Revell 1/32 F-4E (from F-4G kit) 32nd TFS - The paint is on!

[Grunticus]

5 hours ago, alain11 said:

hi

That comes along nicely, it looks more and more to an F 4 E .... If you allow me.( I am not an adviser  ).......... maybe you could add the small vent on the right side of the nose ( maybe provided in the kit  ), check pictures to get  the good place 

Alain

 

 

15 minutes ago, Shujaa said:

The little vent on top of the nose-section which Alain is talking about should already be included in the box (part #230). Keep in mind that the vent is a small intake which conducts incoming air (while in flight) to the gun-compartment in order to purge the gasses when the gun is fired. Therefore it normaly is closed when the bird is parked/on the ground. However, there are of course always exceptions and furthermore we can always apply some "artistic license". 

 

Kind regards,

 

Rudy.

 

13 minutes ago, Shujaa said:

Hmmm, silly me... I totaly forgot to complement You with the excellent AIM-7 Sparrow's. They sure look mighty nice all dressed up with those decals and surely match the sweet ALQ-119. Keep up the good work !!!

 

Kind regards,

 

Rudy.

 

Thanks Alain & Rudy, the scoop will not be forgotten, I will add it tomorrow after I finish the intakes. Before I prime the Phantom I will go through the instructions to see if there's nothing I forgot.

[Dave Williams]

28 minutes ago, Shujaa said:

The little vent on top of the nose-section which Alain is talking about should already be included in the box (part #230). Keep in mind that the vent is a small intake which conducts incoming air (while in flight) to the gun-compartment in order to purge the gasses when the gun is fired. Therefore it normaly is closed when the bird is parked/on the ground. However, there are of course always exceptions and furthermore we can always apply some "artistic license". 

 

Kind regards,

 

Rudy.

This small scoop on the upper side of the nose?

 

https://www.grubbyfingersshop.com/walkaround_galleries/mdd_f-4e_phantom_ii_97208_raaf_museum_point_cook_2010/content/mdd_f-4e_phantom_ii_97208_raaf_museum_point_cook_2010_11_large.html

 

Your description of what it does is correct, but it’s normally open on the ground when the aircraft is unpowered.

[Shujaa]

1 hour ago, Dave Williams said:

This small scoop on the upper side of the nose?

 

https://www.grubbyfingersshop.com/walkaround_galleries/mdd_f-4e_phantom_ii_97208_raaf_museum_point_cook_2010/content/mdd_f-4e_phantom_ii_97208_raaf_museum_point_cook_2010_11_large.html

 

Your description of what it does is correct, but it’s normally open on the ground when the aircraft is unpowered.

 

Yupp, that's the scoop we're talking about.

Sounds "logical" for it to be open for inspection-purposes when the aircraft is unpowered. However, wouldn't that result in a "FOD-issue"? What I mean is that most/all openings are covered to prevent "stuff" from getting in. I'm told that bug's (insects) can be a real pain in the butt...   I don't recall seeing a "FOD-plug" being installed when the aircraft is parked unpowered.

 

Kind regards,

 

Rudy.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Shujaa
typo

[alain11]

hi

this stuff sometime appears open ..... and sometime .....closed .So.....let's go for an "artistic licence "

Alain

[Grunticus]

I have been searching and searching on that camera under the right wing root. It looks nothing like the standard KB-18A strike camera. But what is it then? I've used several search engines, but nothing....

 

It almost seems as if this was exclusively used by the 32nd TFS, I have yet to find a picture of an F-4 from any other unit that has it...

 

 

KB-18A:

 

[thierry laurent]

Hi,

 

Currently I do not have access to my books,  files or walkaround pictures to give you more info.

However, the strike cameras were released in different aftermarket resin sets in 1/32 and 1/48 scale. Look here for some pictures of a small scale example:

https://the48ers.com/f-4e-late-slat-conversion.html

In 1/32 they were in a Cutting Edge F-4E/F but it is OOP for many years:

https://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Rev2/1001-1100/rev1043-CEC32024-Crenshaw/00.shtm

 

 

Thierry 

[Grunticus]

1 hour ago, thierry laurent said:

Hi,

 

Currently I do not have access to my books,  files or walkaround pictures to give you more info.

However, the strike cameras were released in different aftermarket resin sets in 1/32 and 1/48 scale. Look here for some pictures of a small scale example:

https://the48ers.com/f-4e-late-slat-conversion.html

In 1/32 they were in a Cutting Edge F-4E/F but it is OOP for many years:

https://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Rev2/1001-1100/rev1043-CEC32024-Crenshaw/00.shtm

 

 

Thierry 

 

Thierry! Super helpful, thank you so much. I can work from those examples.

[Shujaa]

I'm sorry that I can not help You out on this one buddy. However, I did some searching and it could be that the "boxes" housed the J.A. Maurer P2 Strike Camera:

 

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345473406500163-maurer-p-2-aircraft-strike-attack-70mm-camera

 

I didn't have any luck finding any helpfull info while searching for the Maurer P2 camera but maybe You will have some more luck. 

