1/48 Monogram F-4C/D Phantom.....497 TFS

[mark]

Hey all,

I'm brand new here, and this is my first thread...and my first model in over 40 years!  I'm 57 and haven't built a model since I was 16.  My re-entry into the world of modeling is with this kit, familiar to most of you, I'm sure:



Why build this model?  Why build ANY model?

In 1971, I...like many others, young & old alike...got a "POW Bracelet".  Anyone old enough to remember those?  In early '73, the POWs came home.  Those listed as MIA did not.  In a year or 2, very few people were still wearing bracelets.  But a few people kept wearing them.  Some never took theirs off.  I'm one of them.

"My MIA" was a GIB (guy in back) on an F-4; 8TFW, 497TFS out of Ubon, Thiland.  "Night Owls", they were called...and they flew at night, in complete darkness, working as forward air controllers and bombing supply lines at night along the Laos border.  Hairy stuff.

So I decided to build an F-4 for "my guy".

I really don't know what I'm doing...this is my first time with detailed (dinky) brushes, first time ever using an airbrush, first time mixing / thinning paints....but things are going well enough to keep me happy!  That said, I'm already seeing things to do differently next time.  Still, compared to some of the work I've seen on this and other forums, I have a long way to go!

Nevertheless.....here it is, 90% done.  My first kit in 40+ years!



The tail is FP...for the 497TFS.  The serial number is that of "my guy".  The actual plane was 66-7748, but during the late '60s, the Air Force had a curious habit of "moving the digits over", so the plane read 67-748.

The stock monogram decals were of no help, so I looked around until I found something usable:  Furball 48-030.  There was no FP, but there was an "E"...and a "B".  Armed only with determination & my exacto, in a few short minutes the tail said FP.

Same with the numbers.  I had to cut up other sequences to get "my guy's" tail number.

Most wonderful of all, that set came with a "Night Owl"...except, upon receiving the decals, I saw that it was the short, stubby owl that wasn't very commonly used.  Most planes of the 497th had a simple, stenciled white owl with very little detail, and it was taller, too.  So I figured "why not try?", and I made a stencil and sprayed on my own owl.

I *may* go back over it with a fine black brush (or even a razor-tipped sharpie...is that cheating?) and add some details...or I may just leave it as-is.  Haven't decided.




Camouflage.  I have no idea what the heck I'm doing, and I've never used an airbrush before.....but I think it came out pretty ok, all things considered.



Cockpit:  well, I thought I was doing pretty well!  Then I saw some of the stuff you guys do.  Suffice it to say, I now know where the goal line is!  We'll call this one a "good attempt".....like a missed field goal from the 30 yard line...




More pictures to follow as I finish it up.

Oh....and "My Guy", for those who might be interested...Maj. Joseph Echanis, USAF.  Lost 11/5/69. 



Standing, 5th from the left



So this F-4 is not "just a model" to me.  It's sort of a tribute....to I guy I don't know, yet who's become like part of my skin.

[JimD]

Wow man. Where to start. The story with this build, it's meaning to you, and the Major is just great. Touching to say the least. I can only speak for myself, but a lot of times there is a disassociation with me between the machines and actual human beings. That may be bad to say, but I'm very much an airplane geek and I'm into them as machines and marvels of flight. The military ones of course are more cool because of their kick a$$ purpose. Sadly it's easy to get lost in the marvel of them and forget people fought, killed, and died in them. And in my case when I do do a build with a historical figure in mind, the story is a little more glamours than it having been the airplane of someone MIA or KIA...it's usually an ace or someone held in high esteem for their combat prowess etc. (such as my recent F-4 completion here at the forum).

On the modeling side, don't be discouraged at all. You're way ahead of a lot of people just starting the hobby or picking it back up after a long time just by wielding the airbrush. If you stick with it and stick around forums and the community in general you'll be amazed how much you'll grow...trust me I know first hand. We will help you with the learning curve involved, and you may not realize it, but you'll be pushed to improve just by being here. So, please don't be afraid to jump right in.

I'm a Phantom Phreak. I'm really stoked to see another one being built here. We can spread Phantom Phever together.

[John Everett]

Not bad at all. It's all the more meaningful given the personal history. The cockpit is very cleanly done and for having never used an airbrush before, you've achieved an excellent result here. Good work!

