1/48 F-4G Wild Weasel

[doogsatx]

Over a year ago, I made a night's half-hearted attempt to get Hasegawa's F-4G up and running. It did not, for a few reasons.

First, the markings. The F-4G will always be tied in my mind to Desert Storm. If I build one, I want to build one in the Hill scheme, packing HARMs, prepared to go hunt Iraqi radar. One of the two schemes in the Hasegawa box is kinda-sorta close, but no proper decals existed in aftermarket form.

Second, armament. In another mind-boggling choice, the kit fails to include the F-4G's most famous armament, the AGM-88 HARM. Sigh.

Third, the cockpit. The kit cockpit isn't anything great. The Eduard PE doesn't look real. The Aires resin is a nightmare to fit.

Fourth, the nose. For some reason just poking around at the nose fit convinced me to set this one aside. Things just did not line up.

Fast forward to 2015 and the imposed mothballing of my 1/32 jet builds. Just as I was pondering what to build next and settling on revisiting my Hobby Boss A-6E, I found out that Speed Hunter had just released a new set of F-4G decals, representing multiple ODS ships.

On top of that, in the intervening period, Eduard has released a really nice set of resin AGM-88s.

So, time for a second go...

[doogsatx]

The kit cockpit is...decent. Not terrible but far from impressive. The Eduard PE is a real mixed bag. Some excellent textural elements (cockpit sills and the like), but the replacement consoles and IPs are just terrible. So I've started replacing areas with Aires resin.



And drilling out tons of tiny little holes to build up more sense of depth on the side consoles.



The sidewall detail of the Aires pit is phenomenal. So I've hacked it to pieces and will be gluing these to the fuselage sides.



Here's how it's looking so far...plenty of work still to be done, especially with running wiring up the cockpit bulkheads and generally busying things up.





I also happily got the nose sorted out last night. Each half has a little tab to align the nose - I started by gluing this, then using MEK, expletives and patience to hold the nose halves in alignment with their respective fuse halves. In the end it worked magnificently.

[JimD]

Was wondering where this WIP was I will be getting one of these since that new decal set it out. Any attempts to make the Aires pit fit, or did you just forgo that entirely?

[doogsatx]

May 26, 2015 10:35:17 GMT -5 JimD said:

Was wondering where this WIP was I will be getting one of these since that new decal set it out. Any attempts to make the Aires pit fit, or did you just forgo that entirely?

Didn't even bother. If the cockpit wasn't right over the nose gear bay, I might have tried.

[Deleted]

Too sweet! I've been meaning to build an F-4G so I will definitely be keeping an eye out on this.

[wbill76]

Looks like you got the timing and stars to align just right to pick this one back up again Doogs! Looking forward to seeing you bring this one together as an ODS bird.

[doogsatx]

May 26, 2015 11:23:54 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Looks like you got the timing and stars to align just right to pick this one back up again Doogs! Looking forward to seeing you bring this one together as an ODS bird.

Yeah, it was definitely one of those "everything lining up, just go with it" things

[doogsatx]

Work on the port side panels last night - with the fuselage opened up it's easier to see the amount of detail they bring to the party.

[Leon]

WOW!! That is a lot of nice detail in the pit Doogs.

[doogsatx]

Started throwing paint last night...primed in black and then did the pit surfaces in Dark Gull Gray lightened up with white.



Next, it's going to get interesting as the detail stuff comes into play.

[JimD]

Smokin'

The resin/pit part combo is great without all the issues of fit it seems. Good to know for the future.

[John Everett]

Will you be adding many extras to the cockpit as you've done with the Intruder?

[doogsatx]

May 28, 2015 10:40:47 GMT -5 John Everett said:

Will you be adding many extras to the cockpit as you've done with the Intruder?

Other than approximately half of an Aires cockpit + some Eduard PE?

Sure!

I'll be using Eduard's fabric belts for the Aires seats, adding wiring to the bulkheads (may have to wait and add after I close the fuselage, though)...

