DocRob Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Stunning paintjob, clean and smooth, great job Peter. Can't wait to see some metal magic from you, with the nozzles and tail parts. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 Thanks Rob The NMF/exhaust work starts today and I'm still trying to figure out the best way of replicating it. I'm using Danny Coleman's book as my resource for what this should look like - for me, new ground for sure. Keep 'em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Stunning and clean paint job, Peter. Well done! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 Thanks Gaz Paint work was finished up yesterday and I'm finally ready to start the decal portion of the build and being a Phantom, there are loads of decals and stencils to play with. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 The Cartograf decals are fantastic, just used the on the 38…….there is a lot stencils, I nearly went crossed eyed doing my F4J…….. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 Phil Completely agreed - my favorites for sure. My only problem is, over the past few years, I've bought AM decals for the Academy F4B and they are the same scheme and stencils galore. I'm only planning on using the major stencils or I'll be applying them for years. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 TAIL END CHARLIE 8/16/21 Work this past week has been dedicated to the exhaust end of the BIG F4. I’ve looked at loads of photographs, my reference books and the exhaust area look different from F4 to F4, so some artistic license could be safely used. My goal is only to be representative and after spending a lot of time masking, painting very lightly staining, the burning effect was lighter then expected but I can play with it down the road a bit. For starters when I do my next Tamiya F4, the stabilizer assembly will be added after painting, no matter what. I used mountains of Tamiya masking tape, Post Its and 3M masking tape and spent hours trying to get it right. Masking and painting around the stabilators took an easy job and made it anything but simply because they were already glued into place. I’ve already had to go back and donate more then a few hours to touching up some bleed throughs and actually twice in some areas as one touch up created a few more bleed throughs, where none were before. What I didn’t want was an overly shinny metallic finish as the heat did its dirty work very quickly and the key was the gloss black base. The area had been already primed with MRP Light Gray Primer along with the fuselage, so I was ready for the gloss black base, which almost always is Tamiya but this time around I used MRP Super Gloss Black. It dried smooth, but nothing like Tamiya for me. The two main metallic colors used were Alclad Steel ALC 112 and Alclad Dura Aluminum ALC 102. For the individual panel staining on the lower exhaust area, I lightly airbrushed on vertical passes Tamiya Clear Blue and Clear Yellow, then another light overlay of Alclad steel and lastly hand painted some very diluted Clear Blue, Clear Yellow and Clear Red. My first time out of the box and I hoped the effect to be of a low time airframe and the beginnings of heat discoloration - still not there. The outer halves of the stabilators both top and bottom are gloss white and needed some tricky masking to replicate the NMF boarders as they do not go edge to edge and have some wickets jogs to them as well. I was pleased on how it turned out and decided to added the burner cans at the end of the build; right now, they are just being test fitted and need a a lot more work. I’ve been using my new Infinity Cutting Mat and OMG, it’s pure magic – can’t recommend it enough. Next up, it’s decaling time and was I surprised when I started … News at eleven Thanks for checking in Peter 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Coming along great buddy !!.....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 Thanks Harv Now the real fun part begins ... decaling. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 The tail area looks good to me, if you are after a more or less new appearance Peter. Let the decal fun begin with all these stencils . Have I told you, that I have a set of HGW wet transfers for my Academy Phantoms stencils . They looked so tempting, having some of the stencils grouped for a certain area. If you remove the carrier film, they will look completely separated, but who knows, If they work... Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 HI Rob - Much appreciated. So far, I have the Tamiya decal set with a load of stencils and two complete sets of Furball 48th Scale F4 Bravo Mig Killers - long story and the stencil data is complete on both sheets as well. Just a matter of deciding whose decals to use and I'm leaning towards the Furball sets right now as the screaming Eagle colors seem to be a bit more vibrant. I bought both Furball sheet a few years ago for the Academy kit which I never built and bought another set not remembering I had already had the sheet and cut a few decals here and there. Better to have too many sheets then search for a sheet that's out of stock or out of production. Keep 'em comin Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Great work on the aircraft tail Peter. Can fully understand that painting with attached stabilators is a time and tape-consuming job. But your awesome result pays off for that! I solved the same problem on my 32nd scale Tamiya F-4J by cutting the stabilators assembly into 2 pieces and fit them at the end. This made painting very easy. They are still movable and the fit is very nice: Maybe this surgery is also possible in the 48 scale version since the construction seems to be quite similar. Looking forward to seeing the decaled bird! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 Kai Thanks so much. I should have done what you did and masking would have been a zillion times easier - live and learn. Your masking on the Tail End Charlie of your F4 looks perfect. A few hours ago I finished glossing the undersides with Mr Color Clear Gloss #46 thinned with Mr Color Thinner - smooth for sure. Tomorrw I'll be doing the uppers and sides and then hopefully by Wednesday, it's decaling time. Keep 'em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 A bit more weathered, but with a good view of the rivets. Taken in Chino, California. Cheers Rob 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Peter, I served with an active RF-4b squadron for a short time in 1984-85. The exhaust vanes...or whatever they are called... are a metallic color with a hint of yellow... with soot all over them. The soot dominates. The soot stains the stabilators, too... as well as those metallic bits underneath. