While some paint dries on the cockpit i got weapons and inboard pylons complete. Time to get some primer on the weapons next
Great job so far on a great bird! You make that AWG-10 look real. You going to duplicate the gaudy helmet decorations they wore back then?
We used to see VMFA-333 down at Boca Chica as the various Atlantic Fleet fighter squadrons rotated through hot pad duty keeping an eye on Comrade Fidel. Good opportunity for a cash-strapped Marine Corps to get their planes renovated on the Navy's dime.
In the interests of authenticity I might mention the load out seen on the hot pad birds should you care to incorporate it in yours.
AIM-7 Sparrows were in disfavor, due to their atrocious reliability record, while fighter crews loved Sidewinders. Thus at most a bird would carry two Sparrows in the aft position, but usually none, while hauling two Triple Ejector Racks full of AIM-9s plus two drop tanks, or plus two Zuni pods and one centerline BIG drop tank. With all that drag and weight, and the fact that most scrambles were "busters", there was never enough gas, so the detachments usually included a KA-6 or two, or a KA-3.
In addition to my official interception trainer job, I had an off-duty part time job with the base refueling contractor, and pumped astounding quantities of JP-4 into those birds and their tankers after a scramble. Our home based training squadron F-4s flew one hour syllabus hops on internal fuel only with no external ordnance or tanks, so there was no comparison in fuel consumption.
Keep up the impressive work; she's going to be a beauty!
Cheers,
Wes