Tamiya NEW 1/48 F-4B Phantom II VF-111. Full build aircraft model kit  

Incredible! I flew in the backseat of this plane (NL-201) with Garry Weigand on March 6, 1972. I am flabbergasted there is such an interest in modeling- well done. Bill Freckleton

Great build, but I have one question. I can never understand why every modeler who builds jet aircraft simulates wear marks on ejection seats and the cockpit. I was an AME with a fighter squadron for 3 1/2 years and every day we did an inspection on the seats and cockpit and if any wear was on the seats, we painted them to keep from corrosion as well as greasing any bare metal in the linkages. If an aircraft wasn't daylied, it didn't fly. I know everyone strives to make their models as realistic as possible, so this is just something to keep in mind for future builds.

Back in the early 70s when I was a teenager and had dreams of being a military pilot I managed to piggyback on an invitation to a Cub Scout den (I was a patrol leader in my Boy Scout troop) to meet with some pilots of VF111. They were stationed at NAS Miramar at the time. I was a real aviation nut and an aviation modeler at the time. I really enjoyed the day. They let me put on a flight helmet and sit in the cockpit. It was an F4B. When I saw the Sundowners markings and F4B I had to watch. That was one of the best days of my life and this video was a reminder of this. Thank you.

I state that I find this model truly spectacular, but I have never in reality seen such a dirty plane with such pronounced signs of aging, but as a mid-level model maker, I would like to have the same skill as you!

The F4 Phantom has always been my favorite aircraft. Your build looks stunning.

I'm currently building the F4J for my father for Christmas. This video could not have been any better. I have watched thousands of instructional youtube videos on many subjects and this was one of the best! Thank you!

My dad would have loved this. He loved the Phantom, and he served on the U. S. S. Coral Sea.

Don't worry about the length of the video. Holy Moses, that was some fine modeling time. Excellent build, mate.

Absolutely gorgeous! The effects that you are able to achieve are seriously stunning. I recently ran across your channel and every build has been really enjoyable to watch

That's a beautiful version of the VF-111 Sundowners.

48:57 - from that angle just for a second I thought I was looking at the Intruder! I never thought these two planes looked similar in any way but right there for a second I though so. What a beutiful work btw.

I just have to say, Tamiya Kits are the best ! They fit so well and the detail is outstanding. Even the decals are superior. A World Class Company !

Awesome. My grandfather was a Navy Aviation Ordinanceman during Vietnam and was in VF-111 Sundowners.

I love your videos because you go way more in-depth with your techniques! Any aspiring scale modeler can really benefit from your work

I'm an old man at 53 soon to be 54. The last time I built a model was over 30yrs ago. I'm about to put together a Testor 1/72 E-2C Hawkeye that I found in old home attic. We didn't have the fancy stuff to put models together back then but we sure tried to make them real. That highlighting panels to catch the eye ain't dang real.😂

My uncle Jack flew the F4 in Vietnam, I was 9 in 1979 when he was home for Xmas, I was in awe, that jet had always had a special meaning for me, thank you for great content. 🙏🇺🇸

Absolutely stunning build, length didn't matter, it was great all the way through, always enjoy your work.

I was crew chief on F4 Phantoms in the late 60's, early 70's. Although I was Airforce it was basically the same bird. My plane came back quite dirty on a couple of occasions from sorties out of Thailand. Your attention to the weathering is actually quite good. My bird was camo so it did mask some of the grime. We always tried to clean them as often as possible depending on the turn time. It got busy at times and they got a little dirty.

Dang, the Phantom is such a stunning design.

I will truly never understand how some people can make these models look so incredibly real!? Awesome work, about to order my 1/48 Phantom, I know it won't look nearly this good but I look forward to trying 😅

I actually saw this squadron on board the USS Coral Sea in the early-mid 1970's and you have captured the look pretty well - the F-4Bs were always rather scruffy looking, since they were usually on the return from a duty cycle.

In Indy’s voice: “it belongs in a museum!”

Amazing work.... I used to build models as a child. I'm 45 now... and after seeing this, I have an itch to get back into modelling. Albeit, mine will never look this great.

Insane artistic talent. Not just museum-level perfection, but motion picture holy shit ninja level. Tamiya have always been the most detailed models but with your talent, it's as good as it will ever get.

I thought the weathering was a bit much until you showed the image which gave a good reference. Amazing detail thanks for sharing.

Jaw dropping! Thanks for making these videos. I watch them and I'm not even a model builder!! Keep em coming! Thanks again

Was a fanatical youth model-maker in the late 70s/early 80s - nearly 40 years on have discovered this diamond on RU-vid! You are a master - that is absolutely stunning! Subscribed!

I got this model in the post 3 days ago and right before I got it i got sick with Covid and have been bed ridden ever since, having to stare at the box wanting to build it badly, but I’m starting it feel better so hopefully I can work on it soon

You sand, mask and paint the canopy glass window is so expertly. . Amazing!

For a very small extra touch of realism the seeker, the tip of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, is made from a dark olive colored glass. Great build!

