Tamiya F-4EJ Kai Conversion

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March 9, 2014
The cockpit that caused the change of plan
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March 9, 2014
You can see the straps from the cigarette box foil on the rear seats. I like this because it gives a texture to the straps, albeit not really to scale
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March 9, 2014
I must say, I was pleasantly suprised at how well the dry-brushing worked
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March 9, 2014
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March 9, 2014
The kit soft-fitted just before the decision to do the Kai conversion
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March 9, 2014
Three of the principal modifications. Strengthening strips on the radome. RWR fairings on the tail tip and a modified top for the front instrument panel
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March 9, 2014
The burner cans put together with a little pastel grime added
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March 9, 2014
Unfortunatly the lighting killed the green hue in the cans, which is quite visible in all my reference photos.
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March 9, 2014
I decided to paint the metal section of the rear fuselage before fitting it. Hope I don't regret this. It's also given me the chance to play with raw pastels and various washes. Actually looks a lot dirtier in real life than it does in the photos 🙂
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March 9, 2014
Another of my early mods was to remove the molded first stage turbine blades and replace them with strips of thick foil. The odd shape was to ensure that you can't see through the gaps 🙂
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March 9, 2014
And this is the final effect. I also corrected the strakes coming off of the gearbox cover (?) although you can't see it once fitted
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March 9, 2014
Where we stand today
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March 21, 2014
Time to start work on the combing. First, cut off the section to the rear of where the panel meats the combing
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March 21, 2014
Sand off all kit detail and the kit HUD and then add some styrene strips to change the profile
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March 21, 2014
Add filler to complete the new profile (Oh and an HUD lense made of Kristal Klear and yellow ink)
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March 21, 2014
Sand down
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March 21, 2014
Now, for the part covering the gauges, some thick foil bent into steps
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March 21, 2014
A frame of styrene strips and 'glass' made from an overhead transparency
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March 21, 2014
And we have a Kai panel 🙂
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March 30, 2014
The wingtips - Before and After
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March 30, 2014
The cut marked out and the shaped part to be added
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March 30, 2014
The cut is made!!
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March 30, 2014
The various parts glued in - Compared to how I hope they will look
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March 30, 2014
A little sanding and shaping ...
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March 30, 2014
A spot filler and a coat of of primer ... and voila!
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March 30, 2014
Soft fitted to the wing
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March 30, 2014
An overhead view
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March 30, 2014
And where we are at. Most of the major sub-assemblies are glued so almost time for primer and paint
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April 6, 2014
Replacement RWR farings using styrene tubing and rounded bits of sprue
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April 6, 2014
A replacement antenna on the spine made from styrene card
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April 6, 2014
Masked off clears in preparation for paint
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April 6, 2014
The rear is masked off
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April 6, 2014
The clears are pained with the interior color before priming starts
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April 6, 2014
Where we are at
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April 8, 2014
First coat of primer down
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April 12, 2014
Pre-Shading on the upper surfaces
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April 12, 2014
Pre-Shading on the underside
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April 12, 2014
Base coat for the underside (XF-19)
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April 12, 2014
White tack worms masking the split
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April 12, 2014
My 'Spray Booth'
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April 12, 2014
Base coat on the upper surfaces (XF-54)
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April 27, 2014
First coat of gloss applied
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April 27, 2014
Radome painted and brights unmasked

Comentarios

9 March 2014, 05:44

9 March 2014, 07:54

Hayden Scott-Williams
Thanks guys.
@Michael, it was actually the Wolfpack conversion that lead me to this site. I was researching conversions out there and this was one of the hits.
In the end, I prefer to do the conversion myself. This is mainly due to the fact that the cost of the conversion, including shipping to ZA would be almost as much as I paid for the kit in the first place 🙂

9 March 2014, 18:25

Clifford Keesler
Looking very nice.

9 March 2014, 18:28

Clifford Keesler
Looking very good.

10 April 2014, 01:32

Jermaine Hoskin
Great Job!

10 April 2014, 05:07

David Lengyel
Looking good. I'll follow next steps and am looking forward for the result.

10 April 2014, 07:53

Murad ÖZER
Looking gorgeous!👍 Which primer are you using?

10 April 2014, 11:02

Hayden Scott-Williams
Thanks for the kind words guys. 🙂 The encouragement certainly helps

@Murad - I used Valejo Surface Primer. Covers damned nicely. I've still got to find the best thinning ratio but I thinned it with about 30% Valejo airbrush cleaner and it covered quite nicely.

10 April 2014, 15:13

Holger Kranich
I really like your scratch-work to convert it to a KAI. Its pure fun to watch your steps and see it grow!👍

6 May 2014, 11:21

Hayden Scott-Williams
Thanks Holger. It was a lot of fun doing the work. It's the finishing that has me frustrated now 🙁

6 May 2014, 12:25

Holger Kranich
Oh! What exactly is frustrating you? Dont you like the upcoming decaling?😢😢

6 May 2014, 13:04

David Lengyel
The Rhino looks fabulous Hayden, no need to be frustrated whatsoever.

6 May 2014, 16:12

Christian Ristits
Looks very good!

6 May 2014, 19:06

Hayden Scott-Williams
LOL Thanks guys. The frustration is actually my clumsiness. I managed to make a mess of one of the wings so set it aside for a bit. Will probably return to it soon though

6 May 2014, 20:44

Clifford Keesler
Still looks great to me.

7 May 2014, 02:01

Project info

F-4EJ Phantom JASDF To F-4EJ Kai Conversion

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1:32 McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantom II (Tamiya 60314)

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