Tamiya F-4B Phantom Conversion (Finished! 25 Sep)

[easixpedro]

Well I’ll be dipped. One of the things frustrating me was that some decals on the radome silvered. My own fault really as I masked it when I layer down the gloss coat, thinking there weren’t any stencils or decals that went there. I was wrong…tried to put them on with future and let them snuggle down naturally. Didn’t work and totally my fault for rushing things. (And why my pics above didn’t show the nose…being selective and not wanting to show my most horrendous and simple error of errors)
 

I just went back and soaked them with water and was able to pry them up after working bristles under?! Took about 10 minutes of prodding, but they came up, and I saved them to put down after a proper gloss was applied. Color me impressed! Didn’t think it’d work, but it did. Don’t want to repeat that process, but nice to know it’s an option when things look dodgy.

Pictures when I get around to it…

Peter

[easixpedro]

Well topside decals are done. Thankfully fixed the silvering issue. Thought I'd share a little trick I use to get the numbers I want from the kit decals. Makes it pretty easy to make your own markings in a pinch. Case in point: I'm making 205, but the kit has a bunch of 200 side numbers (Modex in navy parlance). Easy enough to get what I want by cutting out a 2 and flipping the decal upside down to make it a 5. It'll snuggle down no issue. Here's another trick. The BuNo is 153005. There were a bunch of 8s and 6s on the sheet. I trimmed the 8 to make a 3, and the middle section of the 6 to make a 0. Saves me when I want to model a certain a/c and I don't have the exact markings.

 

 

Here's the topside in all its stenciled glory.

 

Can anyone spot my error?

Forgot to flip the 2 and make the 5!

Will have to use some tape to pull it and reapply...

 

That's it for now. Hopefully will knock out the bottom tomorrow so I can start some basic weathering and odds and ends before diving into the landing gear.

-Peter

 

[Anthony in NZ]

Soooo Peter, you arent just a pretty face after all!

 

Nice work buddy, but I have to say I was scrolling between the last two images trying to find the error.  I was pretty happy when I found it and scrolled down to praise my superior detective skills, my keen eye for detail and overall good looks when I saw that you mentioned it at the end there.....oh well

 

Seriously though, that's absolutely cracking mate!

 

Cheers Anthony

 

[easixpedro]

2 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Soooo Peter, you arent just a pretty face after all!

 

Nice work buddy, but I have to say I was scrolling between the last two images trying to find the error.  I was pretty happy when I found it and scrolled down to praise my superior detective skills, my keen eye for detail and overall good looks when I saw that you mentioned it at the end there.....oh well

 

Seriously though, that's absolutely cracking mate!

 

Cheers Anthony

 

Sorry buddy! I originally had it without the answer and thought I’d better give it lest I have everyone start saying I’d forgotten the gears or stuff to that effect.

 

Off to work, but can’t wait to get home and get cracking on her.

-Peter

[easixpedro]

Well...sometimes I'm about as sharp as wet leather. Got the 2s off and put them back on. No kidding. Was standing back admiring my work and realized what I'd done. Was able to re-wet them and do it right. Third times a charm I guess...

 

Also got the bottom decals on. Semi-gloss is drying now. Have already started some washes on the top side....lots more to do before I move onto the ordnance and gear.

 

-Peter

[MDuv]

Looking very good. Cant wait to see that immaculate paint getting washed.
Mathieu

[Anthony in NZ]

Very nice....Phantom's and stencils go hand in hand!  Nicely done.....

[vvwse4]

Nice!! I always wonder do they read or fly them?

 

What happened to the stars and bars on the left upperwing? It looks like a piece came of or is it just me?

 

Looks great

 

Rick

[easixpedro]

1 hour ago, vvwse4 said:

Nice!! I always wonder do they read or fly them?

 

What happened to the stars and bars on the left upperwing? It looks like a piece came of or is it just me?

 

Looks great

 

Rick

Great eyes…did indeed peel a small chunk off as I pierced it to tried to get it to snuggle down. It’ll get touched up and is fortunately on the lower wing, so not much will be seen once the pylons go on and it’s attached to the base. That’s the hope anyway!

[vvwse4]

22 hours ago, easixpedro said:

Great eyes…did indeed peel a small chunk off as I pierced it to tried to get it to snuggle down. It’ll get touched up and is fortunately on the lower wing, so not much will be seen once the pylons go on and it’s attached to the base. That’s the hope anyway!

Now you mention it I did not see that one but I do mean the upper wing.

[easixpedro]

Finally noticed it last night as I was putting the kit up for the day. Not sure how I did it, but I managed to take a chunk out of all 3 colors. Easiest rout to fix it might be to craft a small patch panel and call it good. I’ll cross that bridge soon enough.

The astute will note I’ve started doing the panel line wash. Normally in the smaller scales I use a good ol’ #2 pencil and drag it through the panel lines and then hit it with a bit of thinner that makes it settle into the panel lines. It does a great job of replicating the grunge that occurs between 2 metal panels and the fasteners as they all rub against each other as the airframe is under stress. Think of the gunk that’s in your door hinges in your home—same thing. Depending on where on the airframe you’ll get a mix of hydraulic and oil and even exhaust as well.

 

But then I discovered the Vallejo wash, and it works great for the more intricate details in the larger scales. Here’s the bottle

 

ive had great success thus far my applying it sparingly, directly to the panel line—don’t do an entire section as it will stain everything. I’ll dab individual rivets to control the amount and make clean up easier. Here’s a small section I finished yesterday. Would have taken forever with a pencil, so pleased this is working out. It doesn’t do as well on larger sections, but I think it’s perfect for the panel lines.

still plugging away…and thanks for following along!

-Peter

[Anthony in NZ]

Nice tip Peter, I have that exact wask and might experiment with it myself for that reason alone, that looks REALLY nice!

 

Another great update, she's really coming to life now

[easixpedro]

3 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Nice tip Peter, I have that exact wask and might experiment with it myself for that reason alone, that looks REALLY nice!

 

Another great update, she's really coming to life now

So I’ve discovered that it works best with a gloss coat or semi-gloss. But you’ve got to have a coat of clear over the paint. I let it dry about 5 minutes and the wipe off. More stubborn stuff I’ll use a q tip that’s damp with windex or an ammonia based cleaner. Water doesn’t seem to cut it as well. 

[easixpedro]

Here's a quick bit about the gear doors for anyone still following along for the conversion.  Process is the same as what I did for the speedbrakes back on page 2.

 

Here's a comparison (pay no heed to the Zuni pod I was toying around with.) Also the small gear doors I just straightened by tweaking 'em with a pair of pliers to make them straight. 

 

The bulge is readily apparent here.

 

I started the process by cutting out the middle section which allowed be to somewhat flatten the door in a pair of needle nose pliers.

 

Here you can see the white stress marks from me shaping it. I saved a bit of rhe senter section so I could glue a piece of sprue as a handle while sanding. Looked just like this as I sanded for a good 5 minutes until the outer layer was gone. Then I glued it to a piece of styrene that traced the original gear door on.

 

And here they are...can't guarantee they're 100% accurate for a F-4B, but they're flat and look the part. Don't think anyone will notice with everything else going on in the scene.

 

Next installment will show how I've modified the kit landing gear to extend the oleos. Have the mains done,  with just the nose left. Pretty easy...hardest part is working with the metal landing gear that comes with the kit. It's stout and requires some tedious file work.

-Peter

 

[John1]

Good stuff!