The crew chief would be on a charge for letting the kite deteriorate to that state..😂👍🔥

21:20 such a brave and bold way to sand a dried decal......I'm afraid it would ripped the wonderful decal away, but you are a master of builder....Hats off to you sir

I have the Tamiya F-4J kit and it’s been in my shelf for years purely because I’m terrified of not doing it justice. You definitely did yours the proper amount of justice and care and creativity.

absolutely brilliant. Love the comments from the vets! you can't please everyone!

You have to admire the Japanese for their models and precision. Amazing attention to detail.

Brilliant work! I'm just now getting in to the hobby and really appreciate the fine craftsmanship you demonstrated. Thank you for sharing!

That’s a work of art mate,look great on anyone’s shelf or bookcase,I use to work on both USAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath and they use to fly the A-10 Warthog planes,my favourite,would love to see one of these built if there is a kit out there Love and peace from Ireland

One of the best and well documented builds I have ever seen. Excellent!

Damn! I love how it came out. Watched whole video. I am building models, but to short! I will never be able to do such detailed work like you or other people who share their work on RU-vid.

Beautiful job. Those Eduard belts aren't cheating, they're not always the easiest to apply, ok the black stripes on the ejection handles may be a bit, boy those can be frustrating. Weathering like that really approximates the heavy use in Nam

Great video of a great plane from a great squadron. This brought back a lot of memories because my Dad was in VF-111. He worked with the ejection seat. He would have approved of the mods you made.

First off: Fantastic Build! I love me a good Sundowner scheme. I have a few questions. When you were cleaning the wash off the plane was that dry microfiber cloth or did it have any mineral spirits/thinner on it? What gloves do you wear while building? I never thought about doing that but it would certainly mitigate any finger prints. I always manage finger prints somewhere.

Wow, that looks so realistic !!!! Amazing how much work goes into it. Amazing job !!!

Just a note on brushes, if you want them to last longer make sure to not get the paint all the way up to the ferule, the metal part that holds the hairs. You probably want a round #1 brush for those side panels. I would guess that is a #0 or even #00. That is way too small for that area. Look into a wet pallet as well. Only 3 min in, but just needed to say this.

Let's give a shout out to Tamiya for caring about the quality of there products.👍

fantastic job of color blending and creating the tonal variations. the tips on weathering out the walkways and you work on the exhaust are worth book marking this video for my own future builds. in other words Thank You

At the age of 15 I was already fascinated by these hobbies , sadly My mom would destroy them when , coming into the room in anxious cleaning habit …!! Lost my dream to continue ..

I’m building this one right now, and once again I’m getting inspiration from your video. Fantastic job on this it’s absolutely beautiful. 🤩

Absolutely amazing! Built, painted and weathered to perfection. I enjoyed every second of it.

Oh my heavens the music!!! it’s like I’m at a rock concert, watching a guy build a model aeroplane in the mosh pit!!

Absolutely fantastic!! Brilliant from start to finish and I can’t wait to do mine!

length of vid is good. plenty of quality content to justify it. great to see Tamiya finally realizing a bit of engineering up front goes miles with snapping in those final detail parts. looked like a dream of a build.

absoutely epic. I made models as a kid and have memories of sticky glue fingers and ripped decals. Things have come on a long way and your skill is off the scale. Lovely model.

thank you very much for teaching..it gets me feeling more excited to unwrap the box

Excellent, I love the subtle weathering. Looks show ready.

Easily the best modelling video I’ve seen. I do think the present fashion of heavily darkening rivet lines is a bit overdone, but the overall effect of your work is extraordinary.

This is one of the best build videos I have ever had the pleasure of watching! VERY good editing, sound, clarity, everything! BRAVO SIR! Subbed!

Wow! Beautifully engineered kit, excellent weathering and detailing - truly one phabulous Phantom!

Very very cool! I built models when I was a young man, and remember a somewhat different process. Gooping and swiping paint on AFTER gluing all the parts together and then complaining because it didn't look "real," lol! Your work is stunning! Might I suggest printing some photo backgrounds to use when taking photographs of the model post-build? It would look so cool to se the photos that way!

That was a fantastic build ,perfectly paintecand weathered, I still do not tire of seeing these Tamiya F4 build and this was no exceptio , congratulations on your fine job.

Best Phantom build I've seen! Really amazing work!

a real masterclass in weathering and detailing

Thank you, this was mesmerizing. Do you do a final clear coat after the oil weathering?

This is quite amazing. I have seen real planes just like this. The likeness is astounding ❤️👌

That looks awesome! Really good job! I love the Phantom and your model looks really realistic! How long did you take to build it?

Well, I'm very impressed, haven't modeled in 25 years, looks like kit quality has really improved. Great skill shown here.

Excellent job, start to finish. I do larger Rc Jets but love to incorporate details that you guys do on my flying models

Yet another stunning build,paint and weather the video didn’t seem 50 minutes long 👏👏👏

Absolutely superb. A delight to watch you at work.

Brings back memories of the vf111 sundowner f14s back in the mid 1980s on the uss carl vinson. They were dirty machines too…

Amazing build. 38:15. When you apply an oil coat over another, how do you keep the base one from also being removed by the white spirit? Is it because you left it to dry for several days? Thanks!

