Monogram 48th F-4C, 67TFS

[adt70hk]

The bottom does look amazing!!  The topside is not too bad either!! 

Well done!

Andrew

[ironhand6]

I absolutely love phantoms in SEA colors. yours is amazing, with all the work you put into it I can only guess how itll look when finished. thanks for sharing.

[nicely11b]

Ok guys, a quick update today.  I've moved a bit further along with paint.  I was a bit stuck figuring out how I wanted to do the bare steel area on the tail since my alclad selection is a bit limited.  I ended up using MM Titanium metalizer as a base, followed by some variation with Alclad Steel and Duraluminum.  Once that was down, I used a thin mix of black and tire black to add some shading around the metal panels.  Some careful application of oils was used to create some heat staining on the lower area.  A coat of Tamiya X-22 protected the oils from future weathering.

Once the X-22 dried, I added some blue tint to the bare metal with Ammo's Blue for Panzer Gray wash.  For some reason, my bottle of blue wash seems thicker than it should be.  It still works, but it's definitely thicker than Ammo's other washes that I have.  I tried to use this to my advantage here.  I tried to use it more as a stain instead of a wash, allowing it to dry and wiping it off with a dry cotton swab.  It didn't work quite as I had hoped, but it still added some blue tint to the area.

I still plan to add some sootiness, as my references show that there was always a bit of carbon buildup from the dirty J79s, but I still want the variation in the metal to show through.  So it'll be lightly done.

[wbill76]

Sharp work on the exhaust areas, looks like the combination you settled on did the trick nicely.

[deafpanzer]

Brilliant work on the metal around the exhaust!

[ironhand6]

I tried this kit annnd lets just say a Sa-2 took it out on a bomb run! seriously, you make me want to try another one.  great work

[nicely11b]

Feb 22, 2016 13:04:31 GMT -5 ironhand6 said:

I tried this kit annnd lets just say a Sa-2 took it out on a bomb run! seriously, you make me want to try another one.  great work

It's really not a terrible kit. It definitely has its weaknesses, but for a 35 year old kit, its pretty decent. My biggest gripes are the raised panels and the cockpit fit, but the rest of the fit has been ok.

[nicely11b]

Really getting close now.  I forgot to take pictures today, but all the decal work is finished and a final gloss coat has been put down to protect them from weathering.  I had a little bit of difficulty with the decals, the first problems I've ever had with a Twobobs set, though they are a 10 year old sheet, so I didn't expect perfection from them.  For the most part, they went down beautifully, but the slime lights on the wingtips cracked and I had some wrinkles that wouldn't go away on some of the bigger decals.  I also had some chipping on a few of them.  

I also decided to forgo using the other decals for the canopy.  I put them down on the port side of the jet, but they didn't have a real good fit, so I'm just going to mask and paint them once my paint arrives.  That'll also guarantee that the red on the canopy matches the red that will be on the tip of the vertical stabilizer.  

As always, thanks for looking!

[ironhand6]

the 2 parts for me that were the hardest to fix was the rear of the cockpit as well as the intakes. no matter what I did , I couldn't get them smooth. bummer about the decals. it still looks pretty darn good to me though!

[deafpanzer]

Looking real good!!!

[Deleted]

[nicely11b]

Feb 22, 2016 21:47:33 GMT -5 ironhand6 said:

the 2 parts for me that were the hardest to fix was the rear of the cockpit as well as the intakes. no matter what I did , I couldn't get them smooth. bummer about the decals. it still looks pretty darn good to me though!

My god, that cockpit deck.  That thing was terrible.  I had, probably, a millimeter gap on either side of the deck and it was sunk into the tub further than it should have been.  I filled the deck with some styrene and putty and used a little bit of lead wire just to make it look a little detailed.  Didn't turn out too bad, but still doesn't look great.  Hopefully it won't be seen under the canopy.

I didn't have too bad of a time with the intakes.  There was a little bit of a step on the bottom, where it meets the wing, and a small sunk in area on top, but some putty on top and a lot of sanding on the sides took care of it.  

[ironhand6]

Feb 23, 2016 19:35:11 GMT -5 nicely11b said:

Feb 22, 2016 21:47:33 GMT -5 ironhand6 said:

ah, maybe I gave up on the intakes too soon. I really didn't have a clue how to fix those things. as for the cockpit rear, I think it would be better to remove the offending piece and fashion a totally new one to fit better. maybe next time I get one of these...

[nicely11b]

Well, guys, I finally got around to finishing up 'Rub a Dub Dub' today.  Though she went together pretty well, she fought me at the end with some decals pulling up while masking for a bit of paint.  Thankfully, I had spares and was able to fix the biggest problem.  Though there were still some decals that silvered.  Anyway, here are the final photos.

[Leon]

Mighty fine looking F-4! Very well done.

[adt70hk]

Now that is very nice!!  Excellent job!  

[Deleted]

[ironhand6]

Great save.  you have a really great plane to show off.  

[nicely11b]

Thanks, everyone. I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out.

[TRM]

Well done!! She's a beauty!! Congrats on getting her across the finish line!

[deafpanzer]

She is truly a beauty!!! One of my fav jets and you served her very well!!!