Academy 1/48 F-4B "Sundowners"

[alextheblue]

I built Airfix's 1/72 Phantom late last year and now I'm hooked!

Got this one off of Amazon. It was a tad expensive, but as it was the only one I could find and it was still cheaper than the Zoukei Mura ones, I thought, why not!



Always loved the colour scheme on this one. Plus, it's a shark's-mouth! A total no-brainer!



Now, I did mean to do this as a detailed WiP thread, but you know what it's like. You never have your camera or phone handy and before you know it, it's built with some paint on!





I decided to get the bits and bobs (that is the correct aeronautical term I believe!) ready early on rather than leave them to the end. I know what I'm like; once the plane is done, I'll just rush to get them finished and not do a "proper" job of them.



And that's where I'm at. Gloss coat is down and it's on to the decals. I'd forgotten just how many stencils were on these things! Oh well, it's got to be done.

Thanks for taking a look!

[bfrd]

Awesome job on the paint. The pre-shading is spot-on!

[Kevthemodeller]

Great looking kit Alex, just love the panel line shading and the metallic finish around the engine nozzles

I've got a real soft spot for F4's especially 60's- 70's USN

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh dude she is AWESOME!!!
Wow what a paint job and panel line shading is second to none
This is going to be GORGEOUS

[alextheblue]

Awesome job on the paint. The pre-shading is spot-on!

Thanks Matthew! I normally drown the pre-shading, but managed to hold back this time.

Great looking kit Alex, just love the panel line shading and the metallic finish around the engine nozzles

I've got a real soft spot for F4's especially 60's- 70's USN

Thanks Kev! Yeah, I'm pretty smitten myself. Something tells me that this won't be my last Phantom.

Oh dude she is AWESOME!!!
Wow what a paint job and panel line shading is second to none
This is going to be GORGEOUS

Thanks Scott, you're too kind! There's still plenty of time for me to royally screw this one up!

[alextheblue]

It may look as though I have neglected this build, but I'm still picking away at it. All the big decals are on and I'm picking away at the 37 gazillion stencils that adorn this thing!
I can't complain as I knew what I was getting into to. I've only built one other Phantom (Airfix's 1/72) and believe it or not, but that had at least as many decals. Still, it's worth it in the end.

These are all done.



Top side stencils are all down.



Just these couple to go!



And here's where I'm at.





The ordnance, drop tanks, landing gear etc., are all painted and ready to fit, so as soon as I'm done with the stencils, this shouldn't take long to finish.

Thanks for taking a look!

[Kevthemodeller]

Looking good Alex really good

[alextheblue]

Looking good Alex really good

Cheers Kev

[alextheblue]

Oh happy day! Finally got all the decals done!!

They all went down very nicely and it's well worth the effort perserviering with it as all the stencils really do add soemthing to the model. The only thing I noticed was that the actual decals seemed a tad larger than in the instructions. So, when you put the decals in place, they seemed just a smidge too big. Not sure whether the decals are to scale and it's the instructions that are wrong or the other way round. Either way, it doesn't really matter as they look fine once they are all on.

I sprayed another coat of gloss to seal everything and then gave the whole bird a going over with a dark dirt wash. I did this in sections and only left it on for between 20 to 30 minutes as I didn't want too dirty a finish.







I've been polishing up the cannopies as there's a centre seam running down them, but once this is done and they've been masked and sprayed, it's just a matter of attaching everything. The end is nigh!

Thanks for taking a look!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Lovely big bird ..lots of stencils hey

[alextheblue]

Lovely big bird ..lots of stencils hey

Yeah, I think this one falls into the category of - waaaaaaaay too many!!

[alextheblue]

Finally getting to the point of finishing this one now.

The last couple of days, I've been mainly playing with this big bird's flaps and tweaking her ordnance!!!









I polished the seam line out of the canopies and have made a start on masking them. Once these are done, it's a few touch-ups here and there and I can put this on the finished shelf.

Thanks for taking a look!

[Tay99]

Nice build so far,
love all the pre shading on the panel lines, something I struggle with when I build planes never seem to get them to show up like yours have.

[alextheblue]

Nice build so far,
love all the pre shading on the panel lines, something I struggle with when I build planes never seem to get them to show up like yours have.

Thanks Tay99!

I pre-shaded the panel lines and then used a dark dirt wash over a gloss coat, being careful to keep as much of the wash in the panel lines. I'm normally a bit heavy handed and overdo it.

[alextheblue]

I'm calling this one done. Canopies masked and attached - tick!

I've really enjoyed this build, it's been a pleasure to work on. As it's only my second 48th scale modern jet, I probably bit off a bit more than I could chew, but you've got to push yourself. I've now realised that I've missed off a couple of bits and I lost a couple of the stencils. I also managed to mark up the paintwork in a couple of places; I'm a bit clumsy and heavy handed and no matter how carefully I tried to handle the plane when putting on the stencils, I still managed to snag it in a couple of places.

Quick pic of the finished bird.



I really need to up my game as far as the photos are concerned. I think, gone are the days when you can get away with a few snaps under your bench lights on a tatty old cutting mat. I see many people now try to place their models on a backdrop and try to sort out some half-decent lighting and it really makes a difference. On the other hand, the room I model in is badly lit, my mat is always going to be covered in paint and crap and when it comes to spending on light boxes and scenic backdrops, I'd rather save my money for kits and supplies. Maybe badly lit and scruffy could be my thang!!

Thanks for taking a look!

[digger303]

A master piece well done blows the crap out of anything I can do

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh she is a beautiful bird, armed right to her gorgeous shark teeth!
Ya I noticed the stencil missing lower left 3/4 way back just under the wing and over the little hump right next to the thingamadoogie
I hope you gave up on me there

Don’t need to go fancy on photos.
*Clear fore and backgrounds to not distract from your subject
*A clean sheet of art paper in colour of your choice like kids used for projects...make a curved backdrop
*Outside lighting might be best for you and do some forced perspective shots...sun behind your back for photos
*A phone or iPad is more than enough camera to start these days..then play with their photo program adjustments
So much to look into and research but you don’t need to make it too complicated

[jmurphy18]

Alex, you F-4 look awesome! Outstanding from me as I have done so many planes. ducking the book you just threw at me . But IMHO it looks sweet and I would be proud to have this on my shelf

What Scott said on the pictures. I have the big camera (D850) and light tent. @ 50 MPix what you get a lot of time vs phone is a lot of dust showing ....
What I keep on my bench for quick shots is foam core boards I got at Michaels (Arts & crafts here in the states). Black on one side white on the other. 24'x36". I cut it to 18x24 and I use this to take my forum shots for quick updates and mailman shots with my iPhone using my desk lamp which is an LED. Finished product I will use either outside light or my light tent depending on how I feel. Something as simple as a paper towel (kitchen towel ) to mask the background will keep the eye from being drawn to the colors on the background and focus your eye where you want the viewers attention.

HAGD!

[Kevthemodeller]

What a cracker, the panel lining, shading and overall finish is superb Alex

I've got to build one of these now.......oh no I've not got one in my stash, I'll just have to go get one, two, three etc