Monogram 48th F-4C, 67TFS

[nicely11b]

My current project, which I started New Years Day, is Monogram's F-4C for the reddit Phantom groupbuild.  I'll be finishing it in early Wild Weasel markings from the 67th TFS out of Korat AB in 1972.

For anyone that hasn't built this kit, it's not a terrible build for an old Monogram kit.  The cockpit is decently detailed, though the seats are a bit wonky with the bottoms being molded into the cockpit floor.  My biggest gripe with the kit are the raised panel lines, so they've been rescribed.  There are also some awesome ejector pin marks in terrible places, the sides of the front tires for example.

Armament will consist of a typical Wild Weasel loadout, two AGM-45s on the wings, two AIM-7s on the belly, and the ALQ-71 ECM pod in the front.  Since the kit doesn't come with the Shrikes, I added them with Hasegawa's Weapons Set C.

Ejector pin marks filled with Mr. Dissolved Putty

Lower sides and wings rescribed

Instrument panels, tub, and seat backs painted and washed


AGM-45s and their launcher rails are cleaned up, still some work to do on the ECM pod.

I'm finishing up some work on the back seat IP and some detail on the cockpit sides and the fuselage will be ready to close up.  

Thanks for looking!

[Leon]

Nice start on the F-4 despite some minor fixes!

[wbill76]

Off to a good start. Pulling up a chair to follow along.

[deafpanzer]

WOW! What nasty wheels... glad you were able to fix them. Looking good!

[nicely11b]

Jan 11, 2016 23:53:57 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

WOW! What nasty wheels... glad you were able to fix them. Looking good!

Ha, I don't know if I'd call them 'fixed', but hopefully fixed enough that you won't see them when it's finished.

[JimD]

Hey there, buddy. When did you show up over here? Hehe. Apologies for missing it! I'm liking the progress on this one. You're a braver man than I for going after that rescribing, but it's paying off.

[nicely11b]

Jan 12, 2016 10:09:06 GMT -5 JimD said:

Hey there, buddy. When did you show up over here? Hehe. Apologies for missing it! I'm liking the progress on this one. You're a braver man than I for going after that rescribing, but it's paying off.

The other day when you told me about it, lol.  You know, it honestly hasn't been that bad, it's gone a lot faster than I expected it to.  I'm actually to the point that everything is scribed that can be while the fuselage is separated.  I'll finish up the stuff that overlaps once it's together, which will hopefully be today.

[JimD]

One day I'll have the courage to scribe something. Haha..probably not. My white whale right now is riveting a kit which terrifies me. Mostly because I'm obsessive and I just see no way I don't drive myself nuts trying to get everything perfect.

[nicely11b]

Jan 12, 2016 11:32:43 GMT -5 JimD said:

One day I'll have the courage to scribe something. Haha..probably not. My white whale right now is riveting a kit which terrifies me. Mostly because I'm obsessive and I just see no way I don't drive myself nuts trying to get everything perfect.

What riveter do you use?  I got the RB Productions riveter before this Phantom build and it's been a game-changer for me.  I've made a few mistakes in areas where I couldn't keep a good grip on the plastic, but nothing like what I had using Trumpeter's riveter.  That thing was/is garbage.

[JimD]

I've got the RB one and a Rosie. They both perform the same honestly. The Rosie was the first one I got, but it was spaced .75mm which is just no good for 1/32, so instead of buying another Rosie of the right size, I got the RB with 3 sizes for the same price.

The actually rivets and tool aren't the problem. It's aligning and symmetry that gives me nightmares. I'm very anal about that sort of thing and I just envision never being happy with it and re-doing and re-doing.

[adt70hk]

Looking a good start, especially the cockpit!

[nicely11b]

Well fellow model makers, another day down and more progress on 'Rub a Dub Dub'.  With a little bit of a struggle, I was able to get the cockpit tub into the right half of the fuselage.  I don't think I've ever had a good fit when a cockpit goes together like this, but, it's in, and the fuselage halves are together.  

