Airfix 1/72 Phantom FG.1 (F-4K)

[VegasAWACER13]

Stepping out of my WW2 comfort zone and building a jet this time. Always liked the F-4 (who doesn't?) and thought it would be cool to make the RAF version. At some point I plan to build Robin Olds' Vietnam War F-4C in 1/48. But for now this should be a fun build. Going to keep it pretty simple after my all out effort on the last build.

 

[Edbert]

Always liked the F-4 (who doesn't?)

One of my all-time favorites too, but there are a lot of haters out there.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

One of my all-time favorites too, but there are a lot of haters out there.

Hating the mighty F-4?! Sacrilege!

 

[Tommergun]

I love F-4s, all versions. I worked on F-4C, F-4E, and RF-4C in the California ANG.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

I love F-4s, all versions. I worked on F-4C, F-4E, and RF-4C in the California ANG.

Nice! My dad worked on them when he was first in the USAF.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

California ANG.

You weren't in the same unit as Dean Paul Martin were you (the actor's son)?

 

[Tommergun]

You weren't in the same unit as Dean Paul Martin were you (the actor's son)?

Yes same unit, but that happened 3 years before I got there.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Yes same unit, but that happened 3 years before I got there.

Small world. And a sad thing.

 

[Marauder1981]

Please post about the build quality of this kit as you work on it. I've been sticking to 1/72 scale aircraft for space reasons. I love the F4 and I'm always on the lookout for interesting kits with really good fit.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Please post about the build quality of this kit as you work on it. I've been sticking to 1/72 scale aircraft for space reasons. I love the F4 and I'm always on the lookout for interesting kits with really good fit.

I shall!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Cockpit complete. Definitely not the best part of this kit. The seats have molded-in straps, which is a nice touch, but otherwise it's pretty basic. If you're wanting an open cockpit (I'm going closed) you'd definitely want an aftermarket set for it. Fit of the pieces has been fine so far. My biggest gripe is that the instrument panel decals were too big. Every single one of them. Got them on there eventually. Overall, it's fine for what I'm going for on this build. Wish I was better at painting the ejection handles but a challenging thing at 1/72 scale.

 

[Edbert]

I think it looks great at 1/72 to be honest. At 1/48 harnesses often look 2D, Airfix avoided that issue!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

I think it looks great at 1/72 to be honest. At 1/48 harnesses often look 2D, Airfix avoided that issue!

Thanks!

Yeah, it's a pity more manufacturers don't put molded on straps on the seats. Would make life a lot easier. I just wish this one had molded on instrument panel detail. I wouldn't have bothered with the decals.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Well on the way! When I got back into modeling last year I was all about WW2 and didn't have much interest in jets, but it's a fun change of pace to build a Cold War fighter now. It's also cool to see the full intake tunnels on modern kits.

I used an old (but untouched) bottle of Model Master Jet Exhaust for the fan blades and 'burner cans. Should've thinned it a little but they're interior parts that won't really be seen, so not a big deal. I did have to cut the fan blade piece in half to make it fit on the intake ends.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Fuselage assembly is complete and I'm prepping for seam cleanup. Most of it is on panel lines and will be pretty straightforward, but there are a few larger gaps that will need a little more effort.

It's a nicely designed kit but Airfix's reach continues to exceed their grasp lol. Most of the parts went together well, but some of the larger pieces needed careful cementing in stages to get them to fit properly (specifically the lower wing piece and the spine panel).

 

[VegasAWACER13]

This would be a fun kit if anything actually fit together as advertised. But hey, Airfix…

Just need to fill some gaps around the very poorly fitting canopy. Otherwise, about ready for paint. Feel like I've been filling seams for about two weeks. Oh wait…

 

[Wig41]

You're doing a fine job on this. Every kit has its challenges. I can't remember building an Airfix kit … maybe back in high school. I am looking forward to their new 1/48 Phantom and I hope they have made the necessary improvements.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

You're doing a fine job on this. Every kit has its challenges. I can't remember building an Airfix kit … maybe back in high school. I am looking forward to their new 1/48 Phantom and I hope they have made the necessary improvements.

Thanks for the kind words!

There's a decent kit in there. It just takes some work to realize it. I'll be interested to hear how the 1/48 version is.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Turns out a jet fighter has a few more accessory parts than a WW2 fighter.

 

[Jantk14]

Yea I always do the missiles and bombs last. It's at least another week of work.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Yea I always do the missiles and bombs last. It's at least another week of work.

It's a lot of extra stuff. Figured I'd just get all the sanding and priming out of the way and be done with it.

 

[Wig41]

There's a lot of modelers who start their jets by building the underwing stores first.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

There's a lot of modelers who start their jets by building the underwing stores first.

There's definitely something to be said for getting the chores out of the way early.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Thought I was never going to get this thing into paint. I still remember how to use my airbrush lol!

It ended up looking better after a coat of primer than I was expecting. The ugly seams aren't all perfect, but I wasn't going for anything close to perfect on this build. Good enough.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Moving along. I couldn't find a "light aircraft gray" for the ventral surfaces so I used light gull gray. And I just got done putting down the dark sea gray on the upper surfaces. I decided to use a different technique on this one. While I don't plan to do much in the way of weathering, I thought I would use the build as an opportunity to practice pre-shading. I free-handed the dark sea gray and then I'm going to mask over it to put down the dark green. I pre-shaded with the main colors rather than white. I also made some of the gray areas slightly wider than they will be at completion to give myself extra space for the masking.

Some areas of pre-shading came out better than others but so far so good. It needed a little more precision than I used to get the full effect I had in mind but this was all balanced by the notion that I'm not going all out on this one. I'm tempted to just free hand the green too but these RAF Phantoms had fairly hard camo lines so will probably stick with my original plan.

 

[BarleyBop]

... interesting approach. Pre-shading for dark camo was problematic for me.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

... interesting approach. Pre-shading for dark camo was problematic for me.

How so?

 

[BarleyBop]

How so?

My first attempt, after running into issues with masking putty, I ended up having to repaint and lost the effect.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

My first attempt, after running into issues with masking putty, I ended up having to repaint and lost the effect.

Did the putty rip paint off?

 

[BarleyBop]

...no, it stained the paint edges, making them darker... So I ended up having to repaint, losing the pre-shading which no longer showed through. I shared the issue in this thread.