 

I don't think it was 32nd specific though... While searching I found this pic:

 

https://combatace.com/uploads/monthly_03_2017/post-903-0-22613300-1488696392.jpg

 

Although it doesn't show any unit-markings, I don't think this is a 32nd bird since the 32nd was an Air Defense unit so why carry mudmover-stuff...

 

Maybe some more info can be found in a "Technical Order" (T.O.). I know there are some of these floating around on the web...

 

"Happy Hunting..."   

 

Kind regards,

 

Rudy.

 

 

 

 

[thierry laurent]

Indeed this was not an ad hoc solution developed by the field workshop of one unit. This was a standard modification.

[Grunticus]

23 minutes ago, Shujaa said:

I'm sorry that I can not help You out on this one buddy. However, I did some searching and it could be that the "boxes" housed the J.A. Maurer P2 Strike Camera:

 

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345473406500163-maurer-p-2-aircraft-strike-attack-70mm-camera

 

I didn't have any luck finding any helpfull info while searching for the Maurer P2 camera but maybe You will have some more luck. 

 

I don't think it was 32nd specific though... While searching I found this pic:

 

https://combatace.com/uploads/monthly_03_2017/post-903-0-22613300-1488696392.jpg

 

Although it doesn't show any unit-markings, I don't think this is a 32nd bird since the 32nd was an Air Defense unit so why carry mudmover-stuff...

 

Maybe some more info can be found in a "Technical Order" (T.O.). I know there are some of these floating around on the web...

 

"Happy Hunting..."   

 

Kind regards,

 

Rudy.

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, that must be it. Here's are all the images I could ever wish for. Now lets hunt for a photo of the pod

 

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Grunticus
Added images

[Dave Williams]

Have you considered asking on the Trader’s Board if anyone has the camera parts from the Academy boxing and aren’t using them?  They aren’t used in the Academy Vietnam boxing of the kit.  That sprue was added for the first Academy rebox of the Revell kit, which was for a ROKAF F-4E.  I believe the parts are Z11 and Z12.

[Grunticus]

2 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

Have you considered asking on the Trader’s Board if anyone has the camera parts from the Academy boxing and aren’t using them?  They aren’t used in the Academy Vietnam boxing of the kit.  That sprue was added for the first Academy rebox of the Revell kit, which was for a ROKAF F-4E.  I believe the parts are Z11 and Z12.

 

That's a great suggestion! I will do so. The easiest path to adding this much seen feature on 32nd TFS Phantoms. Thanks!

[Grunticus]

Today I made work of the 370 Gallon Sargent Fletcher tanks. I learned from this forum ( @Tolga ULGUR ?) that using sausages of Patafix gives me the demarcation lines to my liking. A bit fiddly when taping off areas to be protected because once it grips something or somewhere unwanted you're screwed and have to start over, but if you take your time and work in increments it's really a breeze.

 

 

The second tank apparently was made up from two different specimen, given the misaligned and different demarcation line (as seen on the photo of 74-1054 earlier in this thread, which will be the subject of my model.

 

This is after some dirtying-up. It needs one small touch-up.

 

 

Work also resumed on the intakes. I glued them in place in two stages per intake to maximize correct fit and minimize sanding.  When doing this care has to be taken to not damage the intake lip, which is very thinly molded (as it should be). Hence the piece of tissue to protect it.

 

 

In the lower pic the bottom half is not yet glued. The end-result is pretty okay, some filler is needed. On that subject: Mr. White Putty is pretty nice but does not rescribe very well, nor does Tamiya putty. Any recommendations as an alternative? I use a Tamiya scriber.

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

[thierry laurent]

MagicSculpt epoxy putty or CA glue can be scribed as plastic. 

[Grunticus]

20 hours ago, thierry laurent said:

MagicSculpt epoxy putty or CA glue can be scribed as plastic. 

 

Thierry, thanks for the suggestion, I have been looking into it and ordered some Tamiya epoxy putty, it got good reviews as it apparently mimics styrene when hard. I also discovered today the the VMS (slow drying) superglue I use does sand pretty good when dry. In my mind superglue was very hard to sand but that was with those cheapo small tubes I used to use.

 

Today I gave all the seams that I had worked on a layer of Surfacer to see where I stand. Unfortunately one intake popped half way after I removed the rubber bands. I left it so and filled the small gap with a piece of stretched sprue. There was a small step between aft fuselage and intake and I had to remove quite a bit of material to blend the two half way good. Not perfect at all but acceptable. As you can see below I suck at rescribing. I will fill in the trenches with superglue and try again. I rescribed as many lost details as I dared.

 

I also ordered the smaller Tamiya scriber and blades 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 blades (all for € 119, ouch!). It seems that will handle much better than the one below that I have been using until now:

 

 

Pretty good apart from the self-inflicted  trench, and a minor touch-up that is needed at the ring:

 

 

To my liking, but will fill that mis-aligned one too:

 

 

Yuck, screaming for superglue :

 

 

Not bad:

 

 

The nose came out spot on, really happy here:

 

 

Now, that needs some refinement left and right, to put it mildly

 

I was going to mask the canopy but apparently this is not the Tamiya for which the Reskit masks I ordered are for. Dumb mistake. I ordered the correct ones today from a local LHS.