And all those holes I drilled in the kit side consoles? I'll be using wire and stretched sprue to create more detailed switches and buttons.

[aeroaustin]

Doogs, I have same model as your, I read your post and learn about your issues, problem that give me to ready if run into same problem in future.

[doogsatx]

Took a short vacation with the family this weekend, so no bench time for a few nights, then back at it last night.

The F-4G cockpit continues to progress - the front port panel is even starting to get some "enhanced" switchgear.

[Deleted]

Awesome work!

[venom1]

Fantastic Doogs, love it so far!

Cheers,

Sam

[JimD]

So, how about them Brassin weapons?

[doogsatx]

Jun 1, 2015 23:33:19 GMT -5 JimD said:

So, how about them Brassin weapons?

You mean these?





I'm still trying to sort out how I want to handle the loadout. The most common load for ODS Weasels was 2x HARMs on the inboard wing pylons, 2x Sparrows in the aft fuselage slots, and tanks down the middle and on the two outer pylons.

At the start of the war, they carried 4x HARMs. And later in the conflict they started carrying AGM-65D Mavericks as well (one F-4G actually shot an aircraft down with one).

Right now I'm leaning toward a 2x HARM, 2x Maverick setup, or perhaps swapping a Maverick for a fuel tank in a goofy gas configuration. The only difficulty there is that I've only ever seen tanks on the outer pylons, and only ever seen Mavericks on the inner pylons.

Then there's the question of whether to paint the Mavericks white, gray or olive drab. I swear armaments are just as frustrating as the aircraft that carry them.

[JimD]

Those are gorgeous pieces of resin. Doesn't look like there's any problem with warping either...which is nice.

It's a tough call on loadout. I think the 2 HARM, 2 Mav setup is would be my choice. I don't remember having seen a photo of a Phantom with an asymmetrical load-out...or a fuel tank inboard...but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Maverick color would end with me closing my eyes and picking a bottle...but having color options is a good thing I guess.

[doogsatx]

Lots of pour stub removal yesterday. Pay no attention to the Snakeyes - they're for the Intruder.

Happily got the worst of the resin work out of the way with no major casualties, so I think I'll probably end up using the AGM-65s after all.



Still LOVE the way that the HARMs and Mavs are designed to slide onto their launchers. No need to worry about drilling out holes and installing mounting pins.

Also got some more work done in the cockpit - it'll come a lot further over the next few days now that the front and rear IPs are about ready to get polished off.

[aeroaustin]

Nice detailing on cockpit mixed with resin and original kit.

[TRM]

Looking great Doogs! Love that office!

[doogsatx]

Aires can suck it.



I understand the need to sand and thin kit parts to make their resin fit. But one would think, when they give you a really nice resin instrument panel, and a PE faceplate and acetate gauges, that the PE would be sized to drop right into place.

One would think, and one would be wrong.

Since I painted the PE on the fret, this presented a MASSIVE pain. Overall I had to hack the crap out of the edges while trying not to damage paintwork. Finally got the major bits in place. I still have some work to do, but the IPs are nearly done now.

[JimD]

Yeah. I had the same problem on he Harrier and F-4 cockpits. Fortunately with the Harrier it was only one panel and it's a good deal less complex. A lot of wasted time on the Academy kit obviously. It's really annoying for sure. Nevertheless, it looks spectacular.

[wbill76]

You haven't been having much luck with alignment issues lately Doogs! Would never know it though based on the end result look of those IPs.

[venom1]

Well, it may well have been a major pain in the arse, but the final outcome is spectacular! Great save mate!

Cheers,

Sam

[deafpanzer]

STUNNING work on the panel!!! The whole cockpit is just amazing!

[doogsatx]

Fussy two year old and tired me cut last night short a bit, but still managed to make a bit more progress in the cockpit. Happy to report that the hybrid instrument panel (Aires center, kit "wings") lines up perfectly.





Also have to thank my FB page for this awesome bangseat reference:

[Leon]

Cockpit looks awesome and great reference pic on the bang seat Doogs! Do you hand paint all the switches and knobs on the control panels?