have my autumn Covid booster tomorrow. I reacted very badly to last years, and felt quite rough and unwell for 24 hours, but fine after that. I actually felt worse for that one day than I did when I caught Covid properly early last year! Last week's flu jab left no unpleasantness at all. I hope tomorrow's booster is kind to me, as we are immediately driving up to Norfolk for a break, which includes seeing some BM crew over the weekend, at the Old Buckenham museum 🥳

 

I can see the Pepsi analogy!

 

Terry

[Navy Bird]

4 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

The F-4 is looking superb Bill, as we knew it would. A very colourful finish to an iconic aircraft.

 

Thanks Terry. I was scheduled for my Covid booster this Friday, but can't do it if I currently have the silly virus. Since this crazy thing began I've had four jabs of the Pfizer RNA vaccine - this booster will be number 5. My symptoms now are pretty mild, mostly aching joints and dizziness. No fever or shortness of breath. Keeping my toes crossed.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. I guess I have to go and finish the Victor now.

[Thom216]

Glad to hear the symptoms are mild for you this time around. Hope your GrandD is doing good too. And congrats on the showing!

[giemme]

Congrats on the show results, Bill!   (and the sale, too... )

 

This Phantom is fully compliant with NBS standards, Pepsi can or not    An absolute decals nightmare, and for this even more outstanding!

 

Ciao

[Billy54]

Hello Bill,

 

Very nice build, I like it a lot. I am a big fan of Japanese Phantoms. 

 

A little late to let you know this however DXM do a set of the "yellow 301 Sq Final Year" scheme decals, it's the other F-4EJ on the box photo.

 

Nice to hear you had a wonderful 50th anniversay (ours come up next April) and a successful show. I was sorry to hear about your covid news, hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery.