F-4B Phantom II VF-111 "Sundowners" NL 201- Tamiya 1/48

Aircraft Cold War
, ,
1

Hi everyone,
I’m starting to assemble this wonderful Tamiya kit:


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

to make this aircraft:


The NL-201 (BuNo 153019, F-4B J.O. 736, SD-513-1-8 block 26/z35) was an F-4B Phantom that belonged to the VF-111 Sundowners embarked on USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) during the Nov 1971 to Jul 1972 cruise to SEA. Using the callsign, ‘Old Nick two-zero-one’, the aircraft was flown by all the squadron pilots and Radar Intercept Officers at one time or another during the cruise, but on 6 March 1972 it was flown by Lt Garry Weigand and Lt(jg) Bill Freckleton. When they launched off the USS Coral Sea that afternoon and headed toward North Vietnam they had no idea the mission would ultimately end with their engagement and shoot down of an enemy MiG-17 aircraft near Quang Lang airfield.

Click here for the full history
Source: www.usscoralsea.net

A quick look inside the box:


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

7 Likes
2

Will be following along, I have the kit but mine will be a Marine bird, not sure which unit yet.

3

I have the kit too, hopefully getting it on the bench soon so I’ll be following along with interest.

4

Very nice! :slight_smile:

5

Comparison between the original cockpit and the 3d decals


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

Cockpit ready for the 3d decal


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

4 Likes
6

The difference between the color of the cockpit FS36270 (Gunze H308) and the decals is very noticeable, so I decided to cut out the decals with a scalpel.


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

Here are the decals applied before assembling the cockpit:


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

5 Likes
7

Very impressed with the cockpit detail Rodolfo. Well worth the effort cutting the decals…

1 Like
8

Cockpit assembled


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

8 Likes
9

Great looking cockpit Rodolfo- you’ve got the decals and the colors all done up very nicely.

10

Wow, the cockpit is a model in itself with those decals.

I’m not sure what you did - early in the post you said you decided to cut the decals with a scalpel and at the end the colors look pretty unified. Did you just cut so that the greys that don’t match are no longer present on the decal?

1 Like
11

Yes Phil,
I cut the decals to eliminate the greys area,
below an example:

PhantoIIB#014b

1 Like
12

Looks STUNNING! Always had a soft spot for the F-4 in anything but overall gray. Something about a shallow, turning dive with those twin smokers!

13

Afterburner details


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

Fuselage assembled


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

3 Likes
14

Superb looking kit and great looking cockpit build Rodolfo :smiley:

1 Like
15

I start to paint …


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

7 Likes
16

Looking soooo good :smiley:

1 Like
17

Ready for decals and weathering


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

6 Likes
18

I applied the decals …


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

The “Sundowners” tail marking drove me crazy … and the final result didn’t satisfy me …


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

so I decided to remove the decals and paint the marking …

5 Likes
19

That’s disappointing about the decal for the vertical tail surface :roll_eyes:

1 Like
20

Cockpit completed and ejection seats installed


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr


by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

7 Likes