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Tamiya F-4E. Easy Rockin Mama.


Guest Nigelr32

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Guest Nigelr32

Hello,

 

Here's an update on the BDR panel removal program on this Tamiya F-4E. It has taken literally hours to do all this, but I feel the results are worth it.

 

scribing3.jpg

 

Every rivet on the upper fuse has been redone, and almost every line rescribed, along with some new lines.

 

In the next pic you can see the panel removal around the starboard tail area. Most of the rivets here have been filled, as they are not in the right place to line up with the new lines.

 

scribing2.jpg

 

And more on the port side...

 

scribing1.jpg

 

And finally, a view of the top from the port side.

 

scribing.jpg

 

I have placed the fuse next to a virgin F-4J fuse, just to show what has gone on here. next, she'll get a scrub in the bath, then a very light coat of primer, so I can see where I need to do some patching up.

 

I really don't want to do this again...but ..oh no!! What about the F-4J??? I think I'll build my Tamiya F-15E and Trumpy SU-25 first!! I don't think I could build another Phantom!!!.....yet.

 

Thanks for looking by.

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Guest Nigelr32

Hi all..

 

Having looked at a load of pics for reference on the BDR panels, I decided there was something wrong with the grilles above the exhausts. This pic shows it well, as taken by deadmeat in the reference section of the F-4 SIG.

 

untitled1.jpg

 

You can then see in this pic that theres more than just the grille that requires attention...

 

untitled.jpg

 

See how the shape of the rear end is all wrong around the top of the exhaust, and the angle below the grille is too steep..

 

rearend.jpg

 

The exhaust here is the Aires one..Beautiful!!!!

 

rearend1.jpg

 

So, I've scraped, sanded and scribed the rear end panel to better match the form of the real thing. The Tamiya kit seems to "wrap" around the exhaust too much at the top.

 

Here's a before and after

 

rearend3.jpg

 

In this final pic, you'll notice the difference in the form, the angle of the part below the grille, (Roughed out only at present), and the shortened grille, which is also now a real grille, i.e, see through.

 

rearend4.jpg

 

There's a lot more work to do in this area yet, with plastic card, filler, scribing, rivetting...... it just goes on and on!!!

 

In fact, when I look at this again, I think I need to remove even more from the rear panel, to tighten up the radius of the titanium panels above the exhausts??

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Guest Nigelr32

rearend9.jpg

 

This is the rear end after much work with the sriber and Mr surfacer. If you want to achieve the stepped look, as I have, where the titanium panels meet the painted fuselage, you'll need to remove some material from the fuselage inner walls, to allow the bottom section to come out more.

 

I've also been plodding away with the nose, which takes a lot of work to get right, due to the fact it's clear.

 

nose3.jpg

 

I'm quite happy with my scratch built vents, but even more happy with the eduard vents in the gun shroud..

 

nose4.jpg

 

Thanks Eduard!!!

 

I've also been playing with the Cockpit, which is a major painting exercise in itself!!!

 

Here's the parts at their current level, with much work to go yet.

 

pit.jpg

 

And a close up of the yet to be finished IP's..

 

pit1.jpg

 

pit2.jpg

 

Why does my painting always look awful on the PC screen??? It looks OK in the flesh???

 

This is my first ever resin 'pit, and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone. It's a bit more work, but my lord, it's worth it!!

 

Well, thanks for stopping by. I'll carry on with the 'pit.

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Here's the 'pit, all finished up except for a light drybrushing session.

 

pit3.jpg

 

pit4.jpg

 

pit5.jpg

 

I seem to be having some trouble with my lighting tonight, as far as pics go, but I think you can get an idea of what I've done??

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Guest Nigelr32

Here's the nose bay pretty much complete I think??

 

nlg4.jpg

 

The loose wire at the rear will be pulled down through the tubing, to become the cable that feeds the antenna on the door.

 

The copper and lead hydraulic lines on the gear strut are only placed loosely in place to represent how it's gonna look. I think I'll sand all the ribs off the strut, and replace them with tape... more realistic!!

 

Note also the plastic card bits, not too much required really??

 

Here's the other side.

 

nlg5.jpg

 

Finally, if you don't want to fit the nose gear before major assembly, or you want to paint the bay without having to add the closing mechanism afterwards, you can...

 

Simply cut the "Lump" off the end of the strut, and drill and fit a pin. You can then glue the lump into the bay, and the closing gear on top of it.

 

nlg6.jpg

 

Thanks for stopping by.

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Guest Nigelr32

I've polished the rams and masked them before giving it a quick coat of etch primer. The seams require a little work still.

