Tamiya F-4E Phantom II: Sharks Mouth 388th TFW, Korat, Vietnam 1968-69: DONE!

[mark31]

I like it so far on the exhaust.

You are on the right track.

Mark

[CANicoll]

Finally got a bit of bench time, as well as some very timely and helpful assistance from Gary at GT Resin since I am not well versed at F-4 Resin upgrades.

Gary's resin parts are amazing - the fit is terrific, and the detail is amazing.  Paint is starting to pull out some of that detail, but also, check out the thinness of the intake splitter - very nice to be able to thin that down to a sharp edge.  Prepainting the intakes per some earlier advice.

Here are the GT Resin engine cans and burners dry assembled.  Now that I know how it all goes together (Thanks Gary!) I'll get on the detail painting.

Toned down the shiny bits on the tail and am happier with the result.  Realized I don't own any clear blue so have that on order.  Did do some additional shading. Thoughts?

I'm not sold on Tamiya sticker reinforcing plates for the stablizers.  There is more detail in the photos vs the naked eye but I'm just not sold on the look.  Can't really see these plates in my references, so soliciting advice - keep or ditch? The gray is actually painted with the underside color.  But not happy with the look.  Just seems too thick.

And finally starting to work on the landing gear - applying some washes to pull out some detail.  Still want to play with this and do a bit more clean up.

Getting close to closing up the fuselage, finally!  Still up is to work on the clear resin canopy pieces.

[BlrwestSiR]

The intake splitters look great. A nice sharp edge like you said. 

The burner can section is excellent. The toning down has helped tie it together nicely. 

As for the reinforcement plate on the stabs, they were not always there. Some planes had them, some didn't. They could even be mismatched. 

[CANicoll]

Carl, thanks for your comments, very much appreciated.  I think I will pull off the stickers from the top of the stabilizers.  Cheers, Chris

[Peterpools]

Chris

Looking mighty good and completely agree that Gary's resin is excellent and so very well detailed.

Painting the chrome intake leading edges now surely helps remove a lot of the frustration when compared to masking and painting them after they are on the big F4, not to mention, they do look mighty good. 

Right with Carl in that the burner cans are looking good and the shading adds a lot to the tail - just wait until the clears are added - it moves the tail to a whole new level.

Carl hit it right on the head with the reinforcement plates - I would leave them since they are already molded on and do look good.

 

 

[CANicoll]

Thanks Peter!  Still trying to figure out which aircraft I'm going to do - I have that Zotz sheet.  SO. MANY. OPTIONS!.

[Martinnfb]

clean and precise work Chris ! 

[Peterpools]

Chris

Just got to love all those Phantoms.

[CANicoll]

Making some progress with the variation of metal tones.  The new paints showed up, but ironically, I used an MRP Fine Silver Primer which looked lighter than the Alclad I shot before.  Also picked up the clear blue - want to know what you think...

Too heavy, too light, just wrong?  Thought please.  How about the metal shading on the sides?

 

And the Stabilizers...  Please don't ask about my painting order of operation.  I have an idea how I'm planning on doing the painting/camo but I can't really explain or defend it.  I just take it a step at a time!!

What do you think of the metal shading?  The Lighter is actually Alclad White Aluminum, and the 'Darker' is MRP Fine Silver Primer.  Part of the shading difference is how the light hits the paint.

This is the underside, with the AF grey.  AND I just noticed that the stiffing plates should be ONE color

.

The top side has the start of the camo colors

 

Thanks!

[Martinnfb]

I like your painting style Chris. The metallic effects look really good. Joy to follow. 
Cheers

Martin

[CANicoll]

Martin,  Thank you!  Jets are very new to me, so all the metallic work is also very new to me.  But following you, Peter and everyone here is a HUGE help.  Cheers! Chris

[BlrwestSiR]

Things look great there Chris. The blue might be a bit on the darker side but that would be nit picking. 

[CANicoll]

Thanks Carl!  I appreciate the feedback.  I was wondering the same thing.  I might work to tone that down a bit....

 

[CANicoll]

Had a few minutes so decided to attach the intakes. I'd say 'pretty good and good' as far as they go.   Here goes:

Left side fit beautifully.  VERY little filler required as you can see.  Even from the top, the fit was terrific and required no filler between the intake and the fuselage.  Nice!!

The right side is a bit of a different story and it may be my own doing.

The side seam was just a bit wider than on the left side, but certainly manageable.  You can see the panel lines lined up perfectly.  Yay!  The top view is a little different story.

No matter how I cajoled, clamped, held, squeezed, etc, this was the best I could do.  I used CA Gel which sets up in about 20 seconds but also is a defacto gap filler.  Once I was sure everything was set - the front of the intake was hard on the fuselage support and the back edge as tight as I could get it, I held it in place for a good two minutes, - just to be sure.  On the top and especially down alongside the intake and the fuselage there was a good 1-2mm gap that needed to be filled.  This may have somehow been my own doing:  When I first removed the fuselage plastic intake to make room for the GT Resin intake - I started on the right side (since mostly I view my aircraft from the left... See, there is a method to my madness!).  

