F4M Phantom 1/100 S&P

[Don Boose]

Many thanks for the paper info, Ted.

That's my standard paper for 1/48-1/50 models.

Don

[CMDRTED]

Don, I never used anything heavier than 67 lb card. even for 1/33 or ships. I tend to use 20-22 lb type writer paper for tightly rolled parts, and strengthen them with glue pulled thru the center with a needle. if I need a thicker part I usually just laminate it to another 67 lb stock. for the ship formers and larger plane formers I usually laminate type writer paper onto cereal boxes for @ 0.5mm thick. Or the backs of legal pads for 1mm parts.

[CMDRTED]

It is the small add on detail parts that make a particular model "pop".
this kit screams for add ons. The basic rolls Royce spey exhaust cans were cylinders with the printed on exhaust stuffed at the end. The RR/S had a unique can in a can look, which differed from a basic g/e can. For this I printed 2 copies of the exhaust exit. then I pinched out the center of one. I used the inside color strip that comes with the model and inserted it @ 2mm back from the end. I fitted the part with the hole in the center at the end, then the colored plate inside. There is a lot more to it on the real exhaust but this approximates it ok.

[Don Boose]

Ref: Post #22. These are my preferences for paper, as well, although I have recently purchased some 33-pound paper that I would like to try for 1/100 models.

Don

[MichaelS]

You do very nice work sir. You also enjoy a little "reengineering" like me to make them just a tad better.

[CMDRTED]

The other piece that needs a little more is the gear doors. On the later phantoms the wings have a tell tale bulge that was needed to house the thicker wheels. I printed 2 sets of the gear doors, cut out the centers and burnished to make it look like the bulges wing version. More of the bulge later. most if not all the phantoms had tail hooks. Obviously needed for carrier landings but from what I read some landing fields had a version of the classic traps. The UK birds had a similar enough hook, it was a little beefier but the size in this scale is probably 0.3 mm, so I left it alone. I did add a hook that seems absent from the kits in all versions. I made a boat load of aux antennas as each phantom was festooned with these things in various locations. last in the doodads was some teeth. Bruno released the Vietnam weapons set on his thread so I built up 4 Aim 7 sparrows and 4 2000 lb g/p bombs. get this set as there are a lot of cool add on weapons for 60s to 80s aircraft. on the sparrows just build up 3 fins as the 4th would've been inserted in the launch troughs of the real aircraft...

[Rata]

Thanks for this CMDRTED. Good to know what one is up against before attempting a new model.

Cheers, Garry G.

[CMDRTED]

Don I hate to sound like a know it all but don't bother. Nothing on the kit needs that intermediate weight paper. I tried. Staples had odd weight paper 28, 30s 40 lbs papers that didn't quite translate into intermediate thickness/strengths. even on the 1/100 scale all the main parts, tabs/joining strips included were 67b lab paper. I can send you a couple reams of the intermediate weight paper if you want it, I use it for sketches etc.

[CMDRTED]

Gary the beauty of paper models is you get to hit the reset button until you get the result you want. Michael the only kits I did not have to re engineer were from Halinski. They tend to start at over the top detail then go up from there. everything else needed something extra. when I don't feel like building, I edit, re color make detail parts and the like. not all my ideas worked out. I had very elaborate detail parts on the exhaust but they didn't work out.

[CMDRTED]

I love to have my aircraft displayed on the deck. so they need legs. the kit gives you the main struts the little oblong wheel mounts and the wheels. as seen from my other posts is the latest grail punch tool. they are beveled inside and the by product of these holes are neatly curves tires.
I added the little support/retracting arms that are pretty prominent on the phantom. the are simple rolled tubes with appropriate bevels cut into the ends. one pic shows me painting the edges of the main wheel mounts with thinned glue. this makes the part much stronger than the plain bent paper. the last pics show the complete forward (double wheels) gear and the aft gear. they both have the ubiquitous knuckle joints. note the front knuckle part is offset to the side.