1/48 Hasegawa RF-4E Phantom II

[IanG]

For next project, I'm going to build an RF-4E Phantom II. The scheme will be one the Hellenic Air Force's Anniversary schemes. This one is from 2005, and seen at RIAT that year.
I've got Ioannis Lekkas' superb Under the Skin book, as reference source, and there'll be Eduard seats, and Aires nozzles used.
The HAF took delivery of 2 different versions of the RF-4E, the original US was sourced, and then some ex-Luftwaffe jets, of which this build is an example. There are some minor differences between the two, and this will be taken into account through the build.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr



I've made a start on the cockpit. This will be OOB, as the detail is very good. The Eduard seats are brilliant, with lots of shiny, coloured PE.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

So these Eduard Brassin seats. Astonishing! Detail level, of the resin, is very good, add to that the amount of PE there is, and I've great hopes for the end result.
Main seat frame is black. This was then drybrushed with a mid-grey, and then some Aluminium to finish off.
I've airbrushed the seats cushions. The head restraint and seat base are Olive Drab, and the seat backs are a lighter tone. They were then finished off by drybrushing the cushions with a very pale mix of Olive Drab.
Next up will be the PE........cover me, I'm going in!!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[chief5437]

Seats are looking great so far, nice work!

[IanG]

Seats are looking great so far, nice work!

Thank you.

[burnie43]

looking forward to this post....good job so fat
thanks
Mark

[Avgas]

[IanG]

Just a small update today.
The ejector seats are now complete. Done in a number of short sessions, all the belts are individual (argh, the eye strain!).
The main belts came printed a light blue, so I've repainted those a light khaki, as per the reference photos I've got of the Greek Phantoms.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[shortCummins]

stunning, simply stunning

[IanG]

stunning, simply stunning

Thank you.

[IanG]

I've now finished the cockpit, and it's all ready to fit into the fuselage. I am using the kit supplied parts, as the detail is pretty good. The kit comes with 3 different instrument panel options, so I have picked the front & rear panels that closely match the Hellenic ones.
The seats have also been test fitted too.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[ElCapitan]

Looks amazing, well done!

[Twokidsnosleep]

This one slipped past me great build!!!
Wow the seats and cockpit are amazing, very fine job
Looking forward to see your progress now I can follow along

[IanG]

Looks amazing, well done!

Thank you.

[IanG]

This one slipped past me great build!!!
Wow the seats and cockpit are amazing, very fine job
Looking forward to see your progress now I can follow along

Thank you Scott.

[IanG]

With the cockpit done for now, I'm starting to make some progress on the fuselage.

This photo shows the difference between US sourced RF-4's (bottom wing pictured), and the ex-Luftwaffe ones. Reference source, Phantom Under the Skin Vol II, by Ioannis Lekkas.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr


These next two photo's show the difference before, and after the alteration made to the wing tip.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr


There was a rectangular "lump" on the wings upper surface, which has been removed, filled and sanded back, then panel lines re-scribed.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr


The are no slime lights on the ex-Luftwaffe Phantoms. This is easy to rectify, as they are engraved into the fuselage halves. So, I skimmed with filler, and sanded down, and they are now dealt with. Also, some of the gaps have been filled too.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr


Intake mouths added. Aires resin nozzles assembled, which will be fitted after painting.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Made another small alteration, this time to the rear-most camera bay's lower viewing window.
The ex-US supplied Phantoms had a wide, rectangular, window (first photo), whereas the ex-Luftwaffe jets had a narrower window, which protruded out.
So I've cut off a piece of clear plastic sprue, cut it to shape & size. Painted the inner surface Tamiya Clear Orange, to represent the camera lens, then cemented it lengthways over the original window (subsequent 3 photo's), and masked it off.
The last photo shows everything ready for priming, now all the remaining antenna, etc, have been attached.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Bissyboat]

Nice office.

[IanG]

Nice office.

Cheers, thank you.

[IanG]

Small update.
Black primed all the necessaries on Tuesday morning.
Yesterday morning, I tried some "marbling" pre-shading. Not tried this method before, but I've seen it done by some of you fellow modellers, so thought I'd try it. What do you think?

