BiggTim Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Just catching up on this build, and it looks great! I love F4s, and this paint scheme is one of my favorites. Well done! RichieB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieB Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 Continuing the weathering theme, I decided to move on to the under-fuselage and inner pylons. I used a medium gray panel line wash generally and a dark wash in any grates and grids before dirtying up a number of areas, but especially the engine areas. I've seen very few F-4s with clean undersides, except perhaps for special scheme birds, but didn't want to turn it into something that looked like it had landed wheels up in a farmers field - leave that to the armour dudes. It is therefore a relatively fine line between over and under doing it. What can be said though is that rarely does a plane look the same colour all over even if it is painted in the same FS paint. Natural light, wear and tear, and environmental conditions all make a difference to the final result and so unless you are making a portrait of a plane for a very discerning patron, it's all in the eye of the beholder! This is my convoluted way of saying I'll just make it up as I go along and hope it resembles something realistic at some point in time. I used a brown exhaust wash to tone the rear fuselage and then added various grime and oil streaks. Hopefully it adds enough interest without looking like its just had a double engine failure (!) and I need a bit of contrast for the large central fuel tank. The pylons were treated the same with a PLW followed by some light streaking and a touch of pigments around the locking mechanisms. To make these pylons fit the jet I had to thin the sway braces and make room for the belly strap to pass under. The chaff and flare dispensers have been added as the Revell kit just had the fairings. The rails were adapted from the Revell ones which were too long. They've also got some really small magnets in to allow the winders to be attached and detached at will. The winders also have magnets in but getting them all to line up and with the right polarity was a bit of a nightmare! I also had to make sure that whatever weathering I did on the pylons matched in intensity, that on the undersides of the fuselage as they were rarely removed and would have weathered at the same rate. Next up - missiles! Gazzas, blackbetty, AceofClubs and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircommando130 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Probably my favorite fighter! I can almost see a flight of 4 "E" models in the arm/de arm area...those big J-79's rumbling and the crews with their hands on the canopy rails while the launch crew pulls the pins. Great work so far!!!! RichieB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 it's all in the eye of the beholder! This is my convoluted way of saying I'll just make it up as I go along and hope it resembles something realistic at some point in time. Yeah !! RichieB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Awesoooooome! The Best F4` pylons! And the weathering underneath is so clean indeed, except for the few areas where it is quite heavier. I like that contrast, and how the decals are nicely contrasting too. RichieB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieB Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 Thanks chaps. A small benefit of not having a lot of time to do this stuff is that you have a lot of time to reflect on what you want it to look like and doing it in small steps allows a little more of the 'next-day viewpoint' to quell 'in-the-heat-of-the-moment' additions! Harold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieB Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 I've never been a fan of clean jets and by that I mean with nothing hanging off them (though a clean, clean jet is probably my least favourite!). Something about a fully loaded jet that just means business. To that end the Revell F-4 provides you with 4 Aim-9s and 4 Aim-7s but they are not the right marks for the early years so it was off to the spares box to raid some Aim-7Es from a Tamiya kit and some cutting edge Aim-7Js as no-one seems to provide a correct plastic version. This seems odd as loads of cold war era pictures seem to have this type of winder and it was exported widely. The cutting edge resin pieces are very nice but very fiddly, especially the front fins where I had to guess where to place them. I also managed to lose one of the fins so had to fabricate another one from plastic card. As cutting edge don't provide you with decals I had to use Two Bobs missile sheet instead. These are great and add a nice touch of detail. I might add a little bit of weathering just to add interest but they were generally well looked after. The Revell kit also comes with a jamming pod, an ALQ-119 I think, and since the front Sparrows will be removable I decided to paint this one up as an alternative fit. The piece looks reasonably accurate though the decals are a bit rough and ready. As they sit under the jet I dirtied it up a little more than the missiles. Harold, johncrow, F`s are my favs and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Shultz II Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I hate to ask but have you been checking the lights as you go? With all that masking and painting it would be kind of hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieB Posted May 24, 2018 Author Share Posted May 24, 2018 Good question Sgt, I have to say that I've sort of avoided that moment when you realise whether your homemade electronics have survived the build! Mostly because I'm trying to finish the model in a manner where the lighting is a nice addition not the end game otherwise it could feel like show's over when the switch is thrown and nothing happens. LEDs are pretty robust but my main fear is the soldered joints as its not my strong point (perhaps literally!). Not too far away now from the home truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 (edited) I've never been a fan of clean jets and by that I mean with nothing hanging off them (though a clean, clean jet is probably my least favourite!). Something about a fully loaded jet that just means business. To that end the Revell F-4 provides you with 4 Aim-9s and 4 Aim-7s but they are not the right marks for the early years so it was off to the spares box to raid some Aim-7Es from a Tamiya kit and some cutting edge Aim-7Js as no-one seems to provide a correct plastic version. This seems odd as loads of cold war era pictures seem to have this type of winder and it was exported widely. The cutting edge resin pieces are very nice but very fiddly, especially the front fins where I had to guess where to place them. I also managed to lose one of the fins so had to fabricate another one from plastic card. As cutting edge don't provide you with decals I had to use Two Bobs missile sheet instead. These are great and add a nice touch of detail. I might add a little bit of weathering just to add interest but they were generally well looked after. The Revell kit also comes with a jamming pod, an ALQ-119 I think, and since the front Sparrows will be removable I decided to paint this one up as an alternative fit. The piece looks reasonably accurate though the decals are a bit rough and ready. As they sit under the jet I dirtied it up a little more than the missiles. I could be wrong, but, I believe that the blue stripe you have on your Aim-9 missiles would indicate they are inert! I don't think you want that unless you are depicting a training mission load. Bruce Edited May 25, 2018 by Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat14 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 A Beautifull Phantom Build Richie, the weathering is outstanding. Chris Causey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SapperSix Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Fantastic work!! I will be marking this as to come back and copy your techniques! Beautiful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 I especially like how weathered they are, and yet the colors are contrasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieB Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 Many thanks chaps, this forum is great for inspiration and the rest I just make up as I go along! Bruce - Thanks for the timely observation, I hadn't really checked as I just assumed Two Bobs knew their stuff, maybe not! Any steers on what that band colour should be, I'm presuming black or brown? I've marked up the sparrows using Two Bob decals as well. They look great on (presuming they are the right colours!) but you need to split them up a bit as they come as 2 large decals for each missile which is a bit of a pain to get right in one go. Again, might add a touch of dirt as they would have been underneath the aircraft and subject to all the muck through up by the wheels and airframe. The Tamiya missiles are quite nice really and fit the Revell kit just fine. The front two Sparrows have magnets on so they can be removed easily but because Revell put the slots in the wrong place on the rear stations I've decided to fix those in situ. LSP_Kevin, F`s are my favs, Kagemusha and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieB Posted June 16, 2018 Author Share Posted June 16, 2018 Quick update, engine exhausts have been painted up using Alclad and various washed to add a weathered and stained look. The exhausts are from GT Resin and are much better than the kit ones. They also fit nicely, unlike the Aires ones. The associated exhaust tubes are already fixed in the aircraft and have a similar level of detail (though you won't see much after I've inserted the rods that will hold it in flight). Getting there! F`s are my favs, Kagemusha, ghatherly and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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