F-4B VF-143 "Pukin' Dogs"
This article is part of a series:
Tamiya F4B VF-143 Pukin' Dogs Furball Aero-Design 1/48 F-4B Bravo MiG Killers Part One
People have hailed this as the "best ever" in the fields of airplane kits, jet kits, 1/48 kits and kits in general. They're right. It's flawless. My only comments were a constant stream of "Huh, that's handy. Good job Tamiya." I only swapped out the decals because it makes a nice companion to the Pukin' Dogs F-14 I did a while ago (see here: https://imodeler.com/2023/03/f-14d-tarps-vf-143-pukin-dogs-cag/ ). You don't get the earlier fin cap so you'll have to do some slicing and dicing on your own but it's not hard. You don't get any bombs. The parts breakdown is such that you can easily see where Tamiya (or anybody else) can make a -J, -N, or -S with a few part swaps.
The Furball Aero Designs decal sheet is a bit confusing, though. You don't get decals for the helmets for any of the subjects, and there's a discrepancy about the crew names for NK-311: the instruction sheet indicates that it bagged a Mig-21 with an AIM-7, and its crew was Lt. Robert Hickey Jr and Lt. Jeremy Morris, but the decal sheet itself does not contain these names; the numbers indicated by the instruction sheet refer to Lt Franklin Powers and Lt JG Jim Patterson, while one online profile indicates that it was flown by Tom "Phearless Pharlock" Rodgers and Lt Jg Jim Patterson, and its score was a "probable" kill of an An-2. Whatever, I'm building it as indicated. Among the rest of the jets is a unique example from VF-114 Aardvarks, which is NH 406. The emblem of VF-143 is the "Pukin' Dog" griffon, which we all know and love; but NH 406 / 158430 of VF-114 "Aardvarks" has the "Pukin' Dog" griffon on the fuselage side with an "E" device inside, underneath "Commander Carrier Division Seven". There's no information about this jet on the info sheet (The only jets the sheet actually has info about are: NL-215, NK-311, NG-602, NF-100, NF-110, NF-102, NL-100, NL-110, and NL-113) That's... odd. Apparently BuNo 158430 is actually a Douglas A4-M Skyhawk that's currently on a pole in Sequatchie Memorial Park in Dunlap, TN. As near as I can determine, the 148-151 prefix of BuNos was designated for Phantoms, and there IS photographic record of a 148430 belonging to VF-114 trapping aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in 1962 but without the Pukin' Dog or the "Commander Carrier Division Seven" on it. Then in 1964, 148430 reappears as AH 71 from VF-161, in a squadron photo at China Lake. That's where my trail ends, unfortunately.
I posed it next to the Meng F-4G Wild Weasel (see that article) for fun.
I'll probably do a VFA-143 Super Hornet next just to fill out the line.
Nice work and a good result. That Tamiya kit looks good.
The VF-114 CAG bird on the Furball sheet was flown by my friend Royce Williams in the 1966-67 deployment (Royce is the guy who shot down four MiG-15s in a Panther back in 1952). In December 1966, the plane was flown by my friend Admiral Denny Wisely, then a LT, when he shot down an An-2 with a Sparrow at a distance of 102 miles. One of the few times a Sparrow was used as designed - at long distance against a slow, non-maneuvering target.
Have you built the Tamiya F-4B? Yours is the first review I look to before a build.
I have one, but haven't gotten to it yet.
Same here.
Ok, THAT is a fascinating story! I figured you might have the straight dope on this sort of stuff!
102 miles,with a Sparrow,that's pretty impressive.
A clear night, no other traffic in the sky over North Vietnam.
Nicely done!
Thanks! 😀
Good looking Phantom.
Thanks, cheers! 😀
Very nice looking Pukin' Dog. I plan on building this bird for my 2nd Tamiya F-4B kit when I get around to it.
FYI, Hypersonic Models makes a resin version of the earlier fin cap without all the ESM antennas for the early F-4Bs.
That's good to know. Ooh, they also have a conversion set to turn it into the N? NEAT!
Fantastic Phantom, Wes!
Congratulations!
A fine looking Phantom, Wes @avispa93
Beautiful paintwork.
Phantastic Phantom!
Really one of my favorite aircraft. Still planning to build one. Most probably one of 32nd TFS Wolfhounds based at Soesterberg AFB back in the 70’s.
Beauty. My favourite Navy squadron because...you know
Abeautifully done '' B" BIRD!
That's a beauty of a Phantom! I am a huge Phantom fan...
That's a stunning aircraft.
Beautiful work, Wes @avispa93 🏆