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

[RodolfoMas]

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

[RangerNeil]

Looks to be an interesting build. Will you also do a Mig-17 after as a companion build?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Gorgeous
I am in

[BigWall]

[RodolfoMas]

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

[BigWall]

Am I right in assuming that all the kit detail has to be cut/sanded off in preparation for the 3D decals?

[RodolfoMas]

Am I right in assuming that all the kit detail has to be cut/sanded off in preparation for the 3D decals?

Yes Joe, you are right, the kit details which will replaced with the decal have to be sanded.

[RodolfoMas]

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

[RangerNeil]

Looks excellent - I like your idea of trimming the decals to retain colour.

[RodolfoMas]

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

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow

What an office
That is a corner space on the top floor with floor to ceiling windows and a private secretary in a pencil skirt kind of office

[digger303]

Wow

What an office
That is a corner space on the top floor with floor to ceiling windows and a private secretary in a pencil skirt kind of office

Aweee hell I went back looking for the secretary too......

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow

What an office
That is a corner space on the top floor with floor to ceiling windows and a private secretary in a pencil skirt kind of office

Aweee hell I went back looking for the secretary too......

Ha ha, I knew you would
It was a metaphor or simile or something like that

[RodolfoMas]

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

[ForeverPlasticKits]

A classic decoration for a classic jet fighter, what a start! !

[RodolfoMas]

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

[DRUMS01]

Very nice fo far. I've been using the 3d decals for sometime myself. Which brand of 3d decals did you use, Quinta?

Nice aircraft, nice choice of paint scheme, and nice build...

Ben

[RodolfoMas]

Very nice fo far. I've been using the 3d decals for sometime myself. Which brand of 3d decals did you use, Quinta?

Nice aircraft, nice choice of paint scheme, and nice build...

Ben

Yes, I use the Quinta studio

[Tomcat64]

Just caught up with this and while the whole thing is really tidy, the cockpit is absolutely stunning.

Looking forward to seeing how you progress with this one

[BigWall]

Nice! Like others have said, the cockpit looks great!

[RodolfoMas]

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

[RodolfoMas]

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 ...

[Garion77]

Very nice fo far. I've been using the 3d decals for sometime myself. Which brand of 3d decals did you use, Quinta?

Nice aircraft, nice choice of paint scheme, and nice build...

Ben

Yes, I use the Quinta studio

Did you like using them ? do you like how they look compared to a photoecth details or painted details ?

[RodolfoMas]

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

[RodolfoMas]

Very nice fo far. I've been using the 3d decals for sometime myself. Which brand of 3d decals did you use, Quinta?

Nice aircraft, nice choice of paint scheme, and nice build...

Ben

Yes, I use the Quinta studio

Did you like using them ? do you like how they look compared to a photoecth details or painted details ?

Yes, I like it and the result isn't comparable with the other kinds of aftermarket

[digger303]

[Tomcat64]

That's stunning work, although it's a shame the tail fin decals didn't play the game properly.

Looking forward to seeing how you mask & paint that section now

[ForeverPlasticKits]

Despite the problem of the decal your build is awesome!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looking absolutely MINT!!!
Love it

[antonowski]

Looking excellent, interested to see how the tail masking turns out also. I struggled with a pretty simple scheme for my 1/72 F15 but I think that's mostly because I just wanted to get them done quickly and the build itself has turned out to be more of a test than a display model.

[RodolfoMas]

Almost completed model ...

I tried to paint the tail but the result was really bad .. at last I used a decal given to me by a friend


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

[RodolfoMas]

The model is armed and ready to fly ...


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

[KalebB]

Absolutely gorgeous work bud love the way she looks

[Kevthemodeller]

Very late to this one too

Superb F4 build, can't resist USN aircraft