Tamiya 1/32 Viet Nam Era USMC F-4J

[Harv]

Started this one in October 08, while recuperating from a heart attack. Actually part of an ARC Group Build: "Gone But Not Forgotten" aircraft & squadrons. Here's a shot of the opening intro from that thread.

 

 

I got a good jump on it (since I was home for a chunk of time & couldn't do much else), but got bogged-down around the holidays. Picked it back up again, and once more, got bogged-down around the holidays. Here is a link to the thread of that Group Build:

 

F-4J ARC Build Thread

 

Many thanks to those (mentioned in the linked article) for their help! I've made much progress since my last entry there, but still far from finishing...Will post some more pictures to update the status from here. Maybe I'll break my GB streak of 'entered but not finished'.

[Harv]

Okay, these shots of the cockpit were taken back in late October, in fact, on Hallowe'en night. These are the most recent shots I have on file in my computer, but I have made more progress since then. Will add more pics to catch everything up to date, but this is where I was before stalling at the holidays:

 

 

Shot of the kit cockpits with basic colors and some dry-brushing:

 

 

The Pilot's cockpit - from the other side:

 

 

 

RIO's office - also from the right (I had some problems with the radar scope decal...it folded and wrinkled all over. I've since removed it and just painted it reddish-orange:

 

 

 

Front & Rear 'buttoned up' in the fuselage (Note the upper IP added to the RIO's cockpit):

 

 

Last one: Another view of the front pit:

 

 

Thanks for looking - More to come!

[Texas]

Looking Really Nice........I will be keeping an eye on your build so keep the photos coming.

 

Texas

[Harv]

...Thanks, Texas - Here are a couple more recent pictures.

 

First up - I've closed up the fuselage (added the lower fuse/wing piece); upper cockpit areas are Tamiya 'Nato Black'; RIO's upper IP is just set in place, and will get wiring added to the back (front?) of the intsruments; I've faired-in the intakes at the top & bottom (per the ARC build, I used the kit parts, but built-up the insides of the intakes to smooth the transition to the rear intake portion), and had started to sand down the so-called battle repair patches, but decided that once the paint, decals & weathering were done, they won't seem so prominent. I've given everything (on top) a shot of Gunze "Gull Gray", which is kind of a semi-gloss. I like Floquil 'Reefer White' for the bottom and other white parts...it is a flat finish, but I'll gloss-coat later.

 

Next up - An over-all look at the port side. She's up on her gear (well, for now...I really like that Tamiya uses screws to hold the metal gear legs in place. Easy to temporarily install and then remove as desired.)...radome and tail are just taped in-place 'for effect'. The hot-metal areas under the tail & the horizontal stabs are 'snap-fitted': I've left the last inch or so at the rear of the fuselage (back near the engine exhausts) unglued so I can slip the BMF piece (& H. stabs) off for ease of empennage painting down the road.

 

Starboard side view. Outer wing panels are done; but I've yet to decide how to tackle the 25-degree angle that needs to be reduced to the proper 12-1/2 degrees, so they are not yet attached.

 

Unlike their Navy counterparts launching from carriers, Marines operating from Da Nang often preferred using the twin wing tanks on their outer pylons - which is what I'll use on this bird. Centerline station will carry a MER with 6 rockeye, poached from the mass numbers contained in each of my 3 or 4 Tamiya F-15Es in the stash; inner wing pylons will have the standard double-sidewinder rails (empty), with TERs below, each armed-up with 3 LAU-10, 4-shot Zunis for troop support. (The six resin Zunis are from Dave Roof's Orion Models). The two forward missile rails will sport AIM-7E Sparrows from the kit for some air-to-air protection, decorated with TwoBobs markings. Sorry for the less-than-stellar pictures; wanted to post something quick that was more representative of the current state of progress. More later, thanks for checking-in & I humbly invite any/all critiques/feedback.

[LSP_K2]

This’ll be great Harv; any Rhino loaded with weaponry looks excellent, and it sounds like yours will be armed to the teeth!

[M1Carbine]

Harv;

 

Looks stunning, I love the CP, looks great.

 

Bob

[DaveJ]

Cool!

 

Can't ever have too many Phantoms.

[Out2gtcha]

Outer wing panels are done; but I've yet to decide how to tackle the 25-degree angle that needs to be reduced to the proper 12-1/2 degrees, so they are not yet attached.

 

Im not 100% sure its the exact angle your looking for, but ive heard great things about the very simple Nautilus jig, and as I too have the F-4J Ill be picking one up 4 sure..........all laser cut wood - cost effective and gets the job done accurately without 15 hands to do the job:

 

Nautilus Models

 

Nautilus Tamiya F-4 Phantom Jig

 

 

Cheers,

Brian

[Harv]

Typhoonattack1, M1Carbine, LSP_Dave: Thanks for the kind words of encouragement! Most appreciated-

 

 

 

Im not 100% sure its the exact angle your looking for, but ive heard great things about the very simple Nautilus jig, and as I too have the F-4J Ill be picking one up 4 sure..........all laser cut wood - cost effective and gets the job done accurately without 15 hands to do the job:

 

Cheers,

Brian

 

Brian- Thanks for the input. I'm aware of the Nautilus Models jig - and agree it sounds like a good solution to help get everything on the Tamiya Phantom lined-up - just haven't gotten around to picking one up yet! Per the write-up you linked to, yes, you are correct on the attachment angle of outer wing panel (OWP) - (i.e. amount of dihedral between the main wing & the OWP):

 

"...One of the most difficult portion of assembly is ensuring the outer wing panels are set at the proper dihedral and the horizontal stabilizers are set at the proper anhedral... It is then possible to set the proper angles to the four parts requiring precise alignment."

 

I'm not so worried (at this point) about the angle of the horizontal stabs, as I'm trying to assemble the empennage without having to resort to cutting & then re-gluing the H-stab pivot in order to assemble it.

 

Thanks again for the suggestion & links-