Greetings all,

Submitted for comments is my current project. I am participating in a group build on another forum I frequent, and this is my entry. I have been working on it for about 6 weeks now. Here are the details of the build:

Tamiya F-4J 'Marines' kit
Black Box cockpit set
CAM resin intake FOD covers
FoxOne VMFA-212 decals
CAM stencil data
CAM wing/fuselage walkways

Anyhow, on to the pics. I'm always interested in constructive criticism.

Starting with the cockpit (kit IP was used as BB supplied panel is incorrect for an F-4J).......




RIO area......



Ready for installation.....


Installed.........



Fuselage complete (has since been primed, and awaits paint).......


Ordnance consists of two fuel tanks mounted on outboard pylons, a pair of Mk.20 Rockeye's mounted on each inboard TER, 6 x Mk.82's mounted on centerline MER, and a single AIM-7 Sparrow mounted in the right forward well. The Rockeye's came from the F-15E Strike Eagle kit, and therefore carry incorrect (USAF) markings.



Close-up of bomb graffiti.....

Hey Kevin ...Nice work ,looks like it is going to be a very impressive kit when you get it finished ..If I could find anything to say it might be that the wash on the cockpit walls seems a bit heavy but I bet it is more the lighting of the pictures that makes it show up so much.Good job all round.Keep the pictures coming.

Rick

Hello Kevin well done. Looks like a great start. The cockpit looks good-n-busy, but I will have to agree with Richard as the wash is a bit heavy. I have the same kit, but none of the AM kits. The wiring, was that something you added or was it molded in to the resin. How are those CAM resin intake FOD covers, are they clean and are they just pushed into the intakes or glued on. Looking forward to seeing your next up-date.

Thanks guys for the comments. Regarding the wash, I think it may be the flash that'shighlighting it, as in natural light it appears much more subtle.

Joe, regarding the wiring, if you're referring to the wiring and handles on the ejection seats, I added those with a length of copper wire supplied in the cockpit set. Everything else is molded into the resin.

With respect to the CAM FOD covers, they are very nice. All you do is sand off the pour stub and fit them in. I usually tack them in place with one drop of CA, but the fit is generally very tight. Beats trying to deal with the intakes. Tamiya could have at least tried to make a complete intake.

wow...just..wow!!

that's looking fantastic !

The wash does look a little odd on the weapons mount thing (sorry, I know little of aircraft terminology) but as you said it could be the flash picking it up. Might be worth examining that under a good light to be sure.

The munitions themselves look awesome !

The painting inside the cockpit is great also.

Well, I'm back with a bit of an update. Base color is now on. Paints used were Gunze Sanyo and Alclad over MM enamel primer.

Still need to do some panel fading on the topside before markings are applied.



A couple of close-up shots of the tail area.



A close-up of the nose:


Ordnance ready for installation:


That's all folks. Thanks for looking.

How on Earth did you do all those cockpit guages, displays, etc.? That is insane!...and very well done. I'd say the wash looks a little heavy on the inside walls of the cockpit, but other than that, it looks great. Is the paint on the outside glossy? Is that for doing washes? I'm guessing you'll tone that down some. The metallic parts by the jets look awesome! Is the writing on the ordnance from decals or done freehand? Great job!

Kevin,
you defiantly have that going on. The tail section, how did you achieve the natural bare metal effects. Did you use paints, foils or both. Don’t forget to entry that into the Aircraft MOM. That’s a real winner.

Thanks armorguy and mother for the kind words. As for the cockpit wash, it really doesn't look that heavy in natural light.

armorguy: I can't take credit for the cockpit guages and displays. Kit decals were used for the larger guages, and the smaller ones were simply spot painted black, and then given a drybrush. The 'Marines' boxing of the kit also includes a decal for the GIB's scope. Paint is currently glossy, but I'll spray a flatcoat after weathering is complete. Topside will be matte, and the underside will end up a satin finish. Bomb graffitti is straight from the FoxOne decal sheet, as per the excellent instructions that come with them.

mother: the NMF is courtesy of various shades of Alclad. Off the top of my head, I used Aluminum, Duraluminum, Dark Aluminum, and Steel (or was it Magnesium?)

Cheers,

Kevin

Small update. Here are two pics of the bird, now that she's beginning to show some color. I only have one side done, but I thought I'd share. I'll finish up the major markings today, then let start tackling all those stencils :blink: throughout the weekend.

As you can see, there are a few stencils on already (ejection seat triangles, intake warnings). These are on now, as they are specific to this particular plane, based on the FoxOne instructions.

Walkways are by CAM, and needed a bit of trimming to match what the FoxOne instructions call out for, regarding the turbine stripe, and the section cut out just aft of it.

Enjoy!

OK, a small update. I now have all of the major markings complete, and about 50% done with the copious stencils the J bird wore. :blink: Top and bottom of both wings remain. All stencils are by CAM. I have mixed feelings about these. The clarity of the text is excellent, and the color registration is very good. However, there are a couple of stencils that are clearly on both sides of the aircraft, but only one set are included on the sheet. Not a huge issue for most people, as they could be pilfered from the kit decal sheet, but it irks me nonetheless.

First up, an overall top view. My attempt at post shading can almost be seen (more obvious to the naked eye):


Overall bottom view:


Decals for the 'Lancer's' shield is a two-part decal, with the black cross and arrows being placed on top of another decal. I do not normally like these, as I rarely ever get them lined up. This time however, I'll let pictures do the talking. Obligatory tail shot:



Stencils complete on the nose. Even the smallest text is legible, albeit under magnification (I checked).

Other side. Far fewer stencils on this sdie of the aircraft. After flatcoat, I will fill in some "guesstimated" weight info.


Now on to the stencils on the wings. Cover me boys......I'm going in.........

As always, thanks for looking.

OK, back with a small update. With the exception of some fiddly bits like LG doors, all of the stencils are finally applied. All stencils are by CAM, and unlike the kit decals, the stencils are not clustered into groups for easier application. That gave me the joy of applying 277 stencils (I counted) one-by-one.

Here she is with all decals applied, and a coat of Future to seal them in.

Topside:



Underside:



I am currently painting all the fiddly bits, so I should have them ready for even more stencils by the end of the week.

As always, thanks for looking.

Man that's great, but the question remains..once it's finished where you gonna put it?just joking...really looking forward to seeing that big beast all done ,I've always loved that airplane and you are doing a fine job.
Cheers
Joker

Thanks Peter. I too am looking forward to seeing the big beast done. Won't be much longer now.

As for where it will sit when it's done....on the shelf, right beside the Tamiya Strike Eagle.

Damn ...277 decals and counting ???? Now I remember why I like armor so much...I complain when I have more than 10 decals to add... :-)
Great job and it looks like I'll get to see it live in Ottawa in a couple of weeks if you keep going at that pace.. Can't wait to see it ..

All the best
Rick

Thanks Rick. You'll probably get to see it CapCon, but as a display piece only. Too many errors for contention.

OK folks, here she is. All that remains is to add some dirt into the wheel wells and landing gear, but for all intents and purposes, it's ready for the cabinet. Nowhere near contest winner quality, but I'm very happy with how this one turned out. Probably my best work to date.

Kit is the 1:32 Tamiya F-4J 'Marines' boxing. A Black Box cockpit set was added, as were a set of CAM Intake FOD covers. Decals are by Fox One, and CAM supplied all of the various stencil decals.

I've probably made quite a few mistakes along the way, but I've really enjoyed the build.

Anyhow, on to the pics!

Overall views:





Close-ups:




Cockpit area:




Thanks for looking folks. I've enjoyed sharing the build with you.