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Hi all! Well, the next emergence from the paint shop is here and ready for your inspection As most, if not all, watchers will know, this is a another build for my F-105D Thunderchief collection. This time she is 59-1749, a F-105D-5-RE as she was during her time with the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron/388th Tactical Fighter Wing, operating from Korat RTAFB, Thailand. The period was 1967 and at that time she was flown by Captain Dennis Wills who named her as you can see – “Mr Toad”. Additionally she carried “Marilee E” on the port side at some point in her service in SEA. Mr Toad was an affectionate name given by Dennis to his son. More about him is captured in the book “Vietnam to Western Airlines – An oral History of the Air War” by Bruce Cowee. Ultimately Mr Toad was lost although the dates when this occurred conflict. The book above states a date in 1966(!) but other sources differ. Who knows? I was drawn to her as the side names were not the typical war-like style and she was also a reverse camouflage machine, meaning that while the approved pattern was maintained some colours were interchanged while being painted at the depot. Mr Toad is different also because all other reversed machines that I've seen images of have a tan nose up to the black radar cone. In Mr Toad's case this was green. I always get drawn to the different and unusual ;). Normally I avoid weapons on models as it really is the aircraft that I am interested in. However the Thud looks just right with a string of M117s attached, hence the build configuration in the case. Here are a couple of in-service shots and one of Dennis Wills. Note that that in the image above she also carried a toad drawing on the starboard side. I couldn't find any original detailed image of this. Fortunately she flew for a long time without this and so my dilemma was eased. Courtesy Dennis R. Jenkins The modifications required to get her to a machine of that era and what I gleaned from photos of her were: 1. Removed the dorsal wiring duct 2. Modify the under-nose sensor/camera housing 3. Build a centreline weapons pylon What did I use? 1. Kit - Trumpeter F-105D Thunderchief 1/72 2. Decals – Xtradecal X72112 national insignia, home produced side names, "Snoopy" on undercarriage doors and serials, Microscale 72-178 and kit stencils 3. Paints – Sovereign Hobbies (Colourcoats) ACUS20 Dark Green, ACUS19 Green Olive Drab, ACUS09 US Interior Green, ACUS18 Tan, ACUS17 FS36622 Gray Humbrol 30 Olive drab, and others. Varnished withHumbrol Glosscote and finished with Satincote. Humbrol 192 Chrome was used for the speedbrakes with the forward and aft sections masked and treated with Tamiya Weathering blue. 4. Weathering – Flory Dirt and Tamiya weathering powders. 5. Aftermarket – Aires seat and cockpit (7239), Master pitot, Aires rear side intakes, Aires ventral fin, Hasegawa ALQ-87 (from Set IV), Hasegawa AIM-9B (from Set III), Brassin M117 bombs, Hasegawa MER (from Set I), Wheels from Aires. 6. Montex paint masks I hope you like her. I have to say that the Colourcoat paints were a delight to apply (I have no connection with Sovereign – just a happy modeller spreading the word). Martin

Hi all, I reckon I am at the stage with "D-10" that I can start to think about the next Thud. This time - as I've mentioned before - she will be 59-1749, operated by the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron/388th Tactical Fighter Wing and flying from Takhli RTAFB during the Vietnam War era. Sadly she was lost on 23rd September 1967 but like all the Thuds she will have played a pivotal part in the air campaign. For those who didn't know, the Thuds were the heavy loaders in the conflict and only accrued such high attrition because of the demands of them. Like most Vietnam Thuds, '749 was operated with side names, and carried "Mr Toad" (starboard side) and "Marilee E" (Port side). Her she is: As you can see, she operated in the reverse camouflage scheme, which is what attracted me to her. She was also the only one of these reversed machines that a green nose of both sides, so not a true reversal. I like the look of this, particularly from the starboard side. As with "D-10" she will need some mild butchery to get her correct. This will mean changing the spine mainly, although I have yet to ascertain whether I need to remove the strengthening plates on the fuselage and wings. I hope not! She will be loaded with wing tanks, a centreline MER (as in the photo above) and additional appropriate extras under the tips of each wing, courtesy of Hasegawa's excellent weapons sets. She will again be based on the Trumpeter kit, so will need the rivets filled! What I do still need is a good image of the Toad so that I can re-draw it and produce a decal. Any help would be gratefully received! My reference material, aside from the net, has grown while building "D-10". It is now: You can see that I include the excellent Schiffer book (top left/centre) which no fan of the Thud should be without. Well, I'll be getting underway soon but I will only post occasionally to save the boring repetition! Of course, if you'd prefer I didn't at all just tell me Martin