Joe's SIG Airfix F-4 Phantom

[flyjoe180]

Thanks to Ian sorting out my senior moment, I have stumbled upon the Phantom 2013 SIG Build. I haven't participated in anything like this before. I rediscovered my ancient Airfix 1/72 Phantom last night by coincidence.

I will build it as a F-4J of VF-31 'Tomcatters'. It will be basic and out of the box. I have already noticed it will have a few issues, particularly the canopy which is missing the small glazing in the frame work between the canopy sections. Should be interesting. Cheers.

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[treyzx10r]

Looking forward to seeing this build and the fix for the missing canopy part! cheers Trey

 

[flyjoe180]

Thanks Trey. The canopy part is not missing, it just doesn't exist. The centre frame is solid, no provision for any glazing. I sense adventure in my future.

 

[treyzx10r]

Yes indeed that will be a poser for sure! I'm sure you'll get the best of it tho

 

[papa 695]

Nice one Joe With the canopy just drill it out and use some crystal clear Should sort it out

 

[Dave W]

Here i go,sounding like a rivet counter again, but those windows are /were curved on the real thing.Changed a few during my RAF service.Might be difficult to replicate with crystal clear.Then again it's 1/72 so they are probably very small and it might work.Or you might be able to get a one piece replacement vacuform canopy.

 

[michaelm]

Good stuff Joe, I'm still shopping for mine, better get a move on. M

 

[flyjoe180]

The 1st of March came round (NZ time) and so I started on my Phantom SIG build.

I have thought about the canopy issue.

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I can buy a replacement canopy. This will cost extra money which I don't want to spend. I could buy another F-4 kit and steal the canopy, but it would have to be extremely cheap and the canopy would have to be a complete piece, i.e. contain the affected area and include the framing. The next one is to paint the side windows in. A browse on the web shows a few people have done this and it doesn't look too bad. But it isn't the best option I don't think, a bit of a cop out but a good last resort. Another option is to drill into the frame and file the shape of the missing window and glaze it with that crystal clear stuff as Dave suggested, but I don't have any at the moment. I am experimenting with PVA. I'm also experimenting with various types of clear plastic which are being glued to some spare plastic parts. Once dry, I will mask off the window shape and blend the various types of plastic into the frame to see which one works best and suits the rest of the glazing. If that works, I think this is the way I will go. In the meantime, progress has been made.

The crew:

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The cockpit has been attached and the fuselage halves are together:

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The Airfix kit has a moving tailplane mechanism, a nice little touch:

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To say the cockpit is bare is an understatement. I gave the RIO a panel (actually a WWII cockpit instrument panel from an old model), and I sealed the back with some plastic and painted it. At least now one cannot see right through the fuselage!

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The wings were built and attached, and this is where I am at as of the end of day one:

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I sense much filler in my near future.

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[1275GT]

Blimey Joe, you'll have yours done before I get mine out of the box :P On your canopy issue, I reckon the pva will be fine....fingers crossed !!

Cheers, Neil

 

[flyjoe180]

Thanks Neil. Unsure how to get the PVA to conform over the gap. Any ideas in case my clear plastic experiment goes horribly wrong??

 

[Dave W]

A good start Joe.And I haven't even got my kit yet.

 

[Jim Scott]

Very good start Joe, hope some one comes through with a probable resolve for the canopy

Jim.

 

[Ian M]

Well your gong to be finished before we start at that rate. lol

If you can cut the offending window panel out, you will have two options. One fill it with kristal klear. Just take a drop on a tooth pick run it around the hole and make the blob meet up. Sound tricky but its simple enough.

Because its fluid, its a good idea to be able to rest the subject so that the 'window' is laying down. It can sag to the bottom if its one of the larger ones.

Solution two is a plastic sandwich wrapper or some other hard plastic packing. You can cut it with a sharp knife and even shape it with heat. thus you might be able to replicate the curve before you glue it in the opening....

Ian M

 

[flyjoe180]

Thanks for the tips Ian, will report back within the next few days with an update.

 

[flyjoe180]

I have cut plastic for the missing windows. I used a colour profile which I worked out was 1/45 scale, and worked from there. I will position the glazing once the priming has been done.

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Then I moved on to do some cleaning up of the airframe, fuel tanks, bombs and other parts. A few small tidy up items aside, the next step should be priming.

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I was looking at the decals sheet and looking for any issues. Can anyone spot a problem with these?

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[Dave W]

Coming along nicely Joe.At this rate you will be finished before Ive started!.Cant seeing anything wrong with the decals.

 

[Jim Scott]

It's coming along splendidly Joe.

Jim

 

[flyjoe180]

Thanks chaps. The decals are supposed to be for VF-31 Tomcatters. These fuselage decals have VF-91 on them. Should be easy to fix though.

There has been a lot of filling and sanding. Many annoying things such as the Sparrow missiles which will be partially imbedded under the fuselage have ejector marks on the side of the fins that will show. The fuel tanks were attached by their ends, causing deformation to the nose caps. More sanding and a bit of filling and then hopefully I might get some primer on it later today. I have found that white plastic is not an easy colour to work with.

 

[flyjoe180]

Progress report.

I spent some time on the accessories. Bombs, Sparrows, exhausts, wheels and landing gear are all being finished off for final construction:

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I made a template for the side windows and cut clear plastic to fit. They are now fitted and along with the canopy parts, are all masked. The clear side windows were my biggest fear, but they appear to have worked well. It took four attempts to get them looking right and fitted flush. I know they are supposed to be curved but that was beyond my skill level for this scale. I'm glad I won't have to paint them on after wards though.

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Bomb racks and landing gear doors, apart from the main doors which are fitted to the main legs, are fitted:

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And this is where I am at as of today:

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Next step is a prime coat and then the main colours will go on. I can't wait to see the end of filling, sanding and that horrible white plastic. Hopefully this will be reasonably easy from here on.

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[Danny]

looking good Joe..., looking good

Danny