Buttoned up

Once the halves were stuck together, using Tamiya Extra Thin, there were a few areas that had a significant step.  Since I had to scribe everything, I made the panel lines a bit deeper on the spine, where the step was the worst.

Step


No Step

At this point, most of the separation line between the halves has been taken care of.  There are still a few spots that need work, mainly the bare steel under the horizontal stabilizers.

Steps on the steps

Test fitting the wings and underside

So this is where she stands.  There is a little bit of a gap between the wings and fuselage, but it'll disappear under some putty.  The fit though at the exhaust and under the cockpit is fantastic.  It shouldn't take much to clean those areas up once it's glued.

But the hard part, rescribing, is over for this build.

Thanks for watching!

[Leon]

Nice work on the rescribing!

[nicely11b]

Thanks, Leon. A few spots need touched up, but I'm happy with it.

[adt70hk]

Very nice work indeed!!

[JimD]

Well this one is progressing rapidly and nicely. You'll be painting by the weekend haha.

[nicely11b]

It's a good possibility. I've gone so fast with this build that it's worried me, but it's also the most prepared I've ever gone into a build.

[george]

Nice rescribing work!

[wbill76]

Well worth the effort you're putting into this one. Steps on steps...got to love that design decision.

[deafpanzer]

Rescribing?!?!? That was very courageous of you! I haven't decided if I should do the same for my first wingy build B-24 in 1/48.

[nicely11b]

Jan 14, 2016 15:35:26 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Rescribing?!?!? That was very courageous of you! I haven't decided if I should do the same for my first wingy build B-24 in 1/48.

It's actually the second time I've done this kit and the second time I've rescribed it, though the first time it ended up in the garbage.  I feel like the B-24 would be a bit easier than this was.  A lot more straight lines and  bigger panels to work with.

[nicely11b]

Progress has been a little slow the last two days, though I'm still trudging forward.  With the main parts of the fuselage together, the time has come for seam filling, and though the fit has been really good for an almost 40 year old kit, there are still some areas that needed addressed.  Some really small steps existed on the fuselage near the cans.

The biggest gap existed at the front of the nose gear, where the underside piece met the the main fuselage halves.  I didn't get a picture before filling, but the gap was filled and the step feathered.

My biggest issue now is taking care of the mess at the rear of the cockpit.  For as good as the rest of the fit has been, the cockpit fit is terrible.  It's not the best photo, but there is about a 1mm step between the deck and cockpit sill, as well as a gap, about another 1mm, between the deck and wall.

I used some sheet styrene, cut to size to raise the deck and started filling the gaps with putty.  Once the filling is complete, I'll have to make new holes for the rear canopy, but that shouldn't take more than some careful drilling.

The putty is a bit of a mess for now but a quick sanding will take care of it.  I'm still looking for some good reference photos for the area, to see what kinds of detail I need to add.  But this is where she stands for now.

As always, thanks for your feedback!

[nicely11b]

Well the last two weeks or so have been a bit of a drag, trying to smooth out the gaps on the intakes, but it's finally finished and some paint has gone down.

[Leon]

Always nice to see paint go down! Looking really good.

[wbill76]

Putty work is often a big hassle but your effort has paid off, would never know it was needed now that the paint's on.

[WigWag Workshop]

I spy a Sprecher bottle cap LOL... Build is looking aces!

[nicely11b]

Feb 6, 2016 10:54:44 GMT -5 WigWag Workshop said:

I spy a Sprecher bottle cap LOL... Build is looking aces!

Best cream soda in the world :-)

[nicely11b]

Quick update today.  Paint is moving right along, done with Mr. Color paints in the SEA scheme.

I'm still trying to figure out how I want to do the bare steel on the tail, but at least there is still progress.

[Leon]

Camo and bottom of the fuselage look great!

[deafpanzer]

Fantastic paint job especially the camo!