WildBill50 Posted March 3, 2013 Report Posted March 3, 2013 Good day mates! I am starting to build the 1/48th Hasegawa British F-4 with Spey engines and have a question about cat launches. I want to put this on a base that has the plane ready for a cat shot. I have pictures for the bridals for the front and the various hook ups. What I can't find is a picture of the hold back area of the plane where the dogbone gets attached. Is it right in back of the tailhook, or father forward. Every oicture I've found has that area in deep shadow. Any help would be appreciated. I've always liked how the Brit birds have the double extended nose gear and since the Phantom is in my top 5 favorite aircraft it's time to put another one on the shelf. Stay tuned. Bill
mquan Posted March 6, 2013 Report Posted March 6, 2013 Tony Holme's book on The F-4 Phantom has a color illustration of an FG.1 about to be catapulted off a British carrier. There is a single holdback cable attached to a shuttle leading up to the underside of the Phantom (probably a dog bone) connected to an out of sight attachment on the aircraft keel between the two exhaust nozzles, and just forward of the arresting hook hinge point.
WildBill50 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Report Posted March 6, 2013 That's the area that I can't find a picture of.
ghodges Posted March 6, 2013 Report Posted March 6, 2013 Bill: have you expanded your search to look at ALL F-4 catapult pics? Although the Brits modified the Phantom for their use, I see no reason why they would have modified the hold back cable point. It may be that you can find a picture of a USN F-4 that shows what you need. GIL
WildBill50 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Report Posted March 6, 2013 I've gone so far as to look at pictures from the carrier holdback side besides the USN, USMC, FAA etc. All the pictures I've come across are all in shadow. You can see the holdback but not to where it connects to the F-4 as that is underneath and in the shadow and hot engine section. My search continues!
WildBill50 Posted March 29, 2013 Author Report Posted March 29, 2013 (edited) Here are some of the pictures of My Hasegawa F-4K Phantom. I've added DMolds one piece Spey engine intakes. These fit better than the kit pieces and really add to the kit. I have a "True Details" cockpit set that is going into the kit also. I added wires to the RIO's instrument panel and some details to the seats. This was more of an exercise in detail painting than anything else. So far it has come out very well. I've cut off the leading edge slats so that they can be positioned in their lowered state along with the trailing edge flaps. Since I can't find pictures of the holdback area, I am just going to build this with the extended nose gear and no launch scene. Maybe later on I will try this diorama again. So far, the fuselage is together and the wings are further along than these pictures. I need to download the new ones yet. Comments welcome. Bill Edited April 14, 2013 by WildBill50
ghodges Posted March 29, 2013 Report Posted March 29, 2013 Great looking work. I say you should GO for the diorama, and build it with your "best guess" and let some idiot try to prove you wrong! If nothing else, you'd be doing everyone else a service because as soon as you DO build it, the pictures you needed will surface! GIL
WildBill50 Posted March 29, 2013 Author Report Posted March 29, 2013 That does tend to happen in this hobby doesn't it? We'll see how brave I get.
WildBill50 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Report Posted April 9, 2013 Eureka! I have found the holy grail for my diorama. I finally found some pictures of the holdback area. There were some at the Prime Portal website (www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_mason5/fg1_phantom) . They have a F-4K on a catapault ready for launch as a scene there. There are pictures underneath with the holdback in place. This is just what I was looking for. I am surprised at how far forward the attachment point is. Anyway, the build shall now continue with the diorame in mind. I have got the wings on and the leading edge slats are attached. Most of the seams are filled. Now to open the door for the hold back attachment point. Pictures to follow soon. Bill
WildBill50 Posted April 11, 2013 Author Report Posted April 11, 2013 (edited) A couple of shots with the wing and slats on. I am starting to detail paint pieces now, such as the landing gear and their wheel wells. Comments welcome. Bill Edited April 14, 2013 by WildBill50
ghodges Posted April 14, 2013 Report Posted April 14, 2013 Re-link them from their new place in your PB account. GIL
WildBill50 Posted April 28, 2013 Author Report Posted April 28, 2013 I know this should be on the "On the bench" forum, but since I started I'll keep going here. I had made the decision to put this on a carrier deck with the plane just about to launch. Just when I was starting to button up the canopies I wanted some pilots in their respective offices. Well, with the aftermarket interior the pilots would not fit. I can't have a launch scene with no one home in the plane. I finally found the pictures with the holdback and now this. I guess I'll do it with the Academy F-4B another time. I have a few more shots about some of the details that are done. The gun pod wasn't used on the FAA F-4's but it looks pretty cool. THe white (MM Acryl gloss white) was sprayed on and left to dry. It came out great, but it also exposed one seam that needs some work, not a major problem. I've gotten most of the landing gear painted and detailed so that is just about ready to go. I can't decide on the recce pod or the centerline drop tank. Thanks for loking and any comments are welcome. Bill
WildBill50 Posted May 11, 2013 Author Report Posted May 11, 2013 Well, some more progress has been made. I've got the extra dark sea gray and the gloss white painted. The nose has been painted and some of the natural metal areas have been Alcladed. This is the first time using Alclad and I can say that it won't be the last. I misted it on over a gloss black enamel and it worked like a charm. All that's left to do is paint the exhaust area the natural metal. Then I can gloss coat the whole thing and start decaling. Here are a few new pics. The picture of the landing gear shows the extended length of the nose gear found on the F-4K next to the regular length of a US bird. The rubber wheels need some more work on them yet. Comments welcome. Bill
ghodges Posted May 11, 2013 Report Posted May 11, 2013 Starting to take shape! Love the F-4's menacing looks, even on the bench! GIL
WildBill50 Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Posted May 22, 2013 Here's a quick post for tonight. I just finished taping and spraying Alclad Aluminum on the exhaust section of the fuselage. This Alclad stuff is great now that I am getting the hang of using it. All I need to do is give the plane a gloss coat and then onto the decaling. I must say that this is looking good. Can't wait to get it finished now. Comments welcome and thanks for looking. Bill
ghodges Posted May 23, 2013 Report Posted May 23, 2013 What are the openings on the sides beside the engines for? GIL
WildBill50 Posted May 23, 2013 Author Report Posted May 23, 2013 Extra cooling, like on the bottom of the plane. Those Spey engines put out a lot of heat. There are doors that will be partially open to cover the openings.
WildBill50 Posted May 29, 2013 Author Report Posted May 29, 2013 Decals going on...Looking good so far! Pictures to follow soon. Reaching the end of this bird.
WildBill50 Posted June 1, 2013 Author Report Posted June 1, 2013 Just finished with the decals on this baby. Had to do 007 nose #. It's too appropriate. Anyway thanks for looking and as always comments welcome. Bill
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