Hang around the forums here and ask questions. Within four of five models you'll be able to use that airbrush to match he faded and chipped paint seen on your photo of the real F4. There have been huge advances in techniqus in just the last decade. There's a deep well of knowledge right here on the site to help you learn it all.

[mustang1989]

  I always like building an aircraft with a story behind it or at least some idea of the machine's background. Major Echanis' story makes this build that much more personal. As far as the build goes, this being your first trip down "sprue lane" in 40+ years, you are doing an amazing job. Don't worry a bit about how good or bad you are doing as you're not really in competition with anybody.  Your efforts so far show true talent in modeling so keep at it. Looking forward to more of this great progress, Joe

[Leon]

A great tribute to the Major and a very nicely done F-4.

[mark]

Yes, this is a very personal build......

After 44 years of wearing this, "every day is Memorial Day"




Of course, it's also "just plain fun" to be building a model again, too!

[wbill76]

Sounds like the perfect way to get back into the hobby to me. Not only does the build have personal meaning, it's also allowing you to try out a lot of new things and you're doing a good job on all fronts. Pulling up a chair for this one for sure!

[TRM]

The connection will always make for a better build!! Touching story and a fantastic tribute, not just building the model but wearing the bracelet as long as you have. Off to a great start! Pulling up chair to watch the rest of the show!

[mark]

Did a little more work tonight....

When I started the F-4, I didn't envision (and still don't) building a full-on diarama, but when Avenel Hobbies was closing, I couldn't resist grabbing this:



The pilots that come with the Monogram kit are really lacking in detail, and I was growing frustrated trying to make them into "something". Then I remembered that the "Ground Crew Kit" came with pilots! The detail is really very good. I still have a way to go, but here's the beginning:



What's even cooler is that his helmet is separate; he carries it in his hand. Since pilots like to get creative, I figured I would too!

This thing is smaller than a green pea, but I figured I'd test my capabilities a bit. I lightly glued the helmet to a piece of spru, and painted it yellow. I was able to cut strips of masking tape 1/32" wide, and after the yellow base coat dried, the tape let me go back and make stripes!



From more than 6" away, the effect is pretty cool!


I **REALLY** have to go to bed...big day tomorrow at the salt mine.  But one thing was bugging me:  my exhaust ports looked too shiny.  They needed some burn / carbon / exhaust...so I mixed up a "witches brew" of flat black, brown, silver & a hint of blue and "made a mess" followed by a dry brushing.  I'm happier now!



Here's where I'm having a conundrum:  Ordnance.  The 497TFS "night owls" didn't engage in air-to-air combat...they mostly dropped bombs, flares & markers.  They might have carried a Sparrow or 2 for self defense, but generally speaking they were not armed with the weapons supplied in this kit. 

So the kit didn't come with bombs, and even if I had bought an aftermarket "bomb set", I would have had to custom make bomb racks which, right now, feels a little bit beyond me.  So here we are, armament (from the kit) installed....drop tanks yet to go. I gave it a lot of thought and decided to arm this bird with what came in the box.  I know it's not "right", but it looks pretty good (I think). 

I looked at hundreds of pictures on line of Sparrows & Sidewinders + the ECM platforms, and saw them painted in lots of different ways.  Seems that there was no real "standard"; every color scheme seen below copies some specimen I found on line.  This added a little color & flare to an otherwise "dull black and camo" build.

Again.....looks good (IMO), but it's completely wrong for a plane from the 497TFS.  (but I won't tell if you won't!)



Talk amongst yourselves....I'm going to bed!

[mustang1989]

Great progress Mark! I like that helmet and exhaust staining.  Looking forward to more after you've gotten some rest. I'm outta here too as I've got a really early day tomorrow morning at 3:30 a.m. on my day off. Gotta get as much done on my 'lil project as I can. lol

[John Everett]

There's been a lot of advances in ready made colored powders, just like the old pastel chalks you used to run on sandpaper to produce pastel dust. But these new "pigments" are very, very finly ground and come in about 100 colors. They can be better than paint for achieving burnt and heated metal effects.

[wbill76]

Your secret regarding the load-out is safe with us! No worries there at all. Nice work on the helmet, definitely adds some character!

[mark]

Sept 4, 2015 11:27:40 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Nice work on the helmet, definitely adds some character!