Utterly amazing. I learned so much watching this.

I'm glad you didn't cut anything out. Terrific build 👍

This was great! Working F4’s as a kid was a blast!

I used to work in a squadron that flew the RF-4C. (38th Tac Recon SQ. - Zweibruken AB, W. Germany) Cold War! I miss those days. I would love to have an F4 with the 38th identifiers

Beautiful job for a beautiful warbird. I steamed with the Midway when VF 151 (I think) launched her last F-4 in '86. Nicely done!

Also I have a Huey model I've been looking for add ons and you helped me find it with your link to the seat belts. So thank you

Absolutely bloody awesome, thanks for not cutting it short, i've learned a lot from watching this, cheers.

The number of times in this video that I thought: “Oh no, you’re ruining it!”. Only to admit two minutes later that he improved the looks 🙃

Hi, great build, thanks for sharing. I intend to buy this model but it would be too large to fit in my showcase unless the wingtips are folded. Can you pls. tell me if it’s possible to have the wingtips in the folding position? Thanks.

You never need to apologize. Thanks ever so much for sharing what you know. Beautiful work. Long, if it is worth it, is good.

Super build, I will add this to my video reference play list!

fantastic, thank god you sorted the seats, with the canopy closed, it needed the detail

Incredible. You really need patience to build the realistic versions.

Very, very nice. Beautiful paint job, carried out in a manner that appears simple to use but is of a level of professionalism that I’m honestly amazed by. Thank you for sharing this incredible video of the work you carried out - amazing levels of attention to detail.

Does anyone know if an F-4E model is available? I have not built a model since the 60's. I flew the F-4E LES model in the Philippines and Moody AFB from 77 through 81...

I love model channels that just build the model and don’t ruin the video with their annoying and unnecessary commentary.

Thank you for sharing. While I can’t hope to reach your skill level your work provides inspiration and allows me to experience your build vicariously.

My first time watching your videos. And I’m speechless! Absolutely phenomenal job! Love the incredible detail you out into this model! I actually have this model in my shopping cart and thanks to you will be purchasing this model asap! And don’t worry about the length of the video. It was worth every second. Appreciate your time and willingness to post this video. Also appreciate the info provided on what you use to create such a wonderful model. Looks like I have some shopping to do! Thank you again!

My favorite Vietnam warbird. Beautifully done! Love it!

Nice work. The two different size masks for the canopy are for reproducing the sealant around the windows. First apply the smaller mask, prime black (interior colour) then paint with the colour of the sealant (check references, can be tan, can be very light pink) Remove smaller mask then apply larger masks to cover the window and the seal colour you have already painted. Apply your base colour/s. Seal weather blah blah... Remove masks and BINGO! you have the windows with the surrounding sealant!!

Funny, when I was a kid I absolutely loved the F-4. I built about 3 of them and hung them from my ceiling. I would later join the Air Force and found myself working on the F-4 G as a weapons support specialist. When I got back home on leave I destroyed every F-4 I had built. I have scars on my back from that plane today. That jet broke EVERY time it flew. IFE (In flight Emergencies) on almost every sortie. I went through 3 steel toe boots a year working on that plane (you are always on your knees hanging bombs, installing missile launching racks and etc. Oh...the horror.

As a former F-14 Airframes and Hydraulics Systems Specialist in VF-111, as well as being assigned to Corrosion Control for several months, we completely re-painted a couple of birds in that time... ( Yes after the F-4), My suggestion on weathering/staining, is to look at photos contemporary to the time frame you are modelling... Oil stain streaks, fuel streaks, etc., are due to the components behind the panels and their leaks. If it's an electronics bay, that will be dry, and if there's surface corrosion staining the bird, the "Crud Crew" as they were (partially) affectionately known, are not doing their job! Corrosion is the primary enemy! Every part of the plane besides Titanium and Stainless Steel, is trying to return to the earth! If you want it to look real, make it look REAL.

This look absolutely awesome! Concerning the oil stains, have you tried adding a bit on the seams (like you already do) and with the airbrush blow air down the fuselage? I would think it'd look great and also realistic since that's what actually happens: great airflow spreading oil down the fuselage. But I haven't done it myself, so I can't say for sure.

Excellent build and technique! I'm getting back into scale model building and will add this kit to my build list. You deserve way more subscribers, keep up the great work and content!

I'll be ordering this kit sometime. This, or some other Phantom. Along with other 1/48 aircraft.

Wish we had that glue in the 80’s. Models would’ve turned out so much nicer

One very small detail that may sometimes be overlooked or left out; the cupped portion of the tailhook, the area that comes in actual contact with the arresting cable, should always have some black grease on it. Every tailhook I saw on the flight deck in my six years in the US Navy had black grease right there. In fact that is one of the troubleshooter's job before launch is to ensure the tailhook is not damaged and that there is grease on it. The actual grease is flat black in appearance. p.s. beautiful work, top drawer.

I can´t express myself properly since this is not my nature language, but this really became a great job. It is interesting how much details have a huge impact on the end result. Congrats from a Brazillian fan!

Pure artwork at it's finest!!!!A beautiful fine model.