John1

I’m less concerned about the actual colors or their designations, I’ve done my research, there is plenty of solid data out there, so on some level, these discussions become a bit repetitive.   What I am curious about is the sheen of these colors.  Were they glossy, semi or satin?   I’ve seen pictures of earlier war colors 74-76, and they near to be on the glossy side.  I know that any color will flatten over time when exposed to harsh weather conditions but given K-4’s were typically only in service for a few months and for most of them, probably only had a few dozen flight hours (at best) due to due shortages, I’m curious if there is any consensus on this matter?

I’m less concerned about the actual colors or their designations, I’ve done my research, there is plenty of solid data out there, so on some level, these discussions become a bit repetitive.   What I am curious about is the sheen of these colors.  Were they glossy, semi or satin?   I’ve seen pictures of earlier war colors 74-76, and they near to be on the glossy side.  I know that any color will flatten over time when exposed to harsh weather conditions but given K-4’s were typically only in service for a few months and for most of them, probably only had a few dozen flight hours (at best) due to due shortages, I’m curious if there is any consensus on this matter?

The dreaded rlm 83 , i dont really care what its called but what we see on late war fighters are 3 colors that are used  a olive brown and brighter green and dark green . So thats what ill use ,no dark blues . Info on these colors and there exact shades has been changing for over 40 years as new info finds show up and i doubt we will ever truly solve the riddle of these 3 colors ,as we just simply do not have all the infomation . As for paint brands evrybody will use what they feel comfortable with so there is no way Mark is ever going to please everyone and he has to realistic about that and he has been very up front as why he has done what he has done . And it wont be long to go before the builds start and we see how everyone goes about their builds .

Just think...when Kotare comes out with their 1/32 Hellcat, there will be no RLM 83 controversy.
 
Cheers
Collin......bolting for the door.  

Quick end of weekend update - fabricated a blind flying hood for the aft cockpit, out of lead foil from a wine bottle and some plastic rod, added a couple of maps for the glareshield (anyone remember them?  No GPS in 1982) and added a few smaller bits.   Finally, added the windscreen and touched up the exhaust staining on the fuselage sides.    Almost there...
 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for checking in! 

Working on the undersides.   Added some brake lines to the main landing gear and a few fuel lines inside the MLG bays.   The radial engines from this time period leaked oil like sieves.   The saying was that if a radial wasn't leaking oil, you better check it because it probably is empty.    I used black washes and AK motor oil for the weathering.   The grunge coated the underside and also the lower main landing covers (from my reference pics posted above).   Not wholly satisfied with the weathering, I'll circle back and make some touchups. 
 
The landing gear was a pretty fiddly assembly.   Lot of small parts, not the greatest fit and crappy instructions.    I so miss working on Tamiya kits!   After all that was done, added landing light lenses, the oil cooler exhaust door, lower anti-collision beacon and the airbrake (in the extended position).    I've seen posts that this was never left down when the aircraft was parked but if you check out the pics posted above, you'll see an example in just that configuration.     That's it for now, I'm gradually staggering to the finish line! 
 
 
 

 

 
She's finally standing on her landing gear! 

Anders is not only a talented illustrator, he's a good guy in general.   When I wanted to build one of his subjects, he took the time to go over the markings and research he had done and sent me a couple of never published pictures.      When I caught a (very minor) error in his profile, he went back and updated it the next day.  

Quick end of weekend update - fabricated a blind flying hood for the aft cockpit, out of lead foil from a wine bottle and some plastic rod, added a couple of maps for the glareshield (anyone remember them?  No GPS in 1982) and added a few smaller bits.   Finally, added the windscreen and touched up the exhaust staining on the fuselage sides.    Almost there...
 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for checking in! 

Glad to hear he's going to be working on a cockpit enhancement as well. 

I've got a couple of subjects in mind.   One is a USAF A-1E in SEA scheme, the other is a USN white / dayglo red utility version.   Neither one seems to be something I can cobble together out of pre-existing decal sheets.    I've looked, haven't seen anything that even gets me close to what I'll need and given the cost of such a kit, I'm not really interested in just building some generic subject that I have no interest in.   I guess that's why I'm "hung up" on the decals.    That's just the way I roll, YMMV. 

Maybe  they had both types?

Might have solved the intake problem fairly easily. I usually just automatically jump to aftermarket replacements (this is my 4th LSP Phantom at this point)…no sense torturing oneself if it isn’t required - so if your like me, you’ve forgotten just how bad the intakes are.
Yikes



 
Old trick I’ve used forever is to use the thinnest sheet of styrene you can and just cover the unsightly mess. Sometimes I even use plain white paper soaked in glue. 90% of the time it gives good results.
Here ‘s one of the intakes clamped down and drying 

 
After a couple days of intermittent finagling, they look passable. The splitter fits well and will be added later on.

 
Close enough for gub’ment work!
 
