F-4F -British Caledonian- 1/144 ***FINISHED***

[TheChronicOne]

I've wanted to add something different to my growing collection of 1/144 airliner aircraft that isn't an actual airliner yet maintains the theme. I came up with an F-4F Phantom that could be some sort of (small)parts/mechanic/pilot courier/mover of some sort.

I bought a kit that seems very simple.. all the wings and stuff are single pieces instead of two, etc. I'm deleting the missiles and pylons so it just gets easier. Part count is very low! An almost superflous pair of seats are provided (which I've already glued right in  ) but the cockpit is non-existent aside from the general shape of it.



It seems to be a nice little kit from what I can tell.    This is great! The point of this build is to do something relaxing. Here's the wares and the transfers that came from an Airfix BAC-111 kit.



I've started it on it already and have managed to clip out all the major components and clean away the burrs. I've glued some parts together already (the seats) and I've filed edges and done away with flash. I'm not sure if it was necessary or not but it was fun to add three BB's to the front for ballast. 



Next up I'll join the fuselage halves.

[Tophe]

I like this project of turning a killer into a civilian craft, yes!

[ericr]

nice idea !

[Old Wombat]

Like I said: Airline Wars!

[PR19_Kit]

A BCal Phantom, the mind is WELL boggled! 

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks everyone!!!!

I think the toughest part of this one will be painting the canopy lines on the clear piece. There are none. It looks like an F-16 canopy.  I'm going to keep it simple if I can... it's going to be white. I'll make the tail blue. There will be the lion's head there. "British Caledonian" will be right on the sides in the obvious position and the cut down cheat line beneath it. That cheatline... I'll have to cut the decals lenght-wise to make them nice and thin to fit. Otherwise not much going on..  I'll paint a little silver color here and there like on the stabs where the exhaust hits and maybe a couple accents on the underside or something. Should be done in a matter of days I hope. Although... problem is I'm starting to run out of supplies... things like primer.

[PR19_Kit]

Try pre-painted strips of tape for the canopy bars, and then varnish over the top of them. It's a lot easier than all that 'single bristle brush work'.

[strobez]

Oh... I love this idea.  I have about seven boxes of that kit, so I know it well.  I can?t wait to see how this turns out!

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks, folks! 

I already have a plan for the canopy; a Sharpie! I've done it before on my little blue/orange glider. My favorite marker has a tip that tapers down small enough that it should work great. Last time, I painted both the inside and outside of the canopy. I'll try that again. I've heard that over many years the marker ink can fade to a weird yellow color.... but it's simple to just touch it up ever so often. I'm going to make the upper nose and cockpit surround black anyway for anti-glare purposes so it should work out.

Here she is for now:



Everything is together aside from the gear, doors, and the two drop tanks.

[strobez]

I'm loving how this is coming together.  I've always looked at this F-4 kit with a bit of disdain... but you're quickly redeeming it in my eyes.

[PR19_Kit]

I see Greg has built one of those super huge Tamiya paint pots for you too Brad.................. 

[NARSES2]

Try pre-painted strips of tape for the canopy bars, and then varnish over the top of them. It's a lot easier than all that 'single bristle brush work'.

Especially if you use pre-cut micro strip as your starting point 

I see Greg has built one of those super huge Tamiya paint pots for you too Brad.................. 

[TheChronicOne]

 



As to the kit.... my two gripes so far are the lack of lines on the canopy and the tail planes going on was a bit problematic. Two minor issues so far. Panel lines are a bit pronounced perhaps? Oh, I had to do a wee bit of whittling and sanding around the frame where the canopy goes on to get it to fit perfectly snug. Also pretty minor. I guess that's actually 4 issues?

Oh well, compared to everything else I've been working on lately this is a dream! By this stage in my 1/144 gunship I'd already lost countless hours to PSR and the like. 

[TheChronicOne]

Everything is primed. I'm going to put a couple coats of white paint on it and let it dry up then sand it all real smooth then finish the coats. Tail will be blue. Lastly, the top of the nose and the cockpit surround will be painted black for anti-glare.



Next time I work on it, I'll be doing the aforementioned painting along with painting the gear and gear doors. I guess I can try to paint the cockpit area a little as well.

[TheChronicOne]

She's nice and white. I still need to sand it and finish painting it.