1/72 Desert Starfighters - F-104N and F-104G

[Andrew]

Not one to let exuberance get the better of me, I've decided in a calm and objective manner that I need to build two more Starfighters for this GB.

 

The two I've chosen were operated by different operators within a few hundred miles of each other on the western side of the continental US in the mid- to late-'70s. One is a NASA F-104N operated from the Dryden Research Facility at Edwards AFB. The other is a German F-104G flown in USAF markings for the conversion of Luftwaffe pilots to the type at Luke AFB.

 

The reasons for choosing these schemes are simple - they're colourful! The NASA F-104N will either be overall white (with dark blue fuselage cheat line) or white with mid-blue undersides (and dark blue fuselage cheat line), such as jet N812NA  and the German jet will be finished in overall natural metal - something like this (or this, carrying a target tow rig, if I feel exuberant)...

 

1/72 Hasegawa kits will be used - I managed to find a couple more of these lovely models in the stash - and I will embellish them with some resin bits from CMK and Aires, and a couple of Master pitot tubes. Decals will be from Hasegawa boxings of these variants and a Rocketeer sheet for NASA jets.

 

On with the photos -

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm off to practise my non-exuberance and/or have a little lie-down before making a start on these...

 

cheers,

 

Andrew.

[Andrew]

I quickly gave up on the CMK resin cockpits, as I couldn't find a good way to mount the cockpit tub to the nose gear bay which sits immediately behind it. Fortunately, I really like the Hasegawa kit's cockpit with its moulded detail on the instrument panel and side consoles and am perfectly happy to use it. Just to complete the sidewalls, I've added a bit more detail (some stolen from the CMK set, some scratchbuilt) and then set about painting both cockpits.

 

 

Mr Surfacer Black undercoat:

 

 

Gunze's Mr Color Dark Gull Grey basecoat:

 

 

Wash applied and detail painted:

 

 

I've since joined the forward fuselages; now to move on to the rear fuselages.

 

 

[Lex77]

Some nice looking cockpits you got there!

[franky boy]

Nice work on those cockpits Andrew. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

 

James

[Andrew]

Thanks Lex and James for your kind words - working on this kit's cockpit is lots of fun, and doing two at once doesn't diminish the enjoyment.

 

Here's a bit more work from recent days:-

 

Exhaust ducts and turbine faces (actually painted a couple of weeks ago, in conjunction with those for another pair of Starfighters) -

 

 

Forward fuselages together -

 

 

Scribed some additional detail on the fins -

 

 

Installed exhaust ducts and rear undercarriage bulkhead into one half of each rear fuselage, in preparation for joining left and right halves -

 

 

Filled the holes on the underside of the wings with sprue stubs -

 

 

And applied some very thick Mr Surfacer to fill any remaining gaps -

 

 

Getting the intakes ready with internal paint application -

 

 

 

Joining the forward and aft fuselages together will happen soon, to be followed quickly by installation of the intakes. I've found that this step tends to slow the overall progress, as the fit of the intakes can be a little problematic, but once any corrective action is taken, painting is not far away...

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Andrew.

[CliffB]

Beautiful work.  The NASA F-104s are some of my favourites, so I'm particularly looking forward that one!

 

Cliff

[Andrew]

Thanks Cliff,

 

I like the NASA Starfighters a lot as well, apparently so much that I still can't decide which jet I'm doing (white, or white and blue?)... Anyway, more progress to show soon.

 

Andrew.

[Andrew]

Fuselages joined:-

 

 

and intakes on:-

 

[Lex77]

Starting to look as Starfighters! Looking good.

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good afternoon Andrew

 Very good job so far

Patrice