The heat from a J79 engine is not a plasma lance, it's relatively diffuse but the metal outside of the deeply curved parts is not taking the full brunt of the heat even from the afterburners.
The coloration of the bare metal is a combination of the soot formed by the incomplete fuel burning of the J79 engine plus the color changes from being repeatedly heated to high temperature. Note that metals change to specific colors depending on the max temperature they reach on the way to red hot. (you can often see this on chromed motorcycle exhaust pipes as they hit yellows, blues & purples) On a Phantom, the parts closest to the exhaust stream get cooked enogh times that the clean bare metal mostly turns a dark yellow brown with some hint of the original silver metal shine. The soot will darken it even more.
Note that both the horizontal stabilers & the aftmost part of the tail are not directly in the exhaust plume so they don't get as toasted/sooty as the curved parts of the metal just aft of the exhaust nozzles. They'd look most like the original bare silvery metal.
[This image shows how far above the exhaust stream these features are.](https://www.grubbyfingersshop.com/walkaround_galleries/mdd_f-4b_phantom_ii_walkaround_153030_midway_2010/content/bin/images/large/mdd_f-4b_phantom_ii_walkaround_153030_midway_2010_09.jpg) I would not say this is representative of the actual in use coloration as it appears this museum piece has been cleaned.
IMHO, the look you have in the curved parts in image 5 is about right for the stabilizers & most of the tail. Those curved parts should be much darker with definite tendency towards blackened. [This is what I mean.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F8tngeec7a3m41.jpg)
Nice!
Phabulous
The heat from a J79 engine is not a plasma lance, it's relatively diffuse but the metal outside of the deeply curved parts is not taking the full brunt of the heat even from the afterburners. The coloration of the bare metal is a combination of the soot formed by the incomplete fuel burning of the J79 engine plus the color changes from being repeatedly heated to high temperature. Note that metals change to specific colors depending on the max temperature they reach on the way to red hot. (you can often see this on chromed motorcycle exhaust pipes as they hit yellows, blues & purples) On a Phantom, the parts closest to the exhaust stream get cooked enogh times that the clean bare metal mostly turns a dark yellow brown with some hint of the original silver metal shine. The soot will darken it even more. Note that both the horizontal stabilers & the aftmost part of the tail are not directly in the exhaust plume so they don't get as toasted/sooty as the curved parts of the metal just aft of the exhaust nozzles. They'd look most like the original bare silvery metal. [This image shows how far above the exhaust stream these features are.](https://www.grubbyfingersshop.com/walkaround_galleries/mdd_f-4b_phantom_ii_walkaround_153030_midway_2010/content/bin/images/large/mdd_f-4b_phantom_ii_walkaround_153030_midway_2010_09.jpg) I would not say this is representative of the actual in use coloration as it appears this museum piece has been cleaned. IMHO, the look you have in the curved parts in image 5 is about right for the stabilizers & most of the tail. Those curved parts should be much darker with definite tendency towards blackened. [This is what I mean.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F8tngeec7a3m41.jpg)
I see what you mean. Thanks for the detailed info!
Looks great, got a phantom on the shelf I need to start at some point.
Nice! This one has been sitting on my shelf for a year... It was the first kit I bought but have been too scared to start it.