McDD F-4K Phantom FG.1, Royal Navy
with carrier deck display

Nils Steyaert
and im off, but its been a rocky start.
i was planning on adding some ejectionhandles to the bangseats, but they are to small and i just couldnt get them right. the tinwire im using just didnt want to get into shape. o i decided to drop that idea and just ad 2 pilot figures (from a set of cheap n-scale figures i got online).

also, im filming the whole thing to make a youtube inbox review and build video.

the first main change was the nose, the E-Model nose was removed and replaced with a more fitting nose, salvaged from an old 80's/90's Revell Tornado IDS kit.

Nils Steyaert
Update,

the pilot figures have been painted and added to the cockpit. i have scratchbuilt a new nosewheel legg, using 2mm styrene tube and a 1mm sewing needle (was stronger then the thin plastic). this is to give the aircraft a higher AoA for catapult launch (F-4K nose can extend by 40 inches, which in 1/144 is roughly 1cm). the canopy has been glued on with UV resin glue (transparent curing).

ive also salvaged some Skyflash and Sidewinder missiles from the sparesbox (leftovers from a pair of old Revell Gripens), i will be looking into scratchbuilding some launchrails for the inert pylons.

ive also added a Marconi RWR antenna on the tail.

so far, so good...

Nils Steyaert
Update:

i just finished making the Spey engine exhaustcans, but i rran into a problem with the decals i had. the roundels on the decalsheet were either too small or too big. but i managed to source some correctly sized ones from a Revell 1/144 Hawker Hunter kit. ive also sourced some white bort number from a DACO 1/72 Mirage 5B and (R)F-84F decalsheets.

Nils Steyaert
the build is going smoothly, today, i managed to airbrush the whole thing, starting with the white and grey colors on the Phantom.
the deck display is gonna need more sessions, but im satisfied with the results so far.

Nils Steyaert
Update:

painting of the main model is largly completed, decals have been added and the whole thing has been sealed with a coat of Humbrol clear.
next step is to finish the whole thing with a matt-coat of varnish and then i can add the external loads (that still needs more paint).

its starting to come together quite nicely, the next few sessions will focus on the carrierdeck display stand.

Nils Steyaert
it took me a cople of sessions, but im caling this one completed.
had some problems with masking the deck display, but nothing that couldnt be fixed.
all in all, im quite satisfied with the results.