In progress

Murad ÖZER
oh wow.

Maciej Bellos
Impressive!

Nic Zuraw
Superb

Mathieu
Hi Murad, Maciej & Nic. Thank you and welcome aboard. Tighten your straps as this bird will soon be cruising Mach2+
Cheers

Michael Kohl
Great metal painting.

Sergej I
sweet 👍

Daniel
already epic 👍 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Phantastic! 👀

Patrick Hagelstein
Beautiful!!! 😮

Spanjaard
Phantastic Spook!!!

Augie
Really cool progress 🙂

Mathieu
Hi friends, thank you for your kind comments and welcome !
Work done on the exhaust, several tints used to get the dirty filthy metal look on the feathers.

I received a very nice package from Japan, hypersonic products are really top of the breed, the clean top tail is a drop fit.
The Martin baker H5 seats are looking tremendous, almost a shame to hide them with a sitting crew.
Cheers

Mathieu
Hi gentlemen,

Work on the hot end, and the stand.

Stand was finally done doing a circle of surfacer sanded mirror (I wish it really was..) painted it black. Then I glued over plastic parts cut and painted for the skull. all in all it's better looking (imo) than an all painted logo as there is some 3d relief on the bone parts.

The hot end was done using lot of metal shades, masks, and sponge rubing, finished with a layer of tamiya panel liner.

Cheers.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Holy! Engine nozzles and metal plates look awesome!

Daniel
absolutely convincing effects there 👍 👍

Spanjaard
Really nice burnt metal

Mathieu
Hey guys ! Thank you Spanjaard, Daniel & Whiteglint for your kind words! Appreciated.

I have some long overdue progress to post. In the form of a crew, all happy with their new orange suits and adequately decorated helmets.

Helmet decals were sent to me by a fine Canadian gentleman that had them in extra from the academy J boxing. I can't be gratefull enough as these are the most visible bits under the big closed canopy.

A few more work on the seats, stencils & joining straps, and the cockpit will be finished.
Cheers

Spanjaard
they look certainly good

Mathieu
Hi fellow scalematers. An update finally.
Here is the result of 2 days of strike at work. With no access to the office, another desk took priority.
First step with no pictures was to fill and sand smooth the last uneven spots remaining.
Then a final coat of alu to reveal the next final uneven spots, and so on until there was none left.
Marbling is done with Rlm66, excuse the choice but it's a good dark grey tone.
Then navy white is sprayed in fine passes until the white looks uneven, but not too much..
The next day same process is done on the upper side with the navy grey.

Then the fun is beginning with the mask application and the start of the marking spraying.
Next session is due soon.
Cheers

Mathieu
Hey Roland, thank you mate ! Glad you like it!

Some kind of an update with eduard's stencils application. I put them on the traditional way, with only the micro-sol (blue one, at least I'm sure of the colour)
Then I peeled the film with scalpel to lift it up and tweezers. The remnants of the film glue were cleaned up with a q-tip imbibed with mineral spirit. Be careful on this last step as rubbing too hard will also wear down and ultimately makes disappear the decal ink. It's interesting for weathering purpose but must be handled with care.
Next up are the wings stencils.
Cheers

Mathieu
A few motivational pictures to keep the mojo level for the last steps.
I need to finish the missiles and tank. There is a few decals to add as well.
Cheers

Sergej I
Looks just perfect! What finish coat will you go with?

Michael Kohl
I am not a natiph Phantom phan, but I really do like your build. Comin´ along very nicely. In flight? You´re my man! 🙂

Mathieu
Hi guys, thank you for the encouragements Sergej & Michael!
@Sergej, il will try to keep it slightly shiny, like it is now, think I will have to varnish it as the weathering is add a bare flat finish where it is applied.
@Michael, i was not a Phantom phanatic either, but the love for the type grows as the build goes on. In flight is my compulsary display for 1/48 models. Cheers

Rui S
I like it 👍

John Ballman
Well done, Appreciate some of your building solutions on this one. Thanks for sharing this.
JB

Mathieu
Hi Rui and John, thank you for your comments. I need to put and end to this one quickly before my taste switch to other subject. Cheers

Paul Moore
Mathieu,
Beautiful model! Your gear door scratch build are labeled #1-7. Are those one try after another till you were satisfied? Seems like we're missing the final photos on this masterpiece. Most of us will never achieve this level of craftsmanship.

Mathieu
Hi Paul, Yes 7 Tries. I could have gone with a few more, but elected to manually crafte the little areas needing care for a good fit.
I have to report this build is still lying unfinished on top of a shelf. I am a bit lazy doing the missiles and tanks.
Now that I see the date on the pictures (2 years ago!!) I'll probably kick my ass and finish this up.

Cheers.