CANicoll

I really liked the Eduard kit so if the Hase kit is better then I need to get one!

Tempting! The nose BB's are certainly a novel way of ensuring this is not a tail sitter... I wonder how it stacks up to the old Eduard P-39/P-400 kits?

Reskit has a resin engine for this kit. Looks amazing.

Chris is furiously checking the website of a local gaming store which sells a bunch of Gudam modeling stuff....

Then I'm in excellent company! The blade is so thin, but I like it. Thx on the ALQ-87. I just ordered from BNA. SB hasn't had the resin tires/wheels in stock for quite a while, but BNA has those, the Sidewinders and the ALQ in stock - and a few $$ US cheaper than SB so win, win. In the meantime, I can keep going on the build.

Definitely looks right to me.

Carl, Super detail on those side panel - nicely done! Toothpick? The IPs too terrific, too. Watching this build as I'm thinking about an F-15 in the future..

First, had to deal with some intake-seam stuff. On the right side the intake pulled away from the fuselage so had to re-attach that and add some filler to smooth out the joint. On the left side, I guess I missed that there was a slight gap. So had to spend some time on that. Moved on to starting to assemble the Sparrow missiles and this is going to be an exercise in patience. The front fins are easy to remove from the pour block. It is a simple cut across the base and a bit of sanding touch up. The rear fins are a totally different problem. They are smaller than the front fins but the attachment lug stands proud of the base of the fin. What is an easy removal of the front fin becomes at least a five-step process to remove the rear fin from the base. The larger front fin is on the left, and the smaller rear fin is on the right. The fit on the missile body seems pretty tight. f 16 down, 16 to go.. Ugh. Plus 32 more on the Sidewinders... This old razor knife is working wonders. Even with the broken blade, the two sides, fine and medium, make short work of the resin. Then comes priming, painting and decaling. (And I do have other blades for the razor knife, but this one keeps on working.)

Carl, Perfect. That is the one I found too and have in the SB shopping basket, along with the correct Sidewinders. I'm opting for the late model ALQ-87, just because.

Looking good, John! Takes me back to my build of this aircraft. You did a really nice job on the nacelles, Camo paint is looking terrific as well. It is a beast of a kit.

Carl, As always, thanks for your help. I found this on BritModeller to help with the answer of what type of ECM pod: F-4E ECM pods for Vietnam 1972 - Aircraft Cold War - Britmodeller.com. If I decide the AM route, I may just go ahead and order the correct Sidewinders along with the ECM pod. I know that will bug me every time I see look at the plane after it is done. When I get home will see which ECM came with the Tamiya kit and if I want to use that.

Worked on the paint, trying to tone down the mottled/faded effect, but still trying NOT to have it all monotone. The pictures do show a little variation so that's the goal. Tomorrow will see about getting the next color down - light green. Started working on the splitter supports, thinning them down. Wish I had seen this before attaching the intakes. Would have been MUCH easier then.... Tail is just sitting in place. While I was at it, primed the 3D Printed Reskit pylons and I think they came out very nicely. Might be TOO much detail, but this is what they look like after a coat of primer - no washes, no highlighting. Started researching the colors for the missiles - as both Sidewinders and Sparrows have multiple color options. A bit of distress, Vietnam-era F-4's did not have AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles (which are what the Reskit missiles are). Seems like the bulk of the Sidewinders were 9Js. Blast. Also decided to go with white bodies on the missiles. The Sidewinders starting from behind the front fins to the tip is a grey/gunmetal with the rest being white. There is a Light Gray option on the Sparrows, but from contemporary pictures of the Vietnam-theater F-4s the Sparrows seem to be all white. These look to be AIM-9J Sidewinders based on the front fins. I may just have to go with it. Four Sidewinders and Four Sparrows. And the missiles I SHOULD have ordered... f AIM-9L This represents the load-out I'm planning on using.

Thank you, Martin! I do try and learn about the subject I'm building, especially if it's a specific aircraft. Finding out about the pilots who flew specific WWII aircraft brought a new level of interest to me for the hobby. Looking to do the same here.

Looking forward to this build, Peter! This is one of my fav aircraft.

Love it! Colors are perfect. Nice job John!

I just saw this! I can't go to Nats, but will order a shirt anyway.

Finally getting to the painting stage at last. Taking a look at both the Top Notch Camo Mask instructions and the Zotz decal instructions I think I may have a minor problem to address: The Masks look to be for a short-nosed Phantom II, while the decals show a long-nose Phantom. Hmmm. I have not opened up the mask sheet to look at the pieces. Should not be a big problem to extend the nose masks if necessary. Here is the full sheet: Camo Painting has started! Sprayed the brown on the areas indicated. This paint work is pretty typical of the 'white-basing' I do when I'm attempting to replicate faded paint work. More on this later. On each side of the fuselage the splitter supports will need to be thinned down. Compared to pictures I've seen; these are way over scale. Time to grab a sanding stick... Close-up of the nose: To Fade or not to Fade, that is the question... HOWEVER, found a few more pictures on this amazing resource called the Internet. Neither plane looks to have very faded paint. I'm starting to re-think the fading. Between thinning the splitter supports and reworking the intake seam on the right side, I have some touch painting to do anyway. In the pictures below the two planes are wearing a slightly different camo pattern - most noticeable on the nose and right intake. The lower aircraft and the bottom picture are wearing what looks to be the scheme on the Zotz decal sheet. Chaff/Flare dispensers: Best as I can tell from just a few pictures, the 388TFW Phantoms did not have the chaff/flare dispensers (AN/ALE-40) on the pylons. If anyone has pictures to the contrary, please do share!! The pylons pictured below do not have the systems. Below is also a really nice view of the two-tone radome nose cone. Matte tip and glossy base. Notice the hard line on the camo and a general lack of fading. And just a quick look at some of the stenciling head on a general Phantom...

Your dioramas are like still-life's. Very cool looking like a moment-in-time snapshot. Kind of eerie without any people in the picture, but I think that is what I like about them - they capture a moment in time. Excellent work!

739 plastic parts, yep. 3 Springs, ok. 35 screws um, sure. Wait, what? 10 CHAINS???

Brilliant!! Wish I had thought of that on many previous builds....

Jeff, Congratulations on your daughter's promotion! That is amazing. Thanks for sharing!!

I'll second that!!

Wow, no kidding! I wonder how many they had in stock at the beginning of the sale. Out of stock now...

Gents, thank you! I have been using the Medea cleaner for the acrylics like Vallejo, a bit of Model Master acryl thinner and cleaner that I use for the MM Acryl, but the Medea works fine for that, too. Like Peter, I try and stay within the manufacturers range. Simple lacquer thinner from the DIY store for all of the lacquers such as MRP, Alclad, and Model Master Metalizers. I usually do strip down my airbrush after every paint session - the Iwata HP-C is so easy, the GREX is a bit more of a challenge as the needle comes out, but I prefer not to pull it back through the body, I do the 'reverse flush' as recommended, but that does not remove all of the paint residue. The GREX nozzle is a bit harder to remove than the Iwata so I find myself not doing it as often as I should. I do have some of the Iwata Blue airbrush lube that I gingerly apply to the needles that I slip back into the airbrush body.

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