1/72 Hasegawa Mc Donnell Douglas

QF-4N Phantom II 

by Eric Bade

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When I first saw the AeroMaster “Phancy Phantom” ref 72-215 sheet I knew what my next 1/72nd scale Phantom II would be. At the time I wanted to start a Phantom series and had selected an F-4N, an F-4E, an F-4S (all Hasegawas) plus an F-4 FG1 (Fujimi) from my stocks. I had not decided which one was to be the first build until I found a copy of these decals.

A QF-4 might not be the most glamorous of Phantoms, but at least they were amongst the last to fly in US inventory.

I even was lucky to find a helpful photo of this very machine in the Koku Fan “US NAVY” Issue 113.

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MODEL 

All my Phantom projects, except Spey engined models, are based on the Hasegawa Phantoms. I believe they are the best on the market and the family is quite complete. The Monogram (C/D or J) are nice and well detailed but they boast molded panel lines. Revell models (RF and F) are  well engineered and well detailed but they have some shape issues particularly around fin and cockpit.

Hasegawa Phantoms look right, detailed and well engineered. In common with most Hasegawa models their cockpit are flat and lacks details (even for the small /72nd scale). Some Phantoms specifics that have been included both by Revell and Monogram (and Fujimi on their Spey Phantoms) are missing. As far as I know a parked Phantom always has lowered ailerons and airbrakes plus opened belly auxilliary air inlet doors. Hasegawa just doesn’t provide these gimmicks. The rest is 1/72nd scale Phantom at it’s best. 

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BUILDING 

In regard with what I have said above, I start all my Hasegawa Phantoms with some surgery on the wing parts, because all Phantoms have dropped outboard flaps, airbrakes and engine auxilliary doors when at rest. Engine doors and airbrakes need to be detailed with well walls in Plastic card.

Next step is a serious gloss white painting session on all landings gears, wheel hubs, wheel doors inner surfaces, wheel wells, air intakes and adjacent fuselage surfaces.  

Then I started to work on the cockpit area. Hasegawa Phantom have a nice bulkhead arrangement but are flat, instruments and consoles being provided as decals. I don’t like decals even in the small (to current standards) 1/72nd scale. So I used a photo etched part set designed by Airwaves. I also added some bits of plastic card and stretched plastic rods.

Model plastic ejection seats are OK but I replaced them with Verlinden resin MB Mk7 seats which are more detailed. Cockpit general colour is the usual Dark Gull Grey FS36231. Black has been used on details and instruments plus seats frame. Patches of Olive green, yellow, red, white and light grey were used to detail the pilot and NFO offices.

I found easier to build fuselage in two side halves, not following Hasegawa instructions to build up front fuselage, both fuselage then join both.  I joined right front fuselage to rear right fuselage then did the same with left parts. My front to rear parts alignment was perfect this way. I later added cockpit between fuselage halves the cemented the whole thing together.

Wings had been prepared and are joined along the air intakes. My Phantom is now getting its shapes. A very fews areas need to be filled then sanded smooth. Fine grain is used throughout not to spoil the petite panel lines.

Landing gears are detailed with thin fuse wire for brake lines and electric wiring on front gear. Some other details are being added. I checked documents for small antennas around the airframe : there are quite a lot on a QF Phantom II. 

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PAINTING 

Everything smooth means time for painting. I started with metallic colours in the tail/Stabilators/jet exhaust area. Different metallic paints were used (silver, oily steel… ) all from the Extracolour range. I did some masking with very thin masking tape stripes to reproduce metallic variations on the unpainted part of stabilators, trying to reproduce pattern from available photographs.

Then after some masking on mettalic areas the whole airframe is painted with satin Gunze  Light Gull Grey acrylic paint. Then all  orange areas are masked and are given a white undercoat layer. I always use a white coat when I paint yellows, reds or oranges. Bright orange then is airbrushed these white surfaces.

I then did some additional masking around front canopy and over nose for the black anti glare panel. Some additional and more elaborate masking is done to paint medium grey walkways over the wing roots and over the air intakes and upper rear fuselage.

I added all lights around the aircraft the easy way : no clear parts sanded in shape this time. I just painted all light chrome silver, let dry, then brushed over with Tamiya translucent colour according to real light colour. Don’t forget 2 small lights that are under jet intakes.    

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DECALING AND FINISHING 

My photographs shows a “semi” clean machine : I mean some panel lines are visible but that has nothing to do with an aircraft at sea. So I was quite light on weathering on this model, though I was a bit heavier on the rear lower fuselage. Decals were used with no problem at all. Things went so well that I did not even gloss varnished the model before decals application. I nevertheless used some decal softeners, especially on the shark mouth decal: some small razor cuts around shark mouth decal made my life easier. 

After decals were on I airbrushed some matt varnish on some areas. I also weathered the canopy seals with yellow zinc chromate, as I had seen on some Phantom photographs.

Adding the last detail parts as, doors, antennas, canopies completed this new Phantom.

I even found one single photo of an older VF-51 F-4N Phantom to add to this report. It actually was my first Hasegawa F-4 some years ago. 

This QF-4N was my first new Phantom project and now this one is finished another one, an F-4E, already made it’s way to my workbench.

Eric

Photos and text © by Eric Bade