Guest Peterpools Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) UPDATE: 9/3/15: THE FRONT OFFICE With the Viper completed and wanting a 'scale' break before starting my next 32nd scale project, I was egar to tackle the Eduard's F4B Phantom, Good Morning Da Nang; after all you just can never have enough Phantoms. Projects normally start with the front office and the F4 was no exception. Normally I never read the instructions in advance, make notes and label the individual frets but after discussing kit organization and familiarity with my good friend John Smith, I read and noted what goes where and how the parts should assemble. The Eduard kit is mainly an upgrade of the excellent Academy kit with a lot of PE and Brassin resin parts. The front office, utilizes the Academy tub and front wheel well assembly but disregards the balance of the injected molded parts, substituting a zillion and one PE parts in their place. Eduard's Origami IP's were a true test of bending, folding and gluing everything together and then gently adding them to the tub. A major improvement for sure but there was still an issue of the naked side walls, the side consoles for the most part are flat as a pancake, lacking throttles and the the feel of rows of switches, nobs and dials. Completely forgetting my original POA, I ordered the Aires front office and when it arrived, it looked mighty good. Fitting it into place would require some delicate surgery, slicing and dicing, both of which I had no intensions of doing. Then a brilliant idea (or so I thought), why not combine everything into one cockpit, taking the best of Academy, Eduard and Aires and using what I could, as long as I avoided any kit surgery. So that was the plan and now, nearly done – not 100% accurate by any means but busy enough for sure. Of course shoehorning the assembly into place without mauling the fuselage will be a test of will and hopefully, Lady Luck being on my side. The Martin Baker MK-H7 ejection seats fit like a glove and of course aren't the Academy, Eduard Brassin or Aires seats. I have a nice collection of F4 ejection seats in both 32nd & 48th scale and who knows decided to use if memory serves me correctly, a Quickboost set. Next up: Installing the front office into the fuselage, adding seamless intakes and adding the big wing. Thanks for checking in Peter Edited September 13, 2015 by Peterpools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 That's outstanding paint work, Peter! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Looks great, I have an eduard IP with the prepainted etch on a Hasegawa A-4, but it doesn't look as good as this. Guess they've improved their printing a bit since then! Super result overall for the pit, Peter. Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Great looking cockpit! Was hoping you'd start a Phantom, after seeing it in your Sig. I'll be following along on this one, to see how the Academy Phantom builds Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat14 Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Wow Peter, That Office Looks awsome and the detail is beautifully done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Just fantastic Peter. Even if its small, I'll still follow ! One question, what color did you use for the belts ?..........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Great start Peter, I am interested to see how this goes together. I have a soft spot for Phantoms (three on the go at present). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat_baloo Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Stone me, Peter. The painting elves must have been wearing optivisors. Look in the dictionary under 'busy' there's a pic of that office. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Hey Peter, Always good to see another Phantom paint detail looks great! I have to ask about the right side wall panel for the fwd cockpit. Why is it essentially the same as the aft right side panel; it should not be. Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 This really looks killer. I may have to grab one of these kits, as some of my favorite Navy and Marines schemes, were carried on the B model Rhino, to wit: (And of course VF-84 is always a cool option, though I could do that on a 1:32 J.) andromeda673 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Thanks Kev Very much appreciated, as this is my first time in decades adding resin to a 48th scale kit ... just trying to make it look good. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Thanks Jim I know what you mean as Eduard's colors are not exactly on the mark. I've just been playing arounf with the front offcie and taking a lot of liberties I would never do in 32nd scale. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Thanks Matt Just trying to get my sealegs and the feel for the kit. Si far, I wouod have to say it's a very good kit but I sure wish, the Aires font offcie would have been a better fir so I could have just substituted it. Glad you will be along for the ride Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Thank You "Tomcat" so very much appreciated Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Thanks Harv Just a break to keep the juices fresh. The seatblets started out as a gray/blue mix and them a few light washes and the final color looked about right. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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