Revell F-4G Phantom II: Part 9

The ninth step in the build is painting. This step took 23 hrs 49 mins.

My approach to this large step was a result of having watched many professional model makers on YouTube and looking at reference photos online. I eventually discovered that through the magic of (1) time-lapse video and (2) aggressive editing, this step in my mind felt like it should have taken an hour or two.

I used Tamiya masking tape (2 mm and 8 mm). Two things are your friend when masking: a sharp hobby knife blade and a template tool for curves, angles, and straight edges.

Something I had to consider once more of the surface had paint on it is the way you hold the model to rotate and manipulate it. My main approach was to use the tip of the nose cone and the piece sticking out of the empennage. Working with smaller scale (e.g., 1:48) kit is probably easier because you can use various tools or rigs to hold things in place; this kit is rather large — over 1.5 feet.

(Reminder: You can click the images to get larger versions.)

Test Pieces

The kit came with pieces not needed for construction, likely because it’s cheaper to add to an existing sprue mold than to redesign it. The benefit is that you get extra pieces to learn on without worrying about screwing something up.

I had two things to test: marbling and pre-shading.

  • Marbling — making fine, white squiggles before applying the primary color. The result is a finish that looks uneven (marbled), which is something you’d see on an actual plane. I was impressed how that turned out, not only on the test pieces but the model in general as you’ll see later.
  • Pre-shading — painting the panel lines with black before applying the primary color. The intent is that the areas around the panel lines (the brush stroke is wider than the panel recess) will appear darker, giving some contrast. I was not a fan of this technique. To make the piece not look ridiculous, I would have to apply so much primary color as to erase the marbling effect. Instead, I skipped this step and will do post-shading later with either a dark wash or panel line accent.
No primer, white paint airbrushed with 0.2 mm needle, then one coat primary color (left = neutral grey, right = medium grey)
Pre-shading with flat black; left side was with 0.2 mm needle, right side with 0.4 mm
Another coat of primary colors; marbling still mostly visible, panel lines very obvious
A third coat of paint; the darker the color, the more the marbling disappears
I played around with panel line accent and removing excess with enamel thinner with a cotton swab. If you get too aggressive you’ll strip everything through to the bare plastic.

Black-basing

Black-basing is where you have the first “color” on the model be gloss black; you layer other colors on top for maximum contrast. This is especially effective here because of the marbling that goes on top of the black.

There are several schools of thought on black-basing technique:

  • No primer; just start painting (didn’t want to risk not priming given how much masking I knew was in my future)
  • Prime first, then paint (what I chose)
  • Use a black primer (what I’ll do next time)

Before painting I used 3000-grit sandpaper to smooth out the primed surface. (Side note: I was super upset at myself for not realizing my Vallejo gloss black acrylic paint was not pre-thinned for airbrushing. So not only did I not get any painting done for the first 20 minutes, I had to completely clean out the clogged airbrush.)

First light coat of Vallejo gloss black
I got the paint-to-thinner ratio wrong; you can see how wet (pooling in small blobs) and thin the paint is here near the bottom
Finally got the ratio correct; looking good from the top
Bottom is done
Slightly different view; you can see the bottom wing is still a bit wet-looking because I tried to fix the over-thinned paint from earlier
Front-side view
I’m pleased with my sanding efforts from the previous step; you can’t tell these were two halves (left and right) glued together. The re-scribed panel lines look decent as well.
A counterexample: Although the join feels smooth, now that it’s painted, you can tell the halves aren’t perfectly level.
The rear of the aircraft looks like one continuous piece. The re-scribed circular panels look nice as well.

Marbling

My new airbrush (Harder Steenbeck Evolution) has a throttle control; tightening a knob on the back of the airbrush prevents the trigger (which controls paint flow) from being pulled back all the way. This helps by making it less likely you’ll go too heavy on the paint. Also this airbrush has a 0.2 mm needle for finer work. (Iwata doesn’t seem to make a 0.2 mm needle for my other airbrush.)

