or Never Say Never...

There are many modellers out there who are Phantom phan-atics. F-4 this, F-4 that, and F-4 the other. I can understand this because I too have my favorite planes, but the F-4 isn’t one of them. In fact at one point I even said that I would probably never build an F-4. Clearly that has changed. Three things came together to bring about my transformation; the internet, a sale, and the RAF.

By all accounts, Fujimi makes the best F-4 kits in 1/72 scale, offering the model in several different boxings. When I found several on sale at an unbelievable price the consumer got the better of me. What’s more, these models were of British Phantoms, not your traditional USAF fighters. In my opinion, the best looking F-4s are ones from the RAF. They tend to be bright in colour and generally not filthy looking. Some will argue with me no doubt but give me a British F-4 over a SEA USAF F-4 any day. And finally, to coalesce this all into a build project came the internet and the Aircraft Resource Centre.

One of the sub-categories on the ARC forums is Group Builds, and in 2005 some clever person came up with idea of one for the F-4. The idea was simple, build a Phantom, in whatever scale you like, detailed how you liked. So I went to the model stash and dug out my recently acquired F-4J(UK) and prepared to complete it as an RAF machine from 74 Squadron. Over time I had also picked up some detail bits for the kit, namely some Eduard photo etch, Aires burner cans and ejection seats. My plan was also to use a set of Cutting Edge decals on the kit but there was no way I could find these in time, thus resigning myself to using the kit supplied set.

Some Scratch Building:

I wanted to utilize the PE set I had to fullest, using the supplied speed brakes for example. Two things, however, required me to do a little extra work to bring this about. Firstly, the PE set was designed for the Revell kit, and secondly the kit speed brakes were molded closed. (Subsequent Fujimi F-4s give you the option of either open or closed speed brakes.) These factors were hardly insurmountable. The kit wings were tackled by chain drilling a series of holes around the inside perimeter of the brakes and then removing all the remaining plastic with a knife and files. As for the PE, only some slight massaging was required to make it fit the Fujimi kit.

The other area that received a bit of scratch building was the cockpit. Here I wanted to show the insulation blanket along the sidewalls of the cockpit. To simulate this, I embossed a sheet of aluminum foil in a criss-cross pattern using a straight edge and a tooth pick, being careful not to poke through the material. The foil was then cut to size and attached to the model’s interior using CA (super) glue. When painted and washed it highlights the cockpit area nicely, though next time I’ll make the pattern a little smaller as it is somewhat oversized in 1/72, and then I’ll leave the canopies open so it can actually be seen.

Construction:

Building the model went much as the kit instructions suggested. This meant starting with the cockpit. This area was built up using the kit parts and the Eduard PE where called for, though it was slightly odd that no side instrument panels were included in the latter. The kit seats were replaced by the very nice Aires set, which is a combination of resin and more PE. The cockpit was painted over all grey, the instrument panels being picked out in black and various switches in red and yellow. Dry brushing then brought out more of the fine details and also introduced some worn looking areas. The seats were finished in black and green and then again dry brushed. The otherwise plain looking seats came to life with addition of the yellow coloured ejections handles, which thankfully can be clearly seen under the closed canopies.

The fuselage was then closed up, in this case without the need of any nose weight. The size and shape of the model negated the requirement for any. The wings and intakes then added, their fit being so good that only a small amount of filler was required along some joints. After the bulk of the airframe was put together, the area around the cockpit was painted black and then the canopies were added. These were then masked, making the model ready for the paint shop.

RAF Colours:

I had read about model builders using a pre-shading technique and had seen some photos of this being done in magazines and on-line, but it wasn’t until I saw Paul Holmes’s Airfix Jaguar done up using this painting process that I got a true appreciations of how this looked. And when I saw it, I decided it was something I wanted to try, and all grey airplane like my F-4 would be the prefect subject.

I began by giving the model an overall primer coat of grey. This was followed by painting a number of panel lines in black. This looks like a bit messy in the photos but would be cleaned up with subsequent painting. In fact, I’ve been told that some builders prime their whole models in black as a pre-shading technique. After leaving the black to cure for 24 hours it was time to start filling in the grey areas of the paint scheme. For this I used US equivalent colours, not RAF greys. These F-4s came US Navy stocks and were prepared in the US, though a small number were repainted over time in the UK so it is possible to build an RAF Phantom in RAF colours. I chose the easy way out however.

The painting started with the underside Light Gull Grey (FS36440). This was sprayed in the center of each panel slowly building up towards the edges and the black outlining. As the colour achieved the desired opaqueness, the black lines were misted over with the grey so that just a hint, or shadow, of the colour was showing through. This was repeated with the topside colours, Neutral Grey (FS36270) for the fuselage and outer wings, while Flint Grey (FS36314) was applied to the inner wings. The pre-shading technique was also used on the exterior fuel tanks, these finished in the same underside light gull grey colour.

With the main areas of the airframe painted, some detail painting could take place. The wheel wells and speed brake housings were masked off and their interiors painted white, as were the landing gear legs which had been already detailed with PE hydraulic lines. The bare metal areas of the rear fuselage under the tail fin was similarly masked, though here more black pre-shading was added before the application of Floquil Bright Silver paint for the metal. This was also done to the horizontal stabilizers. The model was now gloss coated with MM Gloss Lacquer in preparation for decalling.

As note above, I had wanted to use the Cutting Edge decal sheet for this plane but it has become difficult to find, thus I was forced into using the kit markings. I was a touch concerned that because of the flat appearance of the decals that they might not sit down well into the kit panel lines and details. In the end the decals went on fine and reacted well to a touch of Micro Set/Sol decalling solutions. The only fault on the kit deals was that the roundels were slightly out of register, but I’ve learned to live with that. The model was then gloss coated once more and a wash of black water colour was added to certain panels. The panel lines of the Fujimi kit are very fine and didn’t take a wash very well, but other areas like grills and vents did and were nicely highlighted as a result.

The model was now flat coated with PolyS and everything sealed. For additional weathering I applied chalked dust to the underside areas around the control surfaces and the aft edges of the wings. The area aft of the burner cans were first dry brushed with gold paint to give it a bit of a bronze look not uncommon in areas like this. This was done by using a cotton swab instead of a brush to apply the gold, which makes something more like dry “polishing” instead of brushing. More black chalk dust was then worked over this area as well as the underside of the tail fins.

Final Touches:

With the painting and weathering now done, all that remained was to attach all the small details. The Aires burner cans were assemble and painted using various metalizer shades and dry brushed to bring out their details. 5 minute epoxy was used to fix these into place because it gives enough working time to ensure proper alignment but you don’t have to sit there all day waiting for the part to set-up. The landing gear, PE speed brakes, and drop tanks were also mounted in place. To give the F-4 a more menacing appearance she was loaded up with a full war load of 4 Sparrow and 4 Sidewinder missiles. These weapons came from the kit and the Hasegawa missile set. Fully armed, this F-4 was loaded for Bear. (No one has gotten that joke yet.)

I like the look the pre-shading technique gives and will use it again on other planes which could benefit from it. As for the Phantom, I like how she looks as well. I must agree that the Fujimi kit renders an excellent model of this plane with little extra effort required on the part of the builder. And as I said, the RAF paint scheme is very eye catching. For my next F-4, I’ll once again look to the British for colours but this time something more tactical like a fighter from RAF Germany. The whole group build aspect was also very enjoyable, watching each participant tackle the same subject from a different direction and thus getting a different result, each as good as the other. But one of the more important lessons I learned was to be careful what you say as it will come back to haunt you. Never say Never.