F 4C. Hickham AB , Hawaii 1984. Revell 1/48.

Started by Simon Whitney · 53 · 7 years ago
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    Robert Royes said 8 years ago:

    On the gun pod, I think that's supposed to be a vent of some kind or a door. Maybe for the ram air turbine?

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    Jaime Carreon said 8 years ago:

    The door on the gunpod, if it's the one I'm thinking about, is the exit chute for the spent shell casings. There's another one for loading the gun.

    Simon, this one is an oldie, but goodie. It's probably the the most accurate out of box Air Force cockpit of all of them, but you would do well to replace the awful seats. True Details has a nice set and they're not horribly expensive. I used Verlinden seats on mine only because they came with the kit.

    The tailhook on the real thing actually fits pretty tightly to the fuselage when retracted.

    Beware the air intakes on this beast. Design is pretty poor there and I'm wagering you'll spend a fair amount of time getting things to fit.

    The ailerons will droop on the ground with the hydraulic pressure off, so the kit has you install them correctly for that configuration.

    Here's the build log for the one I did a while back. Might have some useful info in it for you:

    http://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/148-monogram-f4d-phantom/

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    Simon Whitney said 8 years ago:

    Thanks for the heads up Jaime, I had a look at the build wip, and it has shown me some interesting bits for reference.
    As for the seats , I am going with stock kit ones, money is short and I would rather spend that capital on some bits for the beasts I have lurking in my stash LOL..
    I see what you mean about the intakes, they look a pain, ah well something more to amuse myself with LOL.

    On with the update.
    Cockpit first, as that has got to be fitted before the fuselage is closed up.
    The "Get out of here Quick Handles Holes" were drilled .3 mm , I will form some handles out of wire later.


    The seats as mentioned are old and soft detailed.

    But this one had a problem, an E/P mark had come through the side, oh bother!

    So a strip of .2 mm plastic card was cut and fixed either side of the back , to mke it look even,.

    These will be trimmed back once set.
    The U/C fit was to say the least slack, more a prick in a bucket.

    So remedy, another bit of .2 mm card.

    Glued in place, and will trim later.

    Back to more prepping for now.
    All comments welcome.
    Simon.

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    Bernd Müller said 8 years ago:

    Fixing the old Monogram F-4 isn t easy but it will be rewarding in the end. Looks pretty good so far 🙂

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    Simon Whitney said 8 years ago:

    Well folks , it has been a little while since I lasted posted anything, so there is a lot going on.
    First, the seats were finished off, drill hole on the under side to pop it on a toothpick for painting.


    The U/C was also sorted out.

    The nose leg problem was easily solved, the locating pin was to long, a quick trim was all was needed.
    I next turned my attentions to the weapons.
    The Sparrows after a clean up were not to bad, but the fixing of them to the fuselage could be a problem.
    Out with a drill and each missile had a hole drilled in it.

    The recesses where they sit were also drilled.

    After looking at some reference pics, I noticed that the missiles had no recess or nozzle shape at the back.
    So out with the drill and mini drill with dental burrs.

    Be ware though, the front 1/2 rears are sloped to fit.

    Sidewinders were next.

    A locating hole drilled in each.

    And their rear ends similarly attacked like the Sparrows.

    As I am posting this build wip on another forum as well, a kind fellow sent me the Eduard Exhaust kit as he did not need it.

    Which is much better than the stock ones.

    A close up of the the engine back ends and the tail cans show the improvement .


    And a nice delicate after burner fret too.

    Will update you with more soon.

    All comments welcome.

    Simon.

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    Greg Kittinger said 8 years ago:

    Simon - I like your attention to the small details! I'm looking forward to seeing the Rhino completed!

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    Jaime Carreon said 8 years ago:

    Those aftermarket burner cans are nice, much better than the kit parts. Even better because they were free! Wish now I had had a set when I did mine...might have to consider those for the upcoming build.

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    Simon Whitney said 7 years, 12 months ago:

    Hi folks.
    Thanks for the comments, and the cans were a great bonus.
    Anyhow, back to the bench.
    The mid weapons pylons were wrong.


    The lugs and pins removed.

    Side by side comparison
    The launcher rails themselves bear no resemblance to the ref pics I have seen.

    More to come on those later in the week I hope.
    Got some primer down.
    Alcad Black Primer/Micro Filler, not bad stuff, levels quite well.




    I also primed up some bits in the usual Grey, to see what remedial work needs doing ( a lot )

    The I.P.s and cockpit tub were given a base coat of med Grey


    I will post updates as and when.
    All comments welcome.

    Simon.

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    Simon Whitney said 7 years, 10 months ago:

    Well, as you might of read elsewhere, we are having to move out, s things sadly must come to a halt.
    So here is the last progress shots for a while.
    Cockpit dry fit , seats.


    Then given a coat of varnish and weathered.


    I/Ps and seats fixed in position, ejector seat handles added to seat base but left the head end ones off for safe keeping.

    Buttoned up.

    And resting.

    She has now gone to sleep in her travelling box until I can get a bench up and running.
    Will still pop in each day to see what is happening.

    Take care all

    All comments welcome.

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    Robert Royes said 7 years, 10 months ago:

    Looks great, good luck with the move.

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    Simon Whitney said 7 years, 10 months ago:

    Cheers Robert, we are playing the waiting game now.

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    Simon Whitney said 7 years, 4 months ago:

    Hi folks...
    Well I/we have been away for longer than I thought...
    This has been due to life rearing it`s ugly head and biting you on your butt.
    But better news is here.
    After it seems an eternity, I got to build this monstrosity .

    THE BENCH



    And the timber to build it with.

    So I cannot see ant real reason why I should not continue with my Phantom build, although I do know that I missed the gun.

    Simon.

    1 additional image. Click to enlarge.

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    Robert Royes said 7 years, 4 months ago:

    Looks nice, It's always time for a Phantom.

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    Bernd Müller said 7 years, 4 months ago:

    A new bench in a new home, happy modelling my friend 🙂

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    Simon Whitney said 7 years, 4 months ago:

    Thanks peeps, it was a long haul but there now.