CANicoll

Rob, you are far too kind! There are lots of seams I left (or found later, ugh) and the wingtip attachment has a gap that makes the Grand Canyon look tiny. 😉 But thank you!!

Rob, I like having figures in with the models. It does lend a sense of scale but also adds to the story. Nice work!!

Thank you!

The cockpit pictures are in the build thread, I must have deleted them from my computer. Sorry!

This build is not up to what I expect from myself (so many seams are left, and some unnecessary fitting gaps, and the wing tip joins are terrible), but it represented so many firsts that overall, I am pleased with the build. The scale of a 1/32 Tamiya F-4 with resin and 3D printed bits was mind-blowing. The Quinta cockpit set added enormous detail so thanks to Peter for turning me on to Quinta. The ResKit missiles, pylons and ANQ were a new thing to play with but added some extra detail (and stencils) to the build. All told, I think the decals and stencils came in right at about 200. I left off probably 20-30 stencils on the underside. Here is the build thread. Just keeping everything organized was a job onto itself. Plus, this thing is HUGE. Apologies for the photo quality - it far exceeded the size of my photo booth so I had to try and tack the background against the wall... I'll get back to some more weathering and detail/touch up painting, but I've always wanted a SEA sharks mouth F-4 Phantom and with everyone's help, I have what I think is a beauty. I can't thank Carl, Scott, Martin, Peter and everyone enough for the comments, suggestions and support. I am also grateful to Martin who extended the deadline for the group build, with sincere apologies to everyone who was able to meet the original deadline. Cheers, mates! Little Chris F-4E, Block 37, 68-0322 388th TFW, 469th TFS, Korat AFB Little Chris took its first flight in December 1968 and survived Vietnam. The plane was transferred back to the US where it was refurbished and reallocated to the 3rd TFW and the 51st CW. Sold to Korea as part of the Peace Pheasant program in February 1990.

Folks, There is still some detail painting and some touch-up to do, but I'm calling this bird cooked. Working on the RFI thread now. I am grateful for everyone who took this journey with me. Carl, I owe you big time, thank you! Peter - your inspiration has always carried me my friend. Martin and Scott - I always listen to what you guys say. (Not that I can always DO what you suggest! ). Everyone, thanks for the comments and support. It has been a trying few months and building is a nice escape, with great people. Here is the RFI thread. Cheers!

I should have learned!!!

Scott, beautiful paint and wash work on your F-14. Looks terrific!

Mark, Beautiful work and the in-flight show is excellent! Pilots and all. Stunning work.

Beautiful work, Scott! I tried to build this kit one time, has massive problems with the canopy glass and ended up binning the entire thing, maybe 10 years ago. But this is a visually stunning aircraft. Nicely done!

Rob, This is just a beautiful plane and excellent build. Kudos on the figures as they make a nice little storyline there. 🍺

I can see where I am getting to the final stages of assembly. The entire bottom of the aircraft needs a lot of wash-work, but that will have to come later. Finally mounted all of the missiles and the ANQ. The sidewinders were a bit tricky as the ResKit mounting points differ from those on the kit missiles, plus I wanted to make sure I mounted them in the proper place. The missile rails are not as even as I would have liked, but close enough. The warped body on some of the Sparrows made for having to be careful about placement so that noses of missiles were not pointing in wonky directions. I checked the photographs I have of the F-4 with the ANQ and found it mounted both ways: long nose in front, and short nose in front. I guess it worked fine either way. Canopy attachment is next after the Sparrows are firmly dry. Attached the Sidewinders with CA so they are not going ANYWHERE... Surprisingly, I did coat the topside with a semi-matte MRP clear, and it still looks very shiny to me even after 3 coats. So be it! ALMOST RFI...

Ahh I agree. There is something to be said for individuality on the camo scheme. The Spitfire and F-4 Phantom II camo patterns are nice, but I like the splotches on the ME-262 and Bf-109s.

Definitely a nice build, John and you have the historical photo as well which I always like, too. Why did you choose this particular AC?

That is awesome! Even down to the Fram filter decal! That is really nice work - the photographs help see what you are doing. Thanks.

Gotta love a free-hand camo pattern! Nicely done, Peter!

My MKK is YEARS old and quite thick so I should thin it some. Agreed on the clear Sidewinder bits. Or at least be a lot clearer on where to cut to remove the pieces. If I had more patience I would have shaved the pieces down - but at this point I don't want to spend a day at the bench doing that. Getting closer!

Rog, VERY COOL and Happy Birthday!!! Awesome seeing how your house is coming together. Very cool and looks very sturdy. Do you have a completion date in mind?

I feel your pain on the stencils!! The missiles look awesome! I will do a gray wash on mine as well...

Another gotcha has popped up. Ugh. I thought it would be a simple matter to separate the clear pieces for the sidewinder bodies from the pouring blocks and then fit them to the missiles. No such luck. Those pieces are TINY. And very hard to hold. I guess I cut them a bit long from the block (and like an idiot I cut them all off the same time) so they are too wide to fit into the groove on the missile. This looks like it is almost there, but it took a very long time to get this close. And this was after spending a good 15 minutes doing my best to sand the edges to narrow the piece to fit. Given there are 8 of these, I was not looking forward to two hours of trying to sand these to fit. So got the bright idea to use Formula 560 and Micro Kristal Klear to made the clear parts. I figured I would try both and see which worked best. Top is Micro Kristal Klear and the bottom was Formula 560. The MKK was harder to use as it is pretty thick while the 560 was easy to apply right from the bottle. The downside is that the thinner 560 REALLY shrunk quite a bit. While the MKK hardly shrunk at all. The MKK is on the middle missile while the 560 are above and below. Also put a drop of MKK on the nose for the lens. The MKK is shrinking some, but not nearly as much as the 560. Going to let this completely cure overnight then tomorrow will hit it again. I can see where I mess up one of the Sidewinders... Will hide that best as I can! Updated: The MKK worked pretty well on the bodies. Added a bit more to the nose but I like the results. MKK does flatten out a bit over time. Working on the main gear flaps too. Wanting to get this build across the line, so paying a bit less attention to weather the underside. Also attached the nose gear door, which needed to be painted dark green and have the numbers added according to the Zotz decal sheet information. The sharksmouth decal went down very well, but it is a bit thick. But I like the look. Getting closer!!

Wow, that is fast progress. Agree with Carl - nice job on those intakes and the Alclad. Pretty shape to that aircraft, too. You are making the most of it, as usual. Glad to hear it was only a computer problem that kept you off line. Whew.

Welcome back, Kai! Good to see your work again. Top notch stuff. Harv is busy on Facebook as well - lots and lots of updates there.

Sandbox or Tallies is catching my attention, but I do have ONE racer in the stash.... Unless you include the B-58 which set some speed records.... then I have two...

Looking good!!!

Ugh, been there, done that on both: the sanding gouges and primer lifting... Frustrating!