The Vallejo Model Air (i.e., pre-thinned) white paint was useless. At such a low paint volume, it quickly dried up on the needle tip and prevented paint from flowing. I switched to Tamiya XF-2 white thinned 50/50 and initially had no issues. However, the following day I had the same drying problem with Tamiya, even when the test sprays looked too watery.

Side note: It’s also probably worth mentioning that I run a dehumidifier in my hobby space set to 40-45% relative humidity. The less humid the air, the faster the paint dries, whether it’s on a model or being atomized at the tip of the airbrush.

I ended up playing around real-time with throttle control — right hand on the airbrush trigger, left hand on the control. When the paint stopped flowing, I’d open the throttle to let more paint through, then dial back. I guess another solution is to add a flow agent (retarder) that keeps the paint from drying as quickly. Having high-end tools and paint were supposed to make things easier; why was this such a struggle???

Making fine squiggly lines within the panels; this looks very odd now, but pays off later
Top view; marbling completed
One side of the vertical stabilizer with marbling
The other side after applying a few light coats of Tamiya XF-20 medium grey

First Paint Color

As you saw in the previous image, the marbling makes for a more realistic look. Scale model cars have a completely different feel: You want that “right off the factory line” look that’s very clean. Here, we’re dealing with a plane that’s been at different altitudes, exposed to the elements, etc.

Because the needle is so fine, I went back (without masking) to fill in the wheel wells with a bit more white. The rear of the aircraft will get more attention later in this post.
Marbling looks good underneath; the panel lines get a visual boost because they weren’t marbled
Contrast of the wheel wells with the underside
Most of what’s left unpainted will be the second color
Front fuselage

Second Paint Color

This step took me considerably longer than I anticipated. It took 3 hours and 15 minutes just for masking. I wondered if it would have been easier to keep the parts separated (i.e., front fuselage, middle fuselage, wings), then assemble them after painting. There were many tricky angles to mask.

I waited at least 24 hours for the medium grey to cure so I could mask without risk of having the masking tape pull up the paint.

A trick I learned from a YouTube modeler: get the fine line masked, then use something else (index card in this case) to cover a big area to save on masking tape
Most of the vertical stabilizer is medium grey, but a small area near the join to the fuselage will be the second color
Vertical stabilizer masked
The front fuselage has a two-tone pattern; this is reflected in the model instructions and this reference photo.
This was a product of some rough math, a ruler, and eyeballing some angles
Starboard view
Here I went off a reference photo instead of the kit instructions with the raised triangle panels
I used a different reference photo for the empennage masking
The previous reference photo shows most of what the empennage under the horizontal stabilizers should look like
Starboard view of the masking; the metallic paints get applied later
Everything is masked ready for the Tamiya neutral gray (XF-53)
After airbrushing neutral grey; marbling pattern looks convincing
Masking tape removed shows a nice contrast between the two grey colors

For this second color, everywhere except the front fuselage was gloss black plus white marbling. In the front there was already a coat of medium grey, meaning the contrast is weak.

The contrast isn’t as sharp compared to the reference photos
Masking was considerably easier the second time because I had reference marks from the previous painting
Lost a bit of the marbling, but the contrast is much improved
Unlike my last kit, I had very few places where the masking tape pulled up paint. There were a few minor occurrences, though.
Unmasking the empennage; what’s black here will be metallic later
Clean line around the air intakes and the fuselage
Very pleased with how the masking worked out on the horizontal stabilizer
The area near the vertical stabilizer looks crisp

Preparation for Empennage Painting

Similarly to how the primary color was masked to set the scene for the secondary color; the same process applies here for the metallic paints.