I'm thinking that I did something different on the left side after first tackling the right and that caused the poorer fitment.  I say 'poorer' because this is still a terrific fit.

Once I get this all painted and such, I'm thinking this will be a faded memory....

Its beginning to look like a Phantom II!

[Peterpools]

Chris

Just catching up and you've made some incredible progress.

I'm right with Martin and Carl on your NMF work - beautifully done. The various tones and clear blue shading work so well together and has that Phantom look all over it. Over the years I must have looked and studied hundreds of photographs of Phantom exhausts and almost no two are exactly the same and some are miles apart. It's the overall 'hot metal' look you're after and have captured so very well.

Seamless intakes require hours upon hours of work and the end results are so well worth all the effort. You easily knocked yours out of the park and the fit you achieved is amazing - thumbs up for sure: 👍.

 

  

[CANicoll]

Peter,  Thank you so much for your comments and I am really grateful for the support.  I learn a lot watching your builds!

 

 

[CANicoll]

Making progress!  Did some test-fitting of the cockpit and exhaust/burner cans along with the fuselage and wing bottom. Have a few things to look out for...

First - It is STARTING to look like a Phantom!!  Second, this thing is BIG....

The resin intakes with the splitters dry fitted look good as does the nose, which is just sitting there.  The splitters stand a bit proud of the fuselage so will have to work on that a bit.

The left-side now shows a gap underneath.  It is tight on top and the side, but the bottom has a gap.  The Right side is on the bottom in the picture below.  Not too bad though.  It does look like the intake is not squared up to the fuselage.  Will have to check that.

One thing I've noticed about the bluing of the exhaust is that the blue appears starker in the photographs, then to the eye.  The burner cans are just sitting there, and I have not worked on dry brushing them yet.  Notice the gap in between the fuselage and the wing bottom in the top picture (below).  That may be a dry fitment issue, or the resin parts may be just a bit too big.  Or, more likely, the resin parts shifted when I was closing up the fuselage and that is causing the gap.  There are some parts that go around the burner cans that have not been painted yet and so are missing in these pictures.

What is really showing off pretty well is the Quinta cockpit set.  The seats are just sitting there for now.   Tight cockpit, lots of knobs and switches.

That's it for now!

 

[Peterpools]

Chris

Holy smoke, looking fantastic. I did look very carefully the few fit issues and all seem fixable with time and care. Just seems no matter how good resin AM parts are and the amount of care used to add them to the kit, fit issues seem to crop up later on in the build and need to be addressed. Just go slow, as I know you will wrestle each part that needs adjustment perfectly back into alignment with no gaps at all. 👍 

And absolutely, the Phantom F4-E is BIG and BEAUTIFUL. 

I have a ZM 48th scale F4E in the stash and hope to build it this year, as your build is getting those juices flowing. 

 

 

[BlrwestSiR]

Great progress there Chris.  

I'd say you've done a good job on the intakes. I've used several different intake sets on my various F-4 builds and none have fit 100%. They've all needed tweaking and the odd lick of putty. Like yours sometimes one side is a drop in fit and the other needed massaging. 

I would recommend closing up the fuselage/wing assembly first and then add the burner cans after. The fuselage opening needs a slight thinning around the shoulders but then you should be able to just slide the burner cans in afterwards. 

When you put the upper wing on, check for flexing around the fuselage/wing join. Sometimes the fuselage will flex and that can make for an annoying seam fix. 

The cockpit looks great. The Quinta stuff really pops. I've got a couple resin cockpit seats so I'm a bit torn over whether to go that route. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Oh, one more thing, the front cockpit coaming doesn't completely full the opening. It's a bit short at the front. 

It's an easy fix, just add some styrene to the front of the coaming. 

 

This only on the E versions. The short nose ones are fine. 

[mark31]

wonderfull work you are doing.

I would leave the exhaust area like it is or maybe a bit off smoke over it to at more dirt.

 

Mark

[CANicoll]

Carl,  VERY helpful, as usual, thanks! Definitely appreciate the tips.  I was thinking I needed to add the coaming to the fit and this is perfect timing.  I do have some flat styrene to add. 

The challenge I have with the burner cans is that I'm not sure where to anchor the exhaust tubes the cans are attached to.  The styrene pieces have a flat part which is attached with a screw, but the resin tubes do not have a ready attachment point.  I just had the thought to cut off the resin tubes and attach the flat bit to the resin tubes.  This will get the tube off the floor of the wing and should help with the can fitment.

Lots to work on!

[Martinnfb]

Neat work on blending the intakes Chris. This is going to be one sexy beast. 👍

[BlrwestSiR]

Chris, the exhaust tubes can sit free. The fit is just snug enough that you don't need to glue them in place if you put them in last. Don't worry about the mounting tab between the burner cans.  The only AM company that used the same setup was Aires and theirs were undersized so would fall out if you didn't. 

Your post reminded me that you might need to check the clearance on the inside of the wing at the back where the burner cans go in. 

Putting the burner cans in afterwards means you'll have an easier time getting the wing/fuselage seams dealt with. 

[CANicoll]

9 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

Neat work on blending the intakes Chris. This is going to be one sexy beast. 👍

THANK YOU Martin!!!!!