F-101 Voodoo Single-Seaters & Two-Seaters

[niki]

Hi everyone,

I am currently on a Voodoo streak and would like to build a couple of F-101B interceptors as well as one (or two) RF-101C reconnaissance aircraft. These variants are covered by Revell and Hasegawa/ Frog respectively.

Now, after spending quite a few hours in front of the computer there are a couple of issues that I hope some of you might help me clarify:

1. I always thought that the Hasegawa RF-101C kit is one and the same with the Frog one...

Well, in a very nice article on Hyperscale someone commented that Hasegawa itself boxed two slightly different kits over the years so I am wondering: did they use the Frog kit at the very beginning and later (let's say the "Sun-Run" boxing) offered something different? Not too different from what I can gather but some tweaked panel line or camera opening?!

2. I ended up quite liking the silhouette of the F-101A/C single-seaters with their radome and everything...

I know Airwaves did a resin nose for converting the RF-101 into an F-101A/C. However, as pleased as I am with the details on Revell's F-101B, the RF-101 kit(s) I find frustratingly dull and so the question here would be: aside from the two-seat cockpit and the different engines [exhausts] are the airframes of the F-101A/C and F-101B basically the same in terms of dimensions and cross sections?

I thought about removing the plastic from the upper fuselage around the cockpit from an RF-101 and grafting it onto an F-101B, thus solving the single-seat canopy issue and retaining the wealth of surface details from the Revell kit in order to obtain a "genuine" F-101A/C.

What do you reckon?

Edited February 10, 2014 by niki

[Giorgio N]

It was Frog that reboxed a Hasegawa kit, Hase later modified the kit somewhat. The Frog kit should be the same as the original Hasegawa one.

Difference about the 2 variants: well, there are several.... a crosskitting exercise is possible however just replacing the canopy and the exhausts is not enough. For a starter not only the exhausts are different but the whole underfuselage area is different in shape. The Hasegawa parts can of course be transplanted on the Revell kit. The intakes are different too, although the Revell parts can be modified (the A/C have straight intake lips, the B's are angled). The wings on the B have bulges on the lower side for the thicker wheels used on the two-seaters and the doors are bulged too.

There are then a number of smaller details to modify, like the afterburner intakes, removing the rotary bay and modifying the area accordingly and so on.

So yes, it's a project that can be done, but requires more work than expected. There's one good thing though: the fuselage length is the same for the A/C and the B, so there's no need to add plastic here...

[niki]

Hello G.,

Many thanks for taking the time to go over the exact kind of details I was after!

Looking at the list now, I believe I am going to try and grab a Frog boxing (so it was the OTHER way round! ) for a good price - just for curiosity's sake - and turn it into an 101A/C and a "Sun-Run" combo for a camouflaged and one bare metal looking RF-101s.

The 101Bs that I already have will end up as two Canadian and one What-If examples (for the latter I got inspired by this).

Thanks again!

Niki

[bentwaters81tfw]

I have a pile of FROG and Hase 101's and some nose jobs. To be honest, I wouldn't bother with the cross kitting, you are looking at some serious work, a bit like making an F-4K/M out of a J.

If you have access to some Airfix F-4s, you can hack the 'E' nosecone onto the front of an RF and get an F. As I have have more kits than conversion, that is my preferred route.

Of course KittyHawk are about to release this.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234939263-kittyhawk-voodoo-148/

[Giorgio N]

Niki,

I share your opinion about the A/C variants, they are beautiful !

There have been a number of conversions for the hase/frog kit available over the years, Airwaves, Aeroclub and Microscale come to my mind. All are OOP and some are impossible to find.

Personally I built my A years ago converting the Matchbox kit ! This is of course very crude, but certain aspects in this kit make it easier to convert. It was a major job anyway... Today I'd probably chop the nose off the Matchbox kit and stick it on the RF-101. The cannons can be easily made using some small bombs as a starting point (on mine I used some Matchbox Mk-81 bombs from the F-16 box. They are useless as bombs anyway).

