Wolfpack Phantom - 8th TFW F-4C

[John1]

As mentioned above, the starboard loadout was 2 x AIM-9B's and a QRC-160 ECM pod.   A pretty uncommon configuration (as was the green camo'd EMC pod).   The early ECM pods went through multiple, rapid changes, with regard to number / size of antennas, overall shape of the pod, their designations (for example, some versions of the QRC-160 were simply re-labeled as ALQ-71's), etc.      The earliest pods contained a nose-mounted generator, driven by a small set of propeller blades.  Later pods were able to take advantage of upgrades to the parent aircraft and receive power from the jet, freeing up space for more electronics in the pod.   At first, these pods could only be mounted on the outer starboard wing pylon, which took up valuable real estate.  Within a year, the starboard inner pylon had been wired.   Later in the war, these pods were able to be installed (via an adapter) into one of the forward Sparrow wells.    Here's the best illustration I could find of these early pods.  This doesn't cover all the various "QRC" variants but gives you some idea of the various configurations out there.   The pod on my model, based on the one picture I have of the real thing, appears to be somewhere between the QRC in the picture below and the ALQ-71-1.

 

In the very beginning, these pods were just crude "noise" jammers but they were rapidly upgraded to use more and more sophisticated jamming techniques.   While this was happening, the NVA SAM-2's were also being upgraded to counter the US countermeasures.  It was pretty much a never-ending cycle throughout the war.  Ultimately, these pods helped but never provided 100% protection against SAM's.   The history of the early days of EW in the Vietnam War is an amazing one.   If anyone is interested, the best book I've seen on the subject is:

Iron Hand: Smashing the Enemy's Air Defences: Thornborough, A.: 9781852606053: Amazon.com: Books   A very well-done book that details this subject from early Vietnam through Kosovo.

 

Anyway, enough rambling.  Here are some pictures of my progress.   The pod is from GT Resin.  Decals are some scraps from the Fundekals set.   AIM-9's are the very nice Brassin ones and I modified their launch rails to the early "narrow" configuration without the spacers used later in the conflict.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

That'll do it for now, thanks for passing through. 

[allthumbs]

3 hours ago, John1 said:

If anyone is interested, the best book I've seen on the subject is:

Iron Hand: Smashing the Enemy's Air Defences: Thornborough, A.: 9781852606053: Amazon.com: Books   A very well-done book that details this subject from early Vietnam through Kosovo.

 

 

 

 

 

In case readers don’t know, the book is authored by forum contributor and all around good guy Tony T. He’s penned a number of other military aviation titles over the years, many of which have found their way to my bookshelves as invaluable references.
 

The Phantom is coming together nicely John, one of the best I’ve seen in large scale.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by allthumbs

[John1]

More underwing stuff being added.   Both drop tanks are installed (see previous post way back on my painting and detailing).   I grunged up the bottom of both of them with some Flory washes.   Also added one of the nose gear doors.   Used a bit of lead wire to replicate the power cable to the lights, still need to add the linkages that secure the door to the nose-gear.    

 

 

 

 

This picture really demonstrates what a beast the F-4 was.   I'm surprised it was able to fly with all this stuff hanging off the aircraft. 

 

 

That's it for now, thanks for all the feedback, see you next time! 

[John1]

I picked my subject because of the very unique weathering.   Figured there wasn't much else out there from this era that could be more beaten to sh*t than good old 589.    I'm now thinking I should have gone a different route.

What a truly awesome specimen of grime, grunge and general filth!  I love it. 

 

 

F-4 trivia - For a good part of the Vietnam War, USAF F-4's could not carry AIM-9's and air to ground ordinance simultaneously on the inner wing pylons because the original Sidewinder rails were too close to the pylon and caused clearance issues with the A2G weapons.    However, from very early in the war, the US Navy used an adapter that lowered the TER just enough to allow AIM-9s to be carried along with a TER full of bombs, as shown in the picture above.   

