Peterpools

Thanks Phil It's always much easier to hand paint the details when they are molded on so crisply. I have Papa Tamiya to that for that. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Rob - The kit has been a pleasure to work on and completely agree, hand painting the molded on details is far superior to 2D PE. Of course, some kits, molded on detailing is pretty poor and needs to be replaced with PE. I've been playing around with the Quinta 3D interior sets and this is surely the way of the future as there are a few other companies now offering these types of upgrades and even Eduard has their new 3D Look sets. I've be come a complete advocate of W&N Series 7 brushes for precise brush painting and still use AK and Mig brushed for lacquers and enamels when needed. The only drawback to the Series 7 brushes - once you use them, you are hooked forever. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Mike, Much appreciated. Right now I'm working on a lot of the smaller external parts that will be basically painted exterior and interior white and hopefully will be able to do the basic air brush work all at one or two settings at the spray booth. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Carl Completely agree - besides from Tamiya approaching the normal F4 kit part issues, they went their won way and the kit has been nothing but a pleasure to work on. I hear the call of the bench daily which is something I haven't heard in a long time. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Kai So far Tamiya's Phantom has been simply as close to a perfect kit as I've ever seen and nothing but a joy to work on. Their approach in dealing with the commonly accepted shorted coming of the F4 kits has been novel and worked perfectly, plus the amount of details lavished on the kit is never ending. Wouldn't it be phenomenal if Tamiya up-scaled either their F-14 or F4B Tomcat to 32nd scale - we can always hope. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Harv ... much appreciated. Keep 'em comin Peter

MAKING MAJOR PROGRESS I’ve made major progress on the Big Phantom in the past few days. The fuselage is buttoned up, wings and outer wing panels are glued in place. I’ve completed both intake assemblies and OMG, Papa Tamiya’s engineers came up with a completely new approach that turned around one of the troublesome assemblies on any manufacturers Phantom kit. Followed the instructions to the “T”, interiors air brushed with Tamiya Gloss White (no primer used or needed) and they slipped into position perfectly. At this point both are just being test fitted and there are no gaps or seams to fill. Even the notorious vents at the top fit like a dream. One item I’ve never understood is the need to include the complete air ducting from the rear of the intake assembly to the burner cans at the exhausts. You can’t see them and they cause all sorts of alignment issues. On the ZM Phantoms as an example, not only is the complete ducting included and needed but so is the J79 engines. Great idea but why? Unless the builder is planning on displaying them outside the aircraft as a model unto themselves, you never see them. I have them built and installed on my on going ZM F4J and they were finicky and required a lot of tinkering. The internal ducting is not included on the Tamiya kit and not needed at all. What is shown on most Phantoms models are the breather doors on the aircraft's belly. OMG, Tamiya went to town detailing this area and yes it’s pretty well hidden but the detail can be seen if the model is flipped over to see the undersides. I spent a lot of time detail painting the part and the doors are part of the center plug section for this assembly and when installed the large empty center portion is filled as well with details. The nose cone fits like a glove and again and here you need to be careful as to which radar antenna is used, as they are specific to the individual aircraft. The nose cone is only being test fitted in place and not glued into position yet. Horizontal Stabilizers – Tamiya’s is wonderfully detailed, fit like a glove and they are movable which I’m not big fan of and a bit down the line I’ll fix them in place. The fit of the empennage is nearly perfect straight out of the box, with just being careful to line all the parts up. Absolutely no tweaking is needed to set the anhedral of the stabilizers and the wing tip dihedral correctly as the mounting tabs makes it a snap. Just who at Tamiya thinks of these things? He or she should be given a huge raise! It’s important to take note of which parts are for the specific aircraft you are building; do you want the wing tips extended or folded, do you want the flaperons up or down and the same with the speed brakes and other part as well. The vertical stabilizer on most F4 kits is normally a two or three-piece affair but not here; 6 major parts. Beautifully molded and be careful as to which antenna you are going to need for your aircraft as they are specific to the each of the three aircraft. The vertical stabilizer is just being test fit and not a gap in sight. This is one of the few models I’ve built that this assembly can be added after painting is finished and you would never know, as the fit is that precise. The more I work my way through the kit, more hints of additional Phantoms are to come. Just know way of knowing which one they will be. Please excuse my photography for this update – the background need to be replaced (old as the hills) and I’m ordering two new LCD lights to take care of the lighting issues. Thanks for checking in Peter Intake assemblies just being test fitted and what a fit it is. Engine detailing Inside the breather doors which still needs to be installed Awesome engineering, fit and the positional stabilizers

Ricardo Nice work on polishing out and masking the canopy. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Aces on the weathering - looking so good Keep ‘em comin Peter

Craig Astonishing, nothing is overlooked and so brilliantly done. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Mike Decals look perfect and thank you for the tutorial Keep ‘em comin Peter

Frank Brilliant detail work, as the PE adds just the right tough. Ammo trays and belts - a whole new level of detail for sure. Can’t wait to see the diorama - it’s going to be a killer Keep ‘em comin Peter

Rich Wow, the scratch work is amazing and your rust/ peeling paint work is fantastic. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Kai perfect repair on the scratches and the light bleaching on the sand looks killer. Bring on the green cammo color Keep ‘em comin Peter

Oliver Just brilliant detail detailing. Your abilities are endless. Ke ep ‘em comin Peter

Mark Nice progress on the second - just take your time as I found out understanding where all the plumbing goes a bit confusing. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Gaz Resin parts look really nice and they seem to fit very well. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Nice progress on the GT 40 Keep ‘em comin Peter

Kev looking mighty good - terrific work Keep ‘em comin Peter

Mike Any pics? Keep ‘em comin Peter

John Looking smooth as silk. Can’t wait to see the NMF Keep ‘em comin Peter

Ron Looking mighty good Keep ‘em comin Peter

Bill Looking forward to following your progress start to finish and love the plan of keeping it OOB Keep ‘em comin Peter

Carl Paint work is looking mighty good and glade you went with a white gray for the stripe. Sometimes it’s hard to see to subtle shades on a PC, laptop or iPad. Keep ‘em coming Peter

Martin Awesome photographs - surely seems you covered just about everything Keep ‘em comin Peter