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Now for a bit of colour!
I bought Hataka's HAF pt1 paint set, which has the 3 colours for this scheme, plus the colours for SEA coloured schemes they have. I had heard some mixed reports about these paints, but Hataka changed their formula last year, which improved the paints. This set is one of those improved sets. I had no problem with them, and although designed specifically for airbrushing, I still thinned them down (3 pts paint, to 1 pt thinner - 18psi). Paint went on very well, and covered well too.
Field Green ( FS34095 / RAL6003) applied first, then the Dark Green (FS34079). Black Grey (RAL702) will be the last colour to be applied.
All free-hand, no masking! Took the plunge, and it seems have gone ok........... so far!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Got the last of the camo colour on. I'm still happy with the way the Hataka paints have turned out.
Nose cone sprayed too, after fitting the Master Model pitot tube.
Also started on the tail colours, starting with the dark blue. The forward part of the tail fin will be light blue.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Some careful masking, and the lighter blue tail colour is on, and I've also sprayed the exposed metal area around the exhaust area, and the bare metal on the tail stabilisers. This has been done with different Vallejo Metal Colours.
The excellent Aires resin exhaust nozzles are painted, and weathered too. They just need a varnish to seal them.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Bissyboat]

Looking grand mate with the pre shaded effects.

[IanG]

Looking grand mate with the pre shaded effects.

Cheers, thank you.

[IanG]

"And so it begins....."
Decal time!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Twokidsnosleep]

How cool is THAT!!
NICE

[IanG]

How cool is THAT!!
NICE

Thank you.
I'm currently doing the stencils.......

[IanG]

And now the stencils........and there are a lot them!!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Bissyboat]

The decals on the tail look like a treat.

[IanG]

The decals on the tail look like a treat.

Thanks. The Icarus decals are very good.

[IanG]

And so it continues........
All the stencils on the left-hand fuselage applied. Just the right-hand side, fuselage top, underside and both wings to go!
Photo's 2 & 3 show the Icarus stencils placement instruction sheet. Just a few then.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Stencils?! No......I still haven't finished them! Crazy -

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Fridgy]

Looking good Ian
The stenciling is a pita, but really ties the whole bird together

[IanG]

Looking good Ian
The stenciling is a pita, but really ties the whole bird together

Cheers, thank you.
Recently seen your WIP Phantom, looks ace!

[IanG]

"As Dave approaches the Monolith, he utters 'My God, it's full of sta...........Stencils!!'"

image by ian gaskell, on Flickr

image by ian gaskell, on Flickr

image by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Now the decals have had time to set, I've toned down the stencils. I used the relevant camo colour, thinned down more than I normally would, and airbrushed all the areas, with stencils, with a light coat. Seems to have done the trick.
The stencils look more toned down in real-life, than they do in the photos.
I shall then put another coat of gloss over everything, ready for the wash.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[RocketSurgeon]

Awesome work Ian! I've always wanted a Greek Recce Phantom and your build inspired me to get a Hasegawa RF-4E. I managed to find the "Luftwaffe" boxing so hopefully no conversions will be needed.

[IanG]

Awesome work Ian! I've always wanted a Greek Recce Phantom and your build inspired me to get a Hasegawa RF-4E. I managed to find the "Luftwaffe" boxing so hopefully no conversions will be needed.

Thank you. Good find on the Luftwaffe RF-4E. I'm waiting for another one from Lucky Model. It's a Hasegawa Hellenic Special boxing, with a different anniversary scheme. Should have it in 2-3 weeks.

[Bissyboat]

Wow! more decals than you can shake a stick at. Exemplary workmanship!

[IanG]

Wow! more decals than you can shake a stick at. Exemplary workmanship!

Thank you. Yes, there a few, aren't there. Makes the eyes pop out

[IanG]

That's the wash and matt coat done, Now to make it dirty!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

"It all goes on there somewhere!"
Weathering done. A combination of using Tamiya's Weather Master, drybrushing, and watercolour pencils.
Into the home straight!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[shortCummins]

excellent stuff, the weathering is spot on

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[IanG]

excellent stuff, the weathering is spot on

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Cheers, thank you John.

[IanG]

All finished!
Very, very pleased with how this build has turned out. Tried some new things, such as a marbelling pre-shade, airbrushing the camouflage with no masking, and ALL those stencils!

Gallery link - http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 45&t=21423

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Bissyboat]

Absolutely gorgeous bird!

[IanG]

Absolutely gorgeous bird!

Thank you.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Solid build, she is gorgeous

[IanG]

Solid build, she is gorgeous

Cheers Scott, thank you.