1/32 Tamiya F-4S Phantom

by Sean McDermott

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Since I was a kid, I have always loved the Phantom. I especially like the few Navy Phantoms that flew in the tactical gray, or low-viz scheme.  I saw a photo of an F-4S from VF-161 with the USS Midway in the tactical gray scheme from the mid-1980's and I wanted to build it.  However, no aftermarket decals exists for that scheme in that scale.  So, decided to improvise.  I used decals from a CAM F-14 Tomcat decal set for the numbers/letters and stenciling.  To make the lightning bolt on the tail, I cut out the outline from the solid red lightning bolt from  CAM's VF-161 decal set.  I used the F-4S conversion from Cutting Edge, which comes complete with the VTAS in the front canopy and a template to use for the strengthening strap on the underside of the wing.  To detail the cockpit, I did a little scratch building and utilized the pre-painted photo etched set from Eduard.  The ejection seats came from Two Bobs and the intake guards came from CAM.

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I only used the outer resin wings from the Cutting Edge conversion.  I corrected the shape of the inboard wing slat with styrene and epoxy instead of using the resin replacement.  The slat actuators came from the Revell F-4E kit.  They were much easier to use than the ones from Cutting Edge.  Plus, I wanted to display the slats in the retracted position.  The resin wing fence that came with the conversion looked too short, so I made longer ones with styrene strips.  The panel lines on the resin replacement wings were incorrect for the slatted wing Phantom, so I filled them in and rescribed them.   The Sidewinder missiles came from Cutting Edge and I used decals from Two Bobs for them and the kit Sparrows.  What a difference those decals make!!  I corrected the main landing gear struts with styrene tubing.  I just didn't like the way the way Tamiya designed the attachment points.  I then added some stretched sprue to the landing gear wells to represent hydraulic lines.  I also used Eduard's F-4 Phantom placards set to spruce things up.

I used Model Masters Enamel paints shot through my trusty old Paasche H airbrush.  The two lighter shades of gray were Dark Ghost Gray and Light Ghost Gray.  The dark color on the upper surfaces was my own mixture based on the one and only photo I have of the actual plane.  I added a little white to each color to lighten them and "dusted" the model, with emphasis on the centers of the panels.  I then used a oil wash of paynes gray and burnt umber to accentuate the panel lines.  I finished off the weathering with pastel chalks. For the bare metal sections, I used Magnesium and Titanium from Model Masters buffing Metalizer series.  I varied the shades to give the area a patchy appearance.  Before applying the Metailzers, I painted the area with Tamiya gloss for better buffing and to hide any scratches or imperfections.  This is the second Tamiya F-4 I have completed.  Although the kit is not perfect, it still builds into a beautiful model with a little bit of effort.  I think I will start on the F-4E now.

Sean

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Photos and text © by Sean McDermott