Hasegawa F-4EJ Eggplane

[Greg W]

In the mail today, I received a Master Model detail set which is a 1:72 version of the 1:48 details shown earlier in the thread. I immediately opened the package and took a couple quick pictures comparing the pitot tubes. 

 

I am going to go with the 1:72 version which I think looks perfect. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1:48

 

1:72

 

1:48

 

1:72

 

[Michael931080]

Any New Updates GDW??

 

[Greg W]

On 11/23/2020 at 7:43 PM, Michael931080 said:

Any New Updates GDW??

 

 

Not just yet but soon. This project was set aside to push another model on the bench over the finish line, which is almost done. Also, I have needed to think about and decide, how many more details or features I want to add.

 

Here are the final additions that I've arrived at before calling it quits and moving on to paint: 

 

Hinge detail for stabilators out of thin plastic sheet.

 

 

Scoops for cabin air conditioning. One one each side.

 

-Add red and green wingtip lights

 

- Red light on leading edge of vertical fin.

 

- Figure out something for the formation lights. Hopefully, I can find some 1:72 photo etch frames, or failing that, good looking decals.

 

Sound good? So far, thats the plan. 

 

Greg

Edited September 15, 2022 by Greg W

[Greg W]

This evening I went after one of the jobs on the list above. I was in the mood to see if I could figure something out for the intakes on the lower forward fuselage. 

 

Rummaging through my kits, I found two air scoops that fit the bill, in the old, Monogram 1:48 F-105D kit. 

 

 

Part number twenty one, shown on step six.

 

 

 

About two thirds of the length was removed from each scoop, then the aft portion was shaped with a course sanding stick. Then, the parts were sanded with progressively finer grit sanding sticks until smooth. The pictures below show them just after being attached with Tamiya Extra Thin cement.

 

 

 

[Michael931080]

Now that is some smart thinking!  Love it!

 

[Shawn M]

keeps getting better and better

 

[Greg W]

Next up, more work on the tail.

 

I cut two notches into the vertical fin, so that I could add the 1:72 Master Details ram air inlet and the red light. The top notch was made to facilitate drilling the 0.6mm hole for the fine brass part. I will build up the carved away leading edge with thin CA.

 

 

 

 

I was going to use clear red sprue for the light but my friend and fellow club member Randy, gave me something that I like much better. Neither of us knows what it is though. If anyone out there is familiar with it, please tell me what it is. It looks like an acrylic rod with fiber optic powers. Just ambient room light will illuminate it. I would like to buy more colors and sizes but I do not know what to shop for. Pic below...

 

 

I scraped a section of the rod flat, so that the profile was almost half round. Over glued it in the notch, so that the thin CA would fill any gaps. Hit it with kicker and sanded to shape. It polished easily with a Flex-I-File polisher/finisher #3210 and a Flory Models green/white polishing stick as a final treatment.

 

Lots of super glue to fill gaps around the glowing alien plastic.  

 

 

Here is the tail with the finished light and the ram air inlet installed. The brass part is not glued in yet, will do that later. The light, as it is now, is too long. Final size will be set by a tape mask.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by GDW

[Greg W]

On 11/29/2020 at 8:16 PM, Michael931080 said:

Now that is some smart thinking!  Love it!

 

 

On 11/30/2020 at 8:47 AM, Shawn M said:

keeps getting better and better

 

 

Thank you gentlemen! 

 

Very nice to hear from you guys, as always.

 

Greg 

[Greg W]

Alain11 recently posted a method for painting the inside of afterburner cans in the tips and techniques part of the forum, link here. It was perfect timing because I had been wanting to finish the exhausts on this but I have not been confident in my ability to pull off something representational, let alone realistic. Happy to now have a game plan, I decided to finally tackle the exhausts once and for all. 

 

 

 First, the resin was painted with Tamiya enamel chrome silver. The photo etch part, as it comes in the package is bright silver to begin with.   

 

 

 

 

 

The insides of the turkey feathers were painted with a few light passes of Tamiya XF-2 flat white.

 

Tamiya XF-10 flat brown darkened with XF-1 flat black, was heavily thinned with alcohol and sprayed over the exhaust turbine areas. Multiple layers gradually built up the effect.  

 

 

 

 

 

Hard wire was bent to form clips that attach the short toothpick lengths to the AB can. The picture shows the first few that I made, which have flat tips. Subsequently, I sanded the ends to a point. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamiya X-19 smoke was then airbrushed rearward through the opening, exiting out the back of the can (I thinned the Tamiya smoke 1:1 with alcohol). Then, the toothpicks were removed and a few more passes with the smoke toned down the white and blended everything together.

 

 

The pictures were taken right after painting. A clear flat overcoat is needed to kill the gloss of the X-19. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by GDW

[Greg W]

In the pictures, the smoke patterns look metallic. Almost like I sprayed aluminum paint. But its just a trick of my cell phone camera. The effect is much more subtle than my crappy cell photos suggest. After the flat coat dries, I will apply a Flory Models dark dirt wash and see how that looks. If I don't like it, I can wash it away with water. 

[Michael931080]

Love this!!!!  Would never had thought of that method to paint the inside of the Burner Cans!

 

Definitely going to use that little trick!  Can hardly wait until your next post!

[Rockie Yarwood]

Love it! Great idea to use the bent wire to hold the toothpicks in place. I saw Alain's post and was thinking of using small dabs of Bluetack, but your solution is much better.

 

Cheers,

 

Rockie

[Greg W]

17 hours ago, Michael931080 said:

Love this!!!!  Would never had thought of that method to paint the inside of the Burner Cans!

 

Definitely going to use that little trick!  Can hardly wait until your next post!

 

I wouldn't have either Michael, thank goodness for Alain's post! I have not done this well in the past so this technique is most welcome. 

 

 

16 hours ago, Rockie Yarwood said:

Love it! Great idea to use the bent wire to hold the toothpicks in place. I saw Alain's post and was thinking of using small dabs of Bluetack, but your solution is much better.

 

Cheers,

 

Rockie

 

I tried some cheep Blue Tack knock off. It wasn't sticky enough to hold the toothpicks in place. Maybe BT might? It certainly would be easier if it did. The problem I had was the tiny contact area available. The bits of BT have to be very small on a 1:48 F-4 after burner can. Worth a try on 1:32, especially if a really sticky putty is used.    

[Greg W]

 

 

The painted exhaust parts had a day to dry, so I felt comfortable giving the insides a wash. I used a very friendly, water based clay pigment wash from Flory Models. Worked great. A little time was spent removing and blending the wash with a mostly dry but slightly damp brush. The effect is noticeable but subtle, very much like a filter where blended and of course, darker in the recesses. 

 

 

The exterior of the exhausts, painted with Tamiya XF-1 flat black, were much easier to finish. I sanded the paint, starting with the most aggressive grit on my Flexifile sander/polisher, exposing much of the resin underneath. The white side of the polisher was used to smooth out any broken paint edges, pictured below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the pieces were ready for the application of some Ammo of Mig gunmetal pigment. I used a Q-tip to "paint" the outer leaves, working to keep the pigment out of the grooves in between. I put on a rubber glove and burnished the areas with my finger. The black paint and grey resin show through the polished pigment layer giving a varied look underneath. The way that the reflective metal sheen shifts with the viewing angle is very pleasing and realistic to my eye. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by GDW

[Greg W]

 

I found out what this mystery luminescent plastic is.

 

 Plastruct fluorescent acrylic rod, which is available in a multitude of sizes and colors.