Subject: Re: 1/48 Scale Hasagawa F-4B, Revell/Monogram F-4J Phantoms
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:08:28 -0800

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
ARC Air - Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.arcair.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [email-masked] 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2010 6:00 PM
  Subject: 1/48 Scale Hasagawa F-4B, Revell/Monogram F-4J Phantoms

                                                            1/48 Scale Hasagawa and Revell Monogram
                                                                      McDonnell Douglas F-4B, F-4J
                                                                                    Phantom II's

                                                                                                      By Steve Negley

      I have always liked the Phantom and thanks to a couple ARC members I was able to do this project. From any angle this jet fighter just looks mean! I built these kits much at the same time so I would finish them close together. Turns out the F-4B would be finished first. I was surprised about the similarities how these kits are engineered, the only difference was that the Hasagawa kit required alot less sanding when the construction was done. Both kits have their shortcoming I guess. The Hasagawa kit lacked a little in some details, especially the ejection seats, which kind of came as a surprise to me, but I wanted to build out of the box so I did what I could with them. The seats were devoid of any seat belts so I added my own, otherwise I was pretty happy with the way the cockpits turned out. Both F-4's were painted with Testor's Model Master FS36440 Lt Gull Grey and and FS37875 Flat White then sprayed with Testors Clear Gloss in preparation for decals.

      The Revell/ Monogram kit would require a little work and a lot more sanding and filling but this kit is still worth the work. I built this out of the box also but I cannibalized some parts from the Hasagawa kit. The Hasagawa kit had a couple extra afterburner cans so I cut the engine detail out of the back of the Hasagawa parts and filed them to fit the ones in the Monogram kit. The idea worked out nicely. 

      The Revell/ Monogram Phantom depicts "Showtime 100" VF-96 'Fighting Falcons", probably the most famous of all the Navy Phantoms, during VF-96's tour aboard USS America. Flying off USS Constellation, this aircraft was used by Randall Cunningham and Willie Driscoll to down three MIG's during the aerial battle of May 10,1972 that made them the only Navy aces of the Vietnam War. The aircraft was lost to a SAM missile while egress 
  ing North Vietnam after the air battle. I used an old Microscale sheet for the decals. The sheet was really devoid of any stenciling so I used some extras off the Hasagawa kit sheet. I made a template for the walkways and made my own out of some decal paper.

      The Hasagawa F-4B is from VF-111" Sundowners" based out of NAS MIramar, San Diego, CA, flying off USS Coral Sea. The decals depict the CAG aircraft flown by Bob Pederson, although I couldn't find any VF-111 history pertaining to Bob Pederson, it seems he may have been the CAG for the Sundowners sometime during the 7 tours VF-111 did in Vietnam. The decals are from CAM that I picked up from a hobby store that I used to frequent as a kid growing up in California. Looks like I only need 125 more Phantoms to catch up with Shawn"Phantom" Weiler now!