Tamiya F-4B Phantom

[scott_t]

This is an awesome thread to follow Peter !!!!  Very helpful and educational ! I am at the point with my Tamiya F-4B of attaching the intakes, tail, etc. and will be heading for primer soon.  Keep the posts coming !

-Scott

[Peterpools]

 Bryan

Thank you for your kind comments on both the F4 and my photography. I do spend quite a bit of time on the photographs these setting up the lights and shooting area. Most of the photographs are focus stacked and then all are processed in Photoshop.

The F4 has been a pleasure to build and it won't be long before she rolls out on to the flightline.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Thanks Scott.

Glad to see you are building Tamiya's F4 and making nice progress. I found the intakes a dream to build and attach compared to the ZM and Hasegawa traditional method. Which scheme are you planning on doing? Why not start a build thread so we can see and appreciate your work.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[scott_t]

1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks Scott.

Glad to see you are building Tamiya's F4 and making nice progress. I found the intakes a dream to build and attach compared to the ZM and Hasegawa traditional method. Which scheme are you planning on doing? Why not start a build thread so we can see and appreciate your work.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

Hi Peter

I am leaning towards a USMC bird .....VMFA-323 Death Rattlers. I'll post some pics once I get my paint laid down and I am happy with it. I have a stack of Hasegawa Phantoms, and a ZM F-4EJ just arrived today so I guess I will feel some pain with those intakes compared to the Tamiya ones which were perfect.

Scott

[Peterpools]

Scott

Looking forward to your photos and the VMFA 323 Death Rattlers sounds perfect. The ZM and Hasegawa intakes just take a bit more work and your there.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

Peter,

    Awesome looking work!  And great photos, too!  Stunning!

[DocRob]

Decaling looks great, as the whole bird does with them applied. I was very pleased with how the Tamiya decals performed on the KI-61. They are thick, but they blend in with some Micro Sol and the very small amounts of carrier film is nearly invisible and a coat of gloss might hide it completely.
Good decision on the part stenciling Peter. On a weathered bird you can go all out with the stencils, which are disguised under some tear and grime, but stand out with a lot of unwanted contrast on a clean plane.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz, very much appreciated

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Rob

Completely agree on how far Tamiyas decals have come and I've been using them hand and hand with Furball's (cartograf) and they look just the part. And for my money, I try to use the least amount of stencils - just looking for the effect. Both companies decals do respond very well to both Micro Set and Micro Sol which I've used now since the 1970's. 😉

Keep 'em comin

Peter 

[Bomber_County]

Peter, absolutely stunning………clean, precise, wow wish I could emulate your work. The tail of my ZM was sprayed using Vallejo. I then realised there are a number of NMF areas. Like a fool tried to over spray AK Extreme…….big no no……it was a complete PITA…….are the Tamiya decals any thinner?

[Peterpools]

Hi Phil, so very much appreciated your kind comments on the Big F4.

Got ya. Vallejo is an acrylic and AK Extreme Metals are enamel based. I don't think the AK would eat into the Vallejo paint but the finish might not be as smooth or very metallic as you are looking for. Am I close? Any reason why you didn't use different shades of Vallejo or you just didn't like how they worked? For me, I might have taken a break, re-grouped the troops and sanded the offending area smooth, as you can control the sanding area and then masked and repainted with the black base. Not sure if this was an option or not.

I decided before I began the build how much I wanted to play around with the burner area and what colors I would use and kept it at that.  I'm still going to add a bit more 'burnt look' with Tamiya clears, thinned well and brushed on and maybe a slight dusting of soot - no decision yet. My goal for the build was the overall finish and that includes going very light on the panel lines, only looking at doing the major ones and the control surfaces. My models are if anything only slightly weathered and representative of how we would see them ready for deployment or in a museum (my display case is my mini museum).

The Tamiya decals are their best ye, lay down nicely but not as thin as Cartograf.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

[mark31]

just catching up

great work

 

Mark

[Bomber_County]

Peter, exactly right……I did step away from it and cleaned off the Vallejo, I used the AK True metals in the end and it came out ok, not as refined as you guys but I was happy……

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark

Just a great kit with no vises at all

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Phil

As long as you are happy with the results, that's all that's counts. From the photos you posted, your build looked great. I've lost count of how many times in the past, I've had to go back, strip the kit down to bare plastic or sand off portions of the paint and start over. I just try to learn my my mistakes and going that route, I should be a genius

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

DECALING AND PANEL LINE WASHES ARE DONE

 

8/24/21

 

Holy Smokes, the fuselage and wings decaling stage is done, requiring five long days at the bench to finish. I needed to decide which set of decals to use, Tamiya or Furball (Cartograf), as well as which clear gloss to go with. Why chose one set, just pick the best from each set as I went for each specific application. To be honest, while the Tamiya decals keep getting better and better, Furball (Cartograf) is in a class by themselves – thinner and clearer clear decal film, plus their stencil data sat down so much better. Decals application was normal: few drops of Dawn in the soak water to break the surface tension, as the water alone would just bead up on the gloss surface rather than flow, a few drops of Micro Set in the water as well and lastly both Micro Set and Sol on top of the decals during application – old school for sure.

At this stage, I outlined the red wing and rudder tips with the Tamiya black stripe decals and the gear doors were completely decaled: no issues at all.

I also decided on Mr Color Clear Gloss #46, thinned with Mr Color Self Leveling Thinner and being a true lacquer, dried smooth as ice and rock hard.

I carefully used Tamiya Black Panel Line Wash to enhance the Phantom and add a bit of ‘flying time’ but paramount was keeping the CAG aircraft rather clean. I’m quite happy as to how this came out – the details that Tamiya lavished on the Phantom is amazing. The panels lines are super thin, wonderfully done and with Mr Color Gloss on top, allowing ample channeling for the PLW wasn’t easy. Even getting the PLW to remain in place was a job in itself as the finish was so smooth. I might use a black ink pen in some spots buts that it as the overall effect is exactly what I was after.

Next up:

Apply either Alclad Semi Matte or Semi Gloss Clear to seal up the work to this point and then to finish up the Sparrows, Sidewinders and centerline drop tank.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DocRob]

Simply stunning Peter, your Phantom looks like the one on the boxart, super smooth and refined. The panel lining is like it should be with the chosen look, very fine. 

Cheers Rob

[mark31]

just wooooow

notting more to say

 

Mark

[Peterpools]

Thanks Rob, so very much appreciated.

The kit really is amazing, a joy to build and a boat load of fum. I love keeping my builds on the clean side and a CAG aircraft - what a combination.

Keep 'em comin

Peter 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark

Enjoying the journey and nothing like a colorful build.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GusMac]

Looking stunning Peter. Very colourful - the USN didn't do subtle back then did they!

[GazzaS]

Looks amazing, Peter!  The detail shot at the beginning shows just how crisp those panel lines are. 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gus

Completely agree, as back then when it came to gorgeous color scheme, the prize surely goes to the USN.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz

Just a fun build and zero build issues. Tamiya just keeps raising the bar and the panel lines and are brilliantly molded.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Kaireckstadt]

Stunning result Peter!

Decal application and panelline accentuation is superb! Very smooth and realistic look! 

Did you already decide upon the final varnish?

Can‘t wait to see the progress…