 

You'll also notice I've opened up the solid lump at the top of the leg, both the metal and plastic parts. I think this makes it look a whole lot better!!

 

nlg7.jpg

 

If anyone else is thinking of doing all this to their nose gear, remember, all the variants of F-4 are different in the nose gear well. The F-4J is totally different than all the USAF versions.

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Guest Nigelr32

Here's the nosegear all done, with cables and hoses added. Just needs paint and weathering now.

I know the straight pushrod shouldn't go through the swivel mechanism, but the cylinder it attaches to is in the wrong place. I didn't want to move it.

 

 

The tie down ring is made of 0.5mm copper wire, as the Eduard "ring" is solid?? All the hoses are 0.3mm lead and the rod is 0.64mm plastic rod.

 

nlg8.jpg

 

So, now onto the amazing Aires exhausts. These are a must for this kit.

exhaust.jpg

 

Here they are, all cleaned up with the plugs removed.

 

 

exhaust1.jpg

 

I measured the width of the fuselage, and then measued the nozzles, to find they needed packing out 1.5mm. I cut some 2mm x 29mm strips of 0.75mm card, and glued it between the spacer and the pipes on each side, therefore widening the whole lot 1.5mm. Here's the result..

 

exhaust2.jpg

 

I think it looks OK, but may need some attention on the bottom at 5 o'clock??

 

Thanks for stopping by.

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Guest Nigelr32

Here's the nozzles all painted up, with a gloss black basecoat, and acrylic silvers, blues and purples.

 

exhaust6.jpg

 

Here's the rest of todays work. A coat of paint on the daisy cutters and fuzes.

 

bombs2.jpg

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Guest Nigelr32

Here are some pics of the plumbed and modified main undercarriage bay.

 

This is the left one.

mgl3.jpg

 

Of note are the reshaped leg mountings. Still not strictly accurate, but much much closer to the original. Also see the longitudinal member that I've really chopped about to represent the I beam.

 

mgl4.jpg

 

mgl5.jpg

 

And here's a pic of the inside work.

 

mgl6.jpg

 

Note that I've cut the inner wall of the bay away from the fuselage, in order to get a better, sealed look to the bay.

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Here's the painted gear bays. They still need detail painting, placards and weathering.

 

mgl7.jpg

 

mgl8.jpg

 

ngb.jpg

 

And now, the sills. You may remember I wanted to get a smooth join between the PE and the plastic. I think I'm there, even though it looks a bit rough in these pics. The camera never lies, but when it's this magnified!!!

 

cockpit12.jpg

 

cockpit13.jpg

 

I'm all ready to get the cockpit installed now, then the jet exhausts, then the wings. It's nearly finished!

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Guest Nigelr32

I just had to take a pic of this!!

 

The cockpit is actually glued in!!!! I can't believe I've actually got this far without giving up!!

 

cockpit14.jpg

 

And from the other side...

 

cockpit15.jpg

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Guest Nigelr32

I think I've actually gone mad now. I decided that the Tamiya detail in the aux air intakes just wasn't good enough, so it's had to go!!

 

auxintakes1.jpg

 

The edging is replaced with plastic strip.

 

Because I've used the Aires exhausts, I have these Tamiya kit parts left over. They'll make perfect blanks for the engines, which is what you can see up in those holes. Of course i'll need to fit the centre rib and some stiffening ribs to make it all look real.

 

auxintakes.jpg

 

 

Also notice in this pic that I've left the sprue attached to the lower wing section. I feel this adds some strength to those thin rear extensions, (Fuel Dumps), whilst building.

 

Watch this space for more mad goings on!!!! Ha ha ha!!!!

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Guest Nigelr32

Well, you really are gonna think I've gone mad!!!

 

All this work, and it's gonna be really difficult to see.

 

This is one side of the interior wall that runs down the length of the fuselage..

 

auxintakes2.jpg

 

This is the other side..

 

auxintakes3.jpg

 

Here's the "engines"..Notice the cut out parts in the background. I think mine are a little better???

 

auxintakes4.jpg

 

This is how it looks from underneath..

 

auxintakes5.jpg

 

auxintakes6.jpg

 

Finally, this is how it looks from the inside..

 

auxintakes7.jpg

 

Now I need to get it all painted.....

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Guest Nigelr32

I've finally got the intakes painted and fitted. Here they are, showing off their rescribed seams and updated intake ramps.

 

finishedintake.jpg

 

finishedintake1.jpg

 

Filling the seam between the ramp and fuselage is difficult!! Looking at this pic, I see it needs a bit of a clean up still.

 

finishedintake2.jpg

 

Thanks for looking.

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