I've never heard of the F-4E radome before, but sounds like a great idea ! Thanks Bentwaters81tfw !

While I'll probably buy the Kittyhawk kit anyway, I might build another 1/72 one using this system.

Last but not least: if you want to correct or modify a Voodoo, try to find a copy of the Detail & Scale book on the type ! It's OOP itself but can be found easily enough. I bought mine here in the for sale section

[niki]

Thank you very, very much for your input, guys!

I already heard about the F-4 radome being mentioned and personally I immediately thought about using some scrap under wing fuel tank(s) like I did many years ago on a Kfir CE:

I shall look at the Matchbox Voodoo also and see if I could find one and not break the bank

Cheers!

[David H]

Niki, another option to consider if making an F-101A/C, is to use the radome from a "First Generation" Hasegawa F-14 Tomcat, turn it upside down and graft it on. The cannon muzzle fairings can be replicated from the underwing fairings for the slat actuators on a late F-4E.

Don't believe me? Take a look at a Tomcat nosecone and check out its profile.

david

[rossm]

Hasegawa did tweak the RF-101C mould at some point to add various electronics fitted during the Vietnam war such as the small bulges on the front edges of the nose. There are more but my memory can't supply the details,

Ross

[niki]

Ross, thank you for the details on the 'upgraded' kit!

And David, I was indeed contemplating just the other day how to tackle the cannons - I shall go now raid the spares box for slat actuators

Thank you both!

Cheers,

Niki

[Steven Corvi]

There are a few other details that may cause issue. First of all the keel is different on the F-101A/C from the F-1010B. This is markedly one of the biggest differences beside the nose and `1 to` 2 seat configuration.

Your best bet is to convert the Hasegawa kit RF-101A/C with the Airwaves resin nose conversion. The later Vietnam boxing is a little nicer since the cockpit pit parts are more substantial to build on to. Also I suggest you get the Airwaves or if you can find the ancient Eduard detail set for the Hasegawa kit to gussy up the cockpit. The True Details resin seat go a long way to dress up the cockpit too. I believe Almark makes some decals for the F-1010A/C. The old SuperScale or MicroScale decals maybe long in the tooth depends on how they were stored. I have had a set explode on contact with water and they looked perfectly fine-You never know??

You do know that Kittyhawk is coming out with a new tool F-101A/C in 1/48. I cant wait for that kit!

Steve,

Edited February 16, 2014 by Steven Corvi

[niki]

Indeed, the Airwaves resin nose I have seen online to produce very nice results. Unfortunately I couldn't find one anywhere to be available right now and, anyway, ebay history showed me one from a couple of months back to have sold for more than 16GBP plus P&P. While we're surely talking about a good-sized chunk of resin there, for me it would have meant spending some 22-24GBP to get that item alone, which is a bit steep.

I have just missed a Hasegawa RF-101 for 21GBP (including P&P - a bid I had hoped would suffice) but have managed to obtain another 101B quite cheaply.

I'll check how the surplus 101B nose looks grafted on the RF airframe and see from there further. I found Microscale decal set 72-223 to offer the scheme that got me interested in the single-seat radar-equipped Voodoo, so I am waiting for that one to arrive also (while keeping a bottle of Decal Film close by...).

The Kittyhawk kit will most likely be a little jewel but since I am one of those that keep getting a shock by the sheer size of the 72nd scale kit every time the lid comes off the kit's box, the 48th one might be a tad to big for me (and my not-anymore-existing storage space ).

Many thanks for all your ideas, guys!

Cheers,

Niki

Edited February 18, 2014 by niki

[Steven Corvi]

Let me know if you need a 1/72 Hasegawa RF-101. My Local shop had one (RF-101C Older boxing-SIlver Polka Dot markings) last week and it was only $15.00 US. That is like 10 Pounds for you guys. IF you want it I can pick it up for you.

Steve,

[niki]

Thanks, Steve! You're very kind!

I just sent you a PM.

Cheers,

Niki