.  Never understood why the AF didn't adopt this solution.  Maybe a case of "Not invented here"?

[easixpedro]

12 hours ago, John1 said:

I picked my subject because of the very unique weathering.   Figured there wasn't much else out there from this era that could be more beaten to sh*t than good old 589.    I'm now thinking I should have gone a different route.

What a truly awesome specimen of grime, grunge and general filth!  I love it. 

Salt water corrosion and stack gas from the ship’s exhaust do horrible things to airplanes. Add an insane flight schedule and corrosion from 65-68, and there were a lot of USN jets looking like this. Most of the planes repaired at Cubi Point were corrosion issues, not battle damage. 

[John1]

I think the bottom is pretty much done.   I added the nose LG doors, scratch built the linkages that connects the forward gear door to the nose gear itself and added a few last electrical / hydraulic lines.   On the back end, I added a small fuel vent (at least I assume that's what it is) to the far end of the lower fuselage, along with a protruding rod which ground crews attached a "tee-handle" to in order to open and close the drag chute cover.     I also hit the upper surfaces with Model Master Dullcoate with just a touch of gloss added.  After probably being out there 50 years, I still think Dullcoate is the best for replicating a flat finish.   I always tend to add a bit of gloss to it though, even beat up jets like 589 still had a tiny bit of sheen to the paint.    

 

Here are a few last pictures, once I get the wings on (hopefully in the folder position) and mount the canopies, I won't be flipping her over anymore for beauty shots.  I'm actually shocked that I've made it this far without knocking off one of the bombs or doing something worse.  

 

 

 

 

 

I'm quite happy with the way the nose gear well came out.   This was one of the areas that I was worrying about being able to replicate the "clutter" inside it.

 

 

And just to keep myself motivated, I figured I'd see what she looks like in the proper position (seats, nose radome and vertical stab are just press-fitted).

 

This model is freaking HUGE!   One day I hope someone releases a decent MiG-17 and -21 in 32nd scale, I'd love to display those jets next to her to illustrate how massive the F-4 really was. 

 

[John1]

Thanks very much for the support Maru!    

 

So I'm back to the cockpit.   Now that I don't have turn the model upside-down, I can start to safely work on some of the remaining areas of the cockpit.   First off is the upper section of the WSO's instrument panel.   

 

The area forward of the WSO's panel was one of the main reasons why I've stayed away from building F-4's.  It's a rat's nest of electrical lines, instrument housings and all sorts of assorted hardware.   Here's a few shots of the real thing (pictures of this area are surprisingly hard to come by, these were provided by a kind gent on social media.

 

 

 

Here's my favorite picture of the panel, mainly because it's not a shot of restored F-4, it's a combat jet.  Note the dust and grime behind the panel (I'll be weathering my work but that's a ways down the road).  Also note - this is a very early F-4C panel.   The jet I'm replicating has some differences, mainly the APR-39 Radar Warning Scope mounted on the upper right-hand side of the panel, plus a few other additions.   I found it easier to use the Tamiya F-4D panel and trim some of it away, vrs trying to build up the C model panel.  

 

Note that most of the instrument housings are rectangular.   The Tamiya backside just some barely defined cylinders sticking out.  So first off, I needed to add some more accurate housings. I used some rectangular scrap resin, carved to shape.   Not exact but better than what Tamiya provided. 

It looks horrible doesn't it.   No biggie, my normal approach is to not sweat the details that won't be very well seen.   In this case, I'll have wires and various parts of the canopy jack blocking the view, not to mention the mid section of the canopy itself.   I think we'll be fine.  