Thanks!

The instructions in the kit said that the helmet was to be painted white.   White?  Seriously?  I'm sorry, but.....B-O-R-I-N-G!!  Even the guys on the boxtop don't have white helmets!  I knew I had to strive for better.

Besides, I figured the worst possible outcome was "strip it & do it over", but happily it came out looking pretty cool!

[Leon]

The weapons array and helmet look great Mark!

[Tojo72]

Very nice,your extra details are looking good.

[mark]

Thanks for all of the kind words. It's nearing completion!

OK...I've got a question, specific to this Monogram kit:

I want to display this as these warbirds usually sat: "Canopies up". But the dinky little "hinge" tabs on the canopies are absurdly short. They're only long enough to fit into the receiving slots for "display closed". With the curvature of the canopies, these tabs really have no "purchase" into the receiver slots in an "up" configuration.

Is there a 'right' way to do this? The instructions, poorly written as they are, indicate (with diagrams only) that "up" is an option, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to make it happen.

Seems to me that I may have to fabricate some sort of tab extensions.....cut off the stock tabs, and glue on some longer ones that attach & support under the canopy (nut unlike how the real F4 canopies were rigged).

Am I missing something, or is this a shortcoming of the kit?

****

A buddy of mine has some waterslide decal paper that you can put in a computer printer....I didn't know such a thing existed!  Oh, the magnificent times in which we live, right? 

Anyway, using MS Word, font = Impact, size = 3.5, I can print out super-dinky little decals that say "CPT. JOE ECHANIS" as well as the pilot "CPT. DOUG LEFEVER" and put them on the canopies!  I think that will be an amazing detail that will really bring this build home!


****

One more question, if I may.....this is more of an Air Force trivia question rather than a modeling question, but here goes:

I've discovered in my research that this F-4 (66-7748), prior to transfer to the 497th TFS, was assigned to the 433rd TFS.  During that time, this plane scored a Mig kill while being piloted by Maj.Bernard J. Bogoslofski.  His "star" can be seen on the port-side intake plate:



My question:  Would the star have stayed with the aircraft after being transferred to the 497th?  Or would it have been painted over?

I'm starting to apply decals, and I don't know if the star should be put on or left off.  I'm thinking 'left off', but I don't know...

Any takers?

[mark]

WOW!!!

This may be "old hat" for you guys, but making my own decals is completely new to me, and making decals that are "way beyond dinky"....well, had you told me a week ago that I'd be doing it today, I would have said "no way, no how, not ever".

And yet, here we are!!

I can't print in white (makes perfect sense, although I never knew that before), so I printed in yellow. The contrast was neither what I expected nor desired as the text completely vanished when placed on the green of the canopy. So I punted.....painted a white background and re-printed the decals with black letters.

I need to touch up the green / white border a bit, but all & all, I'm over the moon with happiness!




Oh...and in case you're curious:  Echanis (and LeFever) was promoted to Major after his loss.  The Air Force didn't issue a "Presumptive Finding of Death" until 1975, so he was promoted post-crash because of his continuation of officer status.  At the time he flew, he was a Captain.

[wbill76]

Nice work with the custom decals! As to your question on the star staying with the aircraft, I'm not a Vietnam-era AC expert by any stretch but I seem to recall that the practice was for the 'kill' markings to stay with the AC as they were often flown by different pilots or units depending on need. I think this was the case with the famed Robin Olds bird...it had 'kill' stars on it that weren't all his at the time he flew it IIRC. Either that or I'm wrong...take your pick.

[JimD]

My experience is that the kill stars generally stayed on the aircraft thorough out its life. There are/were examples of airframes from Vietnam having their kill markings well into the 80s am 90s. Robin Olds for example.

This one is coming together quite nicely. Keep the updates coming!

[mark]

The kill star has been added! Thanks!

It's been said that the legendary Jazz Saxophonist John Coltrane was once talking with Miles Davis about "soloing", and he said that he just didn't know how to stop! Miles responded, "Try taking your horn out of your mouth..."

Modeling, I think, is all about creating an illusion...and when you've done all you can towards that goal, it's time to "take the horn out of your mouth".

As such, I'm declaring this build to be "done". I present, for your review & critique, USAF F-4D, serial number 66-7748, lost over Laos 11/5/69.