Up next, working on the stabs. As I start those, I’m planning on a VF-142 jet circa August 1967. What are the odds they had the slotted stabilizers? All photos I have are not good enough to break it out. 
For more on that topic, once again Tommy to the rescue: https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2011/09/f-4-flapstabilizer-change.html
-Peter
 

Tony I have been doing a fair bit of work on the canopy area on my Tamiya Phantom and using Aerocrafts canopy sets as well as 3D Chutes  printed frames.  I have been able to correct shape issues as well to make it closer to the drawing's  Jumpei drew, mostly due to the fact the way the lovely Aerocraft canopy is designed .  I am hoping to have an update in the near future.  I believe it has made a big difference personally.  I am sure you will like the results...it cost me 2 sets of canopies to get right!!  LOL and am looking forward to sharing my findings....on my never ending RAF FG.1 conversion.
 
Cheers Anthony

I didn't bother with them, tossed them out and glued the various panels / covers in place.   Just seems too "gimmicky" and once a model is built, it sits on a shelf.  I'm not taking it down, retracting the landing gear, opening engine panels, etc.     

Here is the profile

Yeah, because no other jet has ever broken down and had to divert, right?   😂 

Yeah, because no other jet has ever broken down and had to divert, right?   😂 

You can see the green when you enlarge the image John. 

Thanks guys!   Tonight's focus was on adding oil and grime stains, mostly around the cowling and cockpit area.   Also added some vertical rain streaks to the exhaust soot, per the real thing, using a brush dipped in clear thinner, wiped off until it's pretty dry and then just some random vertical stripes.  I'll go back tomorrow and lightly spray some additional exhaust color on them to blend them in a bit.     For the staining, I used a flat black wash and AK's Used Motor Oil (pretty good stuff BTW).   I've noted that most radial engine aircraft leak copious amounts of engine oil, which tends to get everywhere.   
 
Again, I'll end up going back and toning things down a bit but given how nasty the Boomer's kept their aircraft, I don't think I'll need to dial it down by much.     Right now, I think I'm about 3/4ths done on weathering.   Some pictures:
 

 
Not happy with the stains added to the outer wings, I'll tone those down later... 

 
The area under the cockpit sills was pretty grungy on most of the birds I have pictures of. 

 

 
. 
 
That's it for tonight's update, thanks for checking in! 

I didn't bother with them, tossed them out and glued the various panels / covers in place.   Just seems too "gimmicky" and once a model is built, it sits on a shelf.  I'm not taking it down, retracting the landing gear, opening engine panels, etc.     

Quick end of weekend update - fabricated a blind flying hood for the aft cockpit, out of lead foil from a wine bottle and some plastic rod, added a couple of maps for the glareshield (anyone remember them?  No GPS in 1982) and added a few smaller bits.   Finally, added the windscreen and touched up the exhaust staining on the fuselage sides.    Almost there...
 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for checking in! 

Quick end of weekend update - fabricated a blind flying hood for the aft cockpit, out of lead foil from a wine bottle and some plastic rod, added a couple of maps for the glareshield (anyone remember them?  No GPS in 1982) and added a few smaller bits.   Finally, added the windscreen and touched up the exhaust staining on the fuselage sides.    Almost there...
 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for checking in! 

Working on the undersides.   Added some brake lines to the main landing gear and a few fuel lines inside the MLG bays.   The radial engines from this time period leaked oil like sieves.   The saying was that if a radial wasn't leaking oil, you better check it because it probably is empty.    I used black washes and AK motor oil for the weathering.   The grunge coated the underside and also the lower main landing covers (from my reference pics posted above).   Not wholly satisfied with the weathering, I'll circle back and make some touchups. 
 
The landing gear was a pretty fiddly assembly.   Lot of small parts, not the greatest fit and crappy instructions.    I so miss working on Tamiya kits!   After all that was done, added landing light lenses, the oil cooler exhaust door, lower anti-collision beacon and the airbrake (in the extended position).    I've seen posts that this was never left down when the aircraft was parked but if you check out the pics posted above, you'll see an example in just that configuration.     That's it for now, I'm gradually staggering to the finish line! 
 
 
 

 

 
She's finally standing on her landing gear! 

Thanks guys!   Tonight's focus was on adding oil and grime stains, mostly around the cowling and cockpit area.   Also added some vertical rain streaks to the exhaust soot, per the real thing, using a brush dipped in clear thinner, wiped off until it's pretty dry and then just some random vertical stripes.  I'll go back tomorrow and lightly spray some additional exhaust color on them to blend them in a bit.     For the staining, I used a flat black wash and AK's Used Motor Oil (pretty good stuff BTW).   I've noted that most radial engine aircraft leak copious amounts of engine oil, which tends to get everywhere.   
 
Again, I'll end up going back and toning things down a bit but given how nasty the Boomer's kept their aircraft, I don't think I'll need to dial it down by much.     Right now, I think I'm about 3/4ths done on weathering.   Some pictures:
 

 
Not happy with the stains added to the outer wings, I'll tone those down later... 

 
The area under the cockpit sills was pretty grungy on most of the birds I have pictures of. 

 

 
. 
 
That's it for tonight's update, thanks for checking in!