 

So after a couple of days' worth of work, here is where we are at:

 

 

 

 

I've got a ton of touchup work to do and still have more hardware and electrical lines to add as well.   All that being said, I think it looks pretty "busy".    To add some additional realism, each housing got it's own data plate(s) courtesy of AirScale's placard set.   IMO, these sets are mandatory for modern aircraft builds.   Also note - I've started weathering the topside of the jet.   The upper surface of the intakes saw a lot of foot traffic from the pilots boarding the jet and the hard-working maintainers.   They were all wearing black-soled combat boots, which tended to leave smudges.    The right-side intake had a bit less foot traffic than the port side.   I tried to replicate the wear I've seen on pics of the real jets.   Still very much a work in progress.

 

Here's some general shots.

 

 

Note the radar warning scope on the upper right side of the panel. 

 

And a few beauty shots of the overall jet.  Note I also added some weathering along the center wing roots.  In later jets, this area was marked out to show the crews the limits of where they could walk on the wings but for these early F-4's, nothing was added. 

 

 

So that's it for now.  For the few of you who are still following along, thanks for the encouragement, suggestions and feedback.  It's greatly appreciated!   

 

 

[Michael931080]

Got the details behind the panel looking pretty accurate!

 

Nice Job!

[Uncarina]

I just got caught up John, and I’ve clearly been missing out on your stellar work! Attention to detail, the eye for authentic weathering, it’s all there. Not much further till you have anothe masterpiece for the display! I’ve built two of these beasts and neither have that extra impact I see here. I’m still taking notes though!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[jmel]

That's really nice work, John.  great job.

 

Jake

[John1]

9 hours ago, jmel said:

That's really nice work, John.  great job.

 

Jake

Would have been much easier if I could have found a copy of your wonderful book! Truly a Phantastic resource.  

[jeroen_R90S]

John, I may not always comment or like, but rest assured I'm following along and enjoy every update!

 

By the way, I think the stencil letter on the tail is probably a little goof, as the instructions you posted earlier do show it like that. I'd assume it wasn't overseen but rather not drawn this way in the decal artwork or something like that.

 

I would not mind buying a KLP book on this build, by the way (hint, hint)

 

Jeroen

[John1]

Thanks for the feedback gents.    Work continues, although at a slow pace.   I wasn't happy with some of the wiring for the WSO's upper instrument panel, the material I used for wiring seemed a bit too thick in some areas.   I removed those sections and replaced with thinner diameter lead solder and for a few smaller lines, some fine copper wire.   I also added more details on the upper aft bulkhead of the WSO's cockpit.   These include the cast metal hook that protrudes vertically next to where the canopy jack will be installed.   This hook engages a "roller" on the aft canopy interior to assist with locking it in place.   Also added was the grey circular fixture on the aft bulkhead.   This was a flexible rubber mating surface for the aft canopy inflatable seal.  Lastly, I added a few more electrical lines and removed a couple that I wasn't happy with.   

 

All in all, I'm content with the way things look.  Certainly looks better than the barren areas that Tamiya provided.   I'll probably add a few extra bits but after that, the next area of focus will be the interior of the fixed canopy section between the pilot's and WSO's cockpits.   As always, if anyone has some decent references for this portion of the aircraft, please feel free to post them.

 

One self-criticism.  I'm not thrilled with the two-layer WSO's IP looks.  I used both the kit parts, in retrospect, I should have tossed the outer section and just added the Quinta bits to the backing portion.  The only redeeming part is that with the mid-canopy section in place, this area isn't quite as visible. 

 

 

This picture shows the aft canopy locking mount and air line connection a bit better. 

 

 

 

Thanks for passing by folks! 

[Rockie Yarwood]

She looks great John, but her arms are kind of stubby  - is it time to install the outer wing panels?

 

Cheers, Rockie

[John1]

8 hours ago, Rockie Yarwood said:

She looks great John, but her arms are kind of stubby  - is it time to install the outer wing panels?

 

Cheers, Rockie

 

OMG, I forgot about those parts!!!   Actually, I'm going to take a crack at installing the outer wings in the folded position.   No idea if it's going to work, that will be the last part of this build.   Two reasons, first just because it's something different and second, this beast is big!   Folded wings will save a decent amount of shelf space.    We'll see how it goes.