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1/32 F-4J Phantom (Complete)


gmctaggart

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I am throwing my hat in the ring for this fantastic group build. There has been some amazing work done so far and I am hoping that this endeavour will be at least half as good as what I have seen. There have been some awesome Phantom builds online and I have always been fan. Even when I was a kid and started modelling, this kit and jet held my fascination but was always out of reach from a skill set and financial standpoint. Now that I am older and back in the hobby, I could finally get my hands on this beast. I picked this kit up a few years ago and now that I am getting more proficient its about time to tackle this kit. This group build has been the impetus for seeing if I can do justice for the kit.

So I have the kit and will be getting the Eduard PE as well as the Hobby Decal markings for the VF-84 Jolly Rogers. Thats about all I will added to the build as i am hoping to scratch and modify anything that needs to be added. I am also looking at setting her up on a diorama ready to be launched from a carrier catapult. I also know there are some challenges with the kit and so I am using the tweak list from Thierry Laurent as well as several other build logs such as this one on ARC as part of my references. 

As usual please comment. If its wrong or you have suggestions please let me know. I can improve through hard work and guidance from this great community.

8iMipV.jpg

 

Thanks for Reading

Gord

Edited by gmctaggart
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In advance of getting the PE, I am starting to work on some of the key issues with the kit. The first issue is the raised panels that cover the fuselage and intakes. The one common theme from reviews of the kit and comparing against photos is that these panels should not be there. I have marked some of the panels and will start to scrape and sand these down. 

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What is not clear is whether this panel below should also be sanded back or removed. It is symmetrical and seems more than a BDR. In photos of some walk arounds the panel is there appears to be proud of the surface. Insight from others would be appreciated.

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Beyond identifying panels to be removed, I did some work on opening the vents above the exhaust nozzles. I carefully ground out the inside and ran my knife across the blades until I broke through. I know the size and shape of the blades are wrong, I am just not sure I could do justice to getting these perfect. 

oswrNo.jpg

So this is the start and I welcome insight and comments.

Gord

Edited by gmctaggart
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Nice job on those vents! Braver than I was lol

cant offer any advice on the panel unfortunately. 

 I probably did mine before i had enough experience as i was afraid to tackle those bdr’s. I commend you for waiting. Based on your vent I’m sure they won’t be visible when you get done. 

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks guys for your comments. Kev, I have adjusted the link now so that should help with other readers. This build will take a bit to get going as I clear a back log of projects and wait to get the AM for the kit. In the mean time I have continued to open up some vents (Carefully)and get rid of some of the raised panels.

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I have also started to modify the intakes to address the issue of the seamless intake trunks.

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Thanks for reading.

Gord

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On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 11:59 PM, gmctaggart said:

What is not clear is whether this panel below should also be sanded back or removed. It is symmetrical and seems more than a BDR. In photos of some walk arounds the panel is there appears to be proud of the surface. Insight from others would be appreciated.

g04KNY.jpg

 

 

Not sure if you already addressed it, but that rounded off rectangular panel is a real panel on both sides of the fuselage (panels 54L and 54R), although should be essentially flush from what I've seen.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Thanks everyone for being patient. I have been clearing up a few other projects and also waiting for my goody bag of Aftermarket. Thankfully this has just arrived and I can start to focus more on this build. Since I  would like to stage this on a catapult, I have limited the number of upgrades for the cockpit since the figures are going to obscure quite a bit. I am also happy with the look of the burner cans. There is a very fine level of detail and the petals are super thin. I am hoping these will make a great addition. Anyways more to come.

M5wZmx.jpg

 

Gord

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Ok so for a quick update, I have been methodically going through the various raised panels and cleaning them up. Progress is slow but steady. I have also been working on the intakes and trying to get these into  better shape, excuse the pun. I feel that this will be the most time consuming part of the build but assuming I don't screw it up, I hope it will end up looking good. I figured I would outline the steps I am taking for any that may follow or to show another way of correcting this issue instead of aftermarket.

 

The first step is to remove the outer portion of the trunk from the airframe. After carefully marking the area to be cut and then slowly running a blade several times, the piece will releases from the AC.

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Once removed, the area is cleaned up and then the various parts that make up the trunk are temporally assembled and held with tape. This allows for fine adjustments for alignment and squareness. Its at this stage where the longer trunk run is glued together as well as the cut portion of the trunk. 

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Once this has set the next step is to add the outer cowl and tape this into position. once everything is lined up, I carefully add small styrene strips into the gap between the cowl and the trunk and glue these in place. I found I could only add a couple at this stage so I am careful when removing the assembly from AC not to mess up the alignment or have them separate completely. Care must be taken not to accidentally glue the entire thing to the airframe.

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After the assembly I remove the piece and start to add more styrene strips. The key is to avoid pressing in too much and pushing the parts out of alignment but to insert them in so they just touch. Then more glue and let it sit. I tried to make the assembly as stiff as possible to avoid potential cracking in the filler stage.

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To facilitate a smooth transition between the cowl and the trunk, I add a thin sheet of styrene.

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Now the real fun starts. Adding successive layers of filler. Then its fill and sand and repeat.

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I still have a ways to go and need to figure out how to deal with the gap between the parts but I can see if I do a thorough job of the filling and sanding that the result will be better than if I did nothing. I will post some more progress soon.

 

Thanks for reading and feel free to critique as always.

 

Gord

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks Chrish. It seems this show is like a really long 70's style movie in which one question when the movie will really get going. Anyways. Still working away and the intakes are starting to get a nice seamless quality to them. I have been using the Tamiya putty with a brush and some lacquer thinner. This seems to give a nice even blend. A few more layers and I think I will be in business. 

 

VfZHuY.jpg

Gord

 

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