Neutral grey parts of of the horizontal stabilizers masked
Interesting angles to mask
Continued masking (port side)
Continued masking (starboard side)
Note the leading edges of the horizontal stabilizers will get metallic paint in addition to a hook-pattern near the outer edges. This pattern exists on the top of the horizontal stabilizers as well. This reference photo makes it more apparent.
Some paper table napkins are in place on top to prevent any over-spray
Same over-spray protection in place underneath

Empennage Painting

Under empennage, Alclad dark aluminum (ALC 103)
Top empennage; dark aluminum
Although I can’t find the specific photo or model build video, I got the idea to darken one of the panels on the horizontal stabilizers, so I masked it off

It seems that even for the same model of aircraft and home station, you’ll find slightly different paint configurations and panel highlights.

I used a 50/50 mix of dull aluminum (ALC 117) and steel (ALC 112); port side shown
Both stabilizers shown with a slightly darker panel
Given this section will be darker, I masked off a panel to remain this lighter aluminum color (imitating a panel being replaced with a newer one)
A different panel accent on the port side
I got the idea for some panel highlights from this video of another F-4 build
Masking tape applied and trimmed
Applied Alclad transparent smoke (ALC 405), then removed the masking tape
Closer view of the exhaust area
Light coat of Tamiya transparent blue (X-23) to simulate heat stress/fatigue
Placed one of the exhaust nozzles to see how it looks together; the blue is a bit much
Applied another few light coats of transparent smoke to tone back the blue highlights
Another view of the toned-back blue highlights

Now with the metallic painting done, it’s time to see how everything looks!

Underside of the empennage
Crisp boundary between the medium grey and aluminum
Another nice contrast of grey and metallic paints; I like the organic darker, bluish streaks near the very tail
Port side empennage
Interesting combination of greys and metallics
That panel I masked earlier (to appear lighter) looks no different than its neighbors
I masked around the panel, then applied Alclad dull aluminum; this was the effect I was after
Starboard view of the empennage

APR-38 Receivers

There are two radar warning receivers: one under the nose, and another atop the vertical stabilizer. Fortunately my set of reference photos had a close-up picture of the front APR-38.

Given I’ll be using the darker neutral gray, more masking is needed

I had difficulty finding a video where a model maker shows how to properly mask off the nose cone; we only get to see the finished product.

You can’t simply unspool a length of masking tape and wrap it around the nose because the nose is tapered. I did some Googling on forums and found some common approaches:

  • Use card stock (or a paper plate), cut out a hole, then place the paper over the nose. This approach is very difficult to get lined up with any accuracy.
  • Purchase pre-cut nose cone masks.
  • Use vinyl-based masking tape that you can more easily contour.

I opted for an approximation by making a thin strip from my Tamiya tape. I contoured it fairly easily, and burnished the edges to make sure I had a tight seal before painting.

Getting the nose cone masking in place
Based on the reference photo, the front part of the APR receiver is black and lines up with the black paint on the nose cone
The rear APR-38 is simple to paint based on the reference photo
Masking removed
With the flat black painted, I wanted to get a sharper line between the medium and neutral grays.
Much better contrast; the contour isn’t exactly like the reference photo, but it’s close
Even though I’m not airbrushing the next step, I figured it would be safer to mask. I used the template tool to create a rounded square inverse mask.
Alclad copper (ALC 110)
Dull aluminum highlights on the raised surfaces

Next Step

Step 10 involves applying decals to the main body of the aircraft.

  • To start, I’ll gloss-coat the entire plane, which serves several purposes.
    • It protects the paint I’ve spent so long applying from the assistive chemicals I’ll use for applying the decals.
    • Most waterslide (i.e., put them in water, then slide them off the backing paper) decals have a transparent part that looks hazy unless applied to a glossy surface.
    • I’ll be able to handle the kit with bare hands not having to worry about getting skin oils on the paint, or even worse, rubbing the paint off.
  • Applying a given decal isn’t difficult; it’s just that there are dozens of them.

The mounted equipment such as the missiles also has decals; I’ll cover those in a later step.