F-4 Centreline tanks

Actually, they weren't exactly F-15 tanks. Their appearance was almost identical but the construction was different. The correct designation is "McDonnel High Performance Centerline".

That's correct.

Only in the minds of kit manufacturers. ;)

I don't recall offhand which kit's centerline tank is most accurate. Monogram, maybe?

BTW, be careful of the wing tanks as well...

Not as far as I know.

Thanks, Al! I have a Monogram F-4J in the stash... maybe I could cast centreline tanks for all the others from that example...

On second thoughts... nah! Think I'll stick with what I've got. ;-)

I thought I was bad. There are currently 67 kits in my stash. 7 of them are earmarked to provide parts for other projects. 11 of them are earmarked as "fun" builds. The remainder will be serious builds. 14 are F-4s. 11 are F-16s. 6 are Hunters. 7 are Spitfires. As the Hasegawa kits seem to pop in and out of availability (I'm still waiting for an F-4J to be re-released) I'm grabbing them as and when I can. I reckon that I will get at least another 10 Hasegawa F-4s in the next few months. I calculate that my F-4 building programme will last me between five and eight years.

That's my ordinary aircraft stash. I have a Deep Stash which is located in the attic of my parents' house about 250 miles away. That isn't nearly as big as my ordinary stash. It does contain things such as a Frog Hunter in its original box, four Novo Martin Marylands and three Novo Martin Baltimores, a couple of Matchbox Meteor night fighters, a couple of Novo Gannets and a very early Esci 1/48 F-16. It is doubtful whether any of these will ever get built.

As for my railway stash... I have made valiant efforts to thin the herd there in recent years. I now have two dozen Stanier coach models that I really don't have room for on my layout! :-)

Enzo, To be specific I have 224 unbuilt Phantoms, mostly Hasegawa 1/48 and 1/72. Added to those are my 508 other models, 107 of which are Messerschmitt Bf109s, 39 are F-104s, 38 are Spitfires, 26 are Focke Wulf Fw109s and 25 are F-16s. Most of my models are 1/48. I estimate my building programme to last me between five and eight hundred years. :o\

Regards,

Good *grief* ! Where do you keep 'em all? Do you own a warehouse or summat?

And I bet you still but new kits!

You'll have a nice collection at the end of it though...

Piker... ;-p

Well, unfortunately I speak from experience. :o( Fortunately I have been able to finish some Bf109s lately.

Most of the Phantoms are stored in my parents' basement. I have all my Bf109s and Fw190s in my own home though. And yes...I received a package containing 3 Tamiya He162s yesterday. ;o)

Another 5,000 or so, and you can have a model of every one built. :-)

Hey, I just emailed you about your scanner streak website without realizing that you're one and the same guy! ;-p

Needs more to cover paint variations through the years. ;)

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

The older centerline tanks the USAF used on the F-4 were made by a company named "Royal Jet", which is why they are often referred to as Royal Jet tanks. The US Navy used a centerline tank of the exact same shape, but I've heard it was welded instead of bolted together as the USAF tanks were, so the Navy tank could take more Gs. I don't know if that is accurate. I also don't know if Royal Jet made the Navy tanks. The British also used a tank of the exact same shape, and I don't know who made it either. The later USAF F-4 centerline tank was the McDonnell High Performance Centerline, which looked the same as the tank used on the F-15 but was not interchangeable with an F-15's tank. There were differences in the plumbing and electrical connections, and the suspension lugs were different. Of the older-design tanks in model kits, I don't know whose are more accurate, but I have photos I took of a USAF Royal Jet tank for sale at a surplus store just outside Oshkosh, Wisconsin that I can send to you. You can compare them to the model tanks and judge for yourself. One detail mostly overlooked by modelers when using the older tank is that there were two little fins on the back of the tank. There were two spring-loaded doors on the engine bay doors on the F-4 that were pulled open and the ends of the fins fit into notches in devices mounted inside the doors, the whole setup which became sway braces for the rear of the tank. The High Performance Centerline on the other hand had a pivot device at the rear of the single fin to ensure clean separation when the tank was jettisoned. Scott Wilson

Utterly, utterly excellent!!!

Thanks very much, Scott - once again!

I have five different tanks to compare against those photos.

The Hasegawa 1/72 tanks are too skinny and the nose and tail are incorrectly rounded. They *do* have they little fins at the back though.

The Fujimi Brit Phantom versions are slightly too wide in cross section and have an odd parallel section along their length.

The Monogram tank is longitudinally assymetric. It is far too bulbous in the front half.

The tanks in the Fujimi US versions, as well as the tank from the old Esci kit seem to be about the best match, but they don't have the fins and they are a bit thin on the ground these days.

I think that I will have to use the Hasegawa tanks (because they are freely available). I can sharpen the noses and tails, but I'll have to live with the slightly skinny appearance.

As a former F4-E Crewchief you had to have a good respect for those little doors cause one little slip and they quickly became great finger masher " there were two little fins on the back of the tank. There were two

LOL I think every aircraft has its own little danger areas.

The first generation Harrier had a fuel dump port on the lower starboard fuselage side which was known as the "Shark's fin". The armourers who were loading the starboard gun had to get down on their knees to do so, which left the tip of the shark's fin at about head height. An unwary plumber could strike his temple on the fin. He would then jump straight up, only to catch a smaller shark's fin from the Ground Turbine System in the back of the head! Ouch!

You could always tell the armourers on a Harrier squadron. They were the ones with black eyes and bleeding scalps!!!