Miguelito's Phantom - NOT finished

[mjatx]

Here's the kit I'm going to put together. The Academy 1/144 Phantom II F-4E.



The sprues are simple and I'm hoping they go together that way too.



The markings phor this one are based on a Phantom from 388th TFW, 469th TFS, US Air Force phlying out of Korat Royal Thai Air Force base in November 1968.

[Stuart]

Nice, and that looks an interesting kit - welcome aboard.

[Dazzled]

Cool. I've been thinking about buying one of these and converting it to a RAF version so I'll be interested to see how it goes together.

[Molly-new]

I have done quite a few Phantoms in the past but only ion 1/72. Good luck with this diddy one.

[ShaunW]

Same here, I've only ever built 1/72nd F-4s and I'm quite a Phan of the aircraft. This looks to be nice enough and, of course, a classic jet build ain't a classic jet build without an F-4 on board

[mjatx]

I'm looking phorward to doing this one too. I'm a big phan of the plane too, but I haven't put one together since I was a kid. Looking at the sprues, I already don't like the gear, so I'll probably do this one gear up.

I was hoping to get one more project off the bench bephore starting this one. I want to get started, so I'll probably being phiddling around with it this weekend.

[mjatx]

I got this kit started yesterday. The phirst step has is the "cockpit", phront landing gear, and phuselage halves. The cockpit consists of two seats and not much else, but I think at this scale, it will look just phine through the canopy. The instructions have you placing the landing gear in the nose at this early stage, but I'm pretty sure I'll break them at some point of the build if they go in now, so I'm going to hold off until later in the build...



...and here it is test phitted...



...cockpit painted...



...and Step 1 (minus the nose gear) is complete...



...the fit is pretty good, no philler needed yet, although the tail joint needed a little work, but it cleaned up really well...



...today I hope to get a step or two phurther along.

[Clashcityrocker]

I bet you're having phun trying to think of many ways to incorporate the 'ph' in your posts.

Nigel

[mjatx]

I bet you're having phun trying to think of many ways to incorporate the 'ph' in your posts.

Nigel

Phortunately,, phinding ways to phulphil my phantasy of adding "ph" into my posts has been simpler than the the build.

[mjatx]

Phor a small scale, the kit has BIG problems. Phirst up, the starboard wing. The wing doesn't meet the phuselage in the proper location, and it doesn't have the correct shape.



So, out came the razor blade...



...a little surgery, followed by some plasticard...



...and some sanding and some more razor blade action...



...and it's phixed.

[mjatx]

Next up is the canopy. It's the correct shape, but the fit is JUST a bit short...



...once again, some plasticard, some razor action, and a sanding stick...



...and we have something that should be workable. Next up will be the phront landing gear bay...



...although, I haven't quite phigured out what to do with it. My stopping point tonight is the tail planes. All I can say, is they are a mess.

[Stuart]

Some good work going on there phixing those problems.

Looks like you're having phun with this kit.

Cheers

Stuart

[Dazzled]

I'm glad you're building this as it's giving me warning of what to expect if I build one.

At the moment I'm not encouraged but I am impressed at your persistence.

[mjatx]

I'm glad you're building this as it's giving me warning of what to expect if I build one.

At the moment I'm not encouraged but I am impressed at your persistence.

I wouldn't recommend this kit; however, it was pretty inexpensive (maybe $2 US) and I'm actually sort of enjoying working with the plasticard and phixing some of the short-phalls. I haven't checked the model for accuracy, but I looks like a Phantom and it's been somewhat enjoyable and stress-free.

[mjatx]

Steps 1 and 2 are completed, although by adding the canopy, I technically completed step 4, which is the last step...



...it's got a coat of primer drying on it now. While that's happening, I'll probably get to work on the landing gear and ordinance.