This one's for Joe Echanis.



















Black-bottom....as was the norm for the Night Owls







I purposely went "light" on the decals.  Out of the factory, these planes were littered with "caution" this and "no step" that and "warning" the other thing, but in reality, most of that got covered up with the re-painting, as evidenced by photos of these planes in action.  An experienced ground crew knew exactly where not to step, so re-stenciling a bunch of "NO STEP" points typically didn't occur.  So other than the basic RESCUE, etc., I went easy.

I like my Night Owl, and have opted to leave it as-is.  I've seen photos of planes that had simple stencils like this, so I'm content with my job.

There are things I'm really happy about (the exhaust discoloration came out really well!, the names on the canopies make me smile, and the helmet was fun)...

There are some areas where I wish I'd spent more time (the model's seams where the intake cowling parts join really suck)...

There are some "cool tricks" that I've subsequently learned which are not employed here...

And I still don't really know how to use an airbrush...

...but I guess those are part of my learning curve, and subsequent builds will be better!


Next up: Tamiya 1:48 A-1 Skyraider.   Stay tuned!

[wbill76]

Definitely one to be proud to have on the shelf. Maj. Echanis would be pleased!

As for firsts and learning, that's the beauty of the hobby and every build. Keep on stretching your legs and pushing the envelope, you can only get better by doing! Looking forward to that Skyraider.

[deafpanzer]

Welcome aboard! Sorry for being late... impressive for your first build after a long break! Something to be proud of!

[John Everett]

Love this!

Skyraider!

[406 Silverado]

Welcome back to the hobby and to MSC. Nice background story and tribute, and very nice painting on the bird.

[JimD]

Great finish! I really want to do one of these Phantoms some day. Great choice moving on the the Skyraider too. Look forward to that one!

[Leon]

Great finish on the Phantom Mark! One to be proud of.

[Deleted]

Mark, I am Col Bogoslofski's son, and have additional info on your F-4 D tail number 66-7748. As you have provided a great detailed history of this aircraft, and a photo that I have not seen until your post, I am happy to provide you with further information on this Phantom while it was in service with the 8th TFW, 433rd out of Ubon, prior to its service with the 497th. Including the actual photo of the Mig Kill red star after being placed on this aircraft on his mission of Jan 3, 1968. Notice the armament chalked on the aircraft- lower left. This was a Suu-23 20mm kill of a Mig 17, the missile technology often failed and pilots had to resort to using the 20mm cannon as a last resort. 

Again, I appreciate the care and detail in your work on this model, and especially the history provided. And to the family members of Pilot Captain Douglas Paul LeFever,
and WSO Captain Joeseph Y. Echanis, whose aircraft was lost in '69- your hero's are our hero's! I pray that those who read this will keep their families in there hearts. 

Keep up the good work honoring the men who worked on and flew this aircraft- please feel free to contact me for additional info and photos.

J Chris Bogoslofski

[Rick]

Even in a world across many years and joined only by Internet, could timing and place come together with a common thread. Mark, jumping back into this hobby after 40 years and choosing this site from many to make a personal contact with a fellow modeller with your first build is simply amazing. I commend you for remembrance and keeping the faith all these years and look forward to more awesome builds in the future.

Rick

[mark]

I haven't been on this board for a while now....my time is elsewhere right now: call me nuts, I've decided to build a boat. Someday it will be a 16' runabout, but I'm far from that right now.

Anyway, I swung by to see what cool builds were going on, and I'm thrilled to see a post with direct knowledge of this aircraft!

To read

"...I am Col Bogoslofski's son..."

, is quite exciting, and I thank you for stopping by. I really don't know much about this aircraft or even very much about Maj. Echanis...other than the bits & pieces I've found via internet searches, so I'm appreciative for your input!

Do you have any info about this aircraft after it was transferred?

Thanks again for posting!

Mark in New Jersey

[Deleted]

Hi Mark-
My husband found this string last night and shared it with many in my family. Joe Echanis was my uncle. You have done his memory a great honor by wearing his bracelet and building this model. Thank you. We all wore his bracelet after he went down. Can you tell me what your connection was to the bracelet? I guess I always thought it was a family thing. It is nice to know however that others are inspired by his service. Thank you.
Maria