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 Thanks Rob I'll be doing a bit more weathering after all the decals are on and everything is sealed. Keep 'em comin Peter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 Thanks Gaz Going to be playing with the area again and will add a bit more soot and grime Keep 'em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 Peter, perfect as ever, the tail is where I cocked mine up, yours on the other hand is perfectly rendered…. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 Phil Much appreciate but what did you do with the tail that was so bad? Keep 'em coming Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 IT’S DECALING TIME 8/18/21 I’ve finally reached the portion of the build I like the most: decaling. After all the color coats had dried thoroughly, I gave the Big F4 a thorough going over with a Tamiya anti-static brush, removing any dust that still might be lurking here and there. Time to gloss the Phantom and my preferred gloss: Mr Color #46 Clear Gloss. Yes, it smells and even when thinning I wear a good respirator. I glossed the undersides first, let dry for a good six hours then gloss the top and sides and left to dry overnight. Tamiya’s decals look wonderful and they are getting better and better. The fly in the ointment is I had purchased had two Furball F4 Bravo Mig Killer decal sets a few years back for the Academy F4B & F4B/N , never built either the kit. The Furball decal set is gorgeous and printed by Cartograf. The dilemma, which decals to use. I decided to use the best from Tamiya and Furball. Both sets include the gorgeous CAG F4B of VF-51,The Screaming Eagles on a specific date of 5/6/72 so they should be the same but they aren’t. Looking over each set, I found loads differences in color, size and thickness of the lettering and the Eagle itself, especially with the Tail Feathers. Diving in, this is all I’ve accomplished so far and it’s a combination of both sets. The Screaming Eagle is from Tamiya as the Furball Eagle just doesn’t fit right as with the Danger/Intake decal – the Furball decal was a bit too big and didn’t fit naturally as well as the Tamiya. Nope I’m not planning on drowning the F4 with stencil data, just enough to look good and somewhat busy. While both sheets have the minimum of clear carrier film, I do worry a bit more about the possibility of silvering with the Tamiya decals as they are a bit thicker and the carrier film has a slightly milky look to it. I also wanted to see how the Tamiya black boarder stripes worked for the red tip bands and applied the first one to the top of the vertical stabilizer – it fits just fine. Just a few images to show as I’m out of the gate, with the decaling well underway with most of the decals now finished on the right-hand side of the fuselage and wing. Just a few quick images of where I’m at. Thanks for checking in Peter Nearly done decaling the right hand side and keeping the stencils to a realistic number before it drive me nuts. 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Peterpools said: IT’S DECALING TIME 8/18/21 I’ve finally reached the portion of the build I like the most: decaling. After all the color coats had dried thoroughly, I gave the Big F4 a thorough going over with a Tamiya anti-static brush, removing any dust that still might be lurking here and there. Time to gloss the Phantom and my preferred gloss: Mr Color #46 Clear Gloss. Yes, it smells and even when thinning I wear a good respirator. I glossed the undersides first, let dry for a good six hours then gloss the top and sides and left to dry overnight. Tamiya’s decals look wonderful and they are getting better and better. The fly in the ointment is I had purchased had two Furball F4 Bravo Mig Killer decal sets a few years back for the Academy F4B & F4B/N , never built either the kit. The Furball decal set is gorgeous and printed by Cartograf. The dilemma, which decals to use. I decided to use the best from Tamiya and Furball. Both sets include the gorgeous CAG F4B of VF-51,The Screaming Eagles on a specific date of 5/6/72 so they should be the same but they aren’t. Looking over each set, I found loads differences in color, size and thickness of the lettering and the Eagle itself, especially with the Tail Feathers. Diving in, this is all I’ve accomplished so far and it’s a combination of both sets. The Screaming Eagle is from Tamiya as the Furball Eagle just doesn’t fit right as with the Danger/Intake decal – the Furball decal was a bit too big and didn’t fit naturally as well as the Tamiya. Nope I’m not planning on drowning the F4 with stencil data, just enough to look good and somewhat busy. While both sheets have the minimum of clear carrier film, I do worry a bit more about the possibility of silvering with the Tamiya decals as they are a bit thicker and the carrier film has a slightly milky look to it. I also wanted to see how the Tamiya black boarder stripes worked for the red tip bands and applied the first one to the top of the vertical stabilizer – it fits just fine. Just a few images to show as I’m out of the gate, with the decaling well underway with most of the decals now finished on the right-hand side of the fuselage and wing. Just a few quick images of where I’m at. Thanks for checking in Peter Nearly done decaling the right hand side and keeping the stencils to a realistic number before it drive me nuts. Excellent Peter! Keep up the good work! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 Thanks John I really enjoy decaling but the Big Phantom is going to take a good long while to get them all down and add in the time to figure out from whose decal sheet I use for each group. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 Great start with the decals Peter. This will be a stunning livery once finished. Good decision not to apply all stencils. In my eyes in 48th Scale it looks a bit overdone in the end. Keep up with the excellent work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 Thanks Kai, much appreciated I've gone as far as I am going on the right side and wing with the stencils - just want the look and feel. Keep 'em comin Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinBryan Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 7:56 PM, Peterpools said: 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. What?! These photos are awesome! Clear, in focus and free of background clutter and a joy to look at (not that the excellent build/painting job in the image isn’t enough). and enjoying this build and catching up (and obviously rereading a few sections 🙄). Bryan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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