John R Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Some time ago, having just finished an XF-104, I started the following thread when considering the possibility of building a prototype of the production Starfighter, the YF-104A. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235018210-italeri-f-104ac-172/ A lot of interesting information came from it, the most valuable of which was the suggestion that the best way to go about it was to combine the front end of a Hasegawa F-104 with the tail end of an Italeri F104A/C. After waiting patiently I managed to obtain one of each from Ebay without spending a fortune. The only extra bit needed was a set of wheels as these were different to the production version. I got these from a Revell F104C kit which I happened to have. Construction was fairly simple as there was a reasonable match between the two sections of fuselage. Decals came from the spares box except for the lettering which was produced at home. The red spiral around the nose probe was produced by spraying red enamel on to white decal paper and cutting a tapered strip which was wrapped around the probe. Easier said than done! One final problem was the photography. How do you take pictures of shiny models without getting bits looking black? See the photo of the YF and XF taken outside. The tailplanes look black. I think that it must require a photo booth with diffused lighting. Any tips welcome. Regarding the finish, both YF and XF were finished in Alclad. I used Airframe aluminium over gloss enamel however I felt this was too shiny so they were given a 'dusting' of Alclad aluminium to take off some of the shine. I think that I overdid it on the XF-104, which accounts for its 'silver paint' appearance. The other interesting thing about the finish was that on the XF most of the panel lines were lost in all the modifications required and were not restored as they were hardly visible in the photos of the a/c. However seeing it against the YF makes me think that something is required to break up all that silver. The wings of the YF are light grey on the topside. There is a caption in Jenkins and Landis' book about USAF prototypes that stated that the early F104A a/c had grey wings topside but whether this applied to the YF is uncertain. I only noticed the caption after applying decals to the wings and was in a quandry as to whether or not to go for the grey feeling that whatever I did was bound to be wrong. With the XF-104 John 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 As a Fan of “X” planes and Prototypes I say Excellent work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unfinished project Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Amazing finish the metal has the just off the production line look. Cracking pair of Starfighters 👍👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 2 amazing F104's there, the prototypes always look the slickest of all versions which is why I like them. Superb work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Excellent finish, very well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Lovely pair of early zippers - really nice finish on both! And it shows how our eyes perceive things differently, as I don't see the tailplanes as looking black, to me they look blue, as I'd expect when they're reflecting the sky... Two cracking jets! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Superb, John! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Very neat and tidy! Seeing the two together like that makes you appreciate the differences between the two versions. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Superb finish John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 JohnR and Martin, How about this one for a different F-104 modeling project? Mike http://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/lockheeds-navy-f-104-u-s-navy-markings.html BTW- Both of your 104's are outstanding, John! very nice metal finish, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinChipmunkfan Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Stunning finish, very impressed!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovely Pig Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Simply stunning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planebuilder62 Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Fantastic builds, what did you use for the NMF? Regards Toby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Really nice NMF. Looks like Alclad(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John R Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 21 hours ago, 72modeler said: JohnR and Martin, How about this one for a different F-104 modeling project? Mike http://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/lockheeds-navy-f-104-u-s-navy-markings.html BTW- Both of your 104's are outstanding, John! very nice metal finish, as well. Anyone reading the above should make sure they get to the very end - there is a sting in the tail! Regarding the finish - oops! - Apologies, I should have said that both were finished in Alclad. I used Airframe aluminium over gloss enamel however I felt this was too shiny so they were given a 'dusting' of Alclad aluminium to take off some of the shine. I think that I overdid it on the XF-104, which accounts for its 'silver paint' appearance. The other interesting thing about the finish was that on the XF most of the panel lines were lost in all the modifications required and were not restored as they were hardly visible in the photos of the a/c. However seeing it against the YF makes me think that something is required to break up all that silver. The wings of the YF are light grey on the topside. There is a caption in Jenkins and Landis' book about USAF prototypes that stated that the early F104A a/c had grey wings topside but whether this applied to the YF is uncertain. I only noticed the caption after applying decals to the wings and was in a quandry as to whether or not to go for the grey feeling that whatever I did was bound to be wrong. Thanks to everyone else for the compliments. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 3 hours ago, John R said: Anyone reading the above should make sure they get to the very end - there is a sting in the tail! Regarding the finish - oops! - Apologies, I should have said that both were finished in Alclad. I used Airframe aluminium over gloss enamel however I felt this was too shiny so they were given a 'dusting' of Alclad aluminium to take off some of the shine. I think that I overdid it on the XF-104, which accounts for its 'silver paint' appearance. The other interesting thing about the finish was that on the XF most of the panel lines were lost in all the modifications required and were not restored as they were hardly visible in the photos of the a/c. However seeing it against the YF makes me think that something is required to break up all that silver. The wings of the YF are light grey on the topside. There is a caption in Jenkins and Landis' book about USAF prototypes that stated that the early F104A a/c had grey wings topside but whether this applied to the YF is uncertain. I only noticed the caption after applying decals to the wings and was in a quandry as to whether or not to go for the grey feeling that whatever I did was bound to be wrong. Thanks to everyone else for the compliments. John John, I was wondering about the lack of panel lines on the XF- you might consider using a drafting pencil to draw in the major panels; I have seen this used to great effect on bare metal finished models; you can seal the lines with whatever clear you prefer. Use a sharpener made for drafting leads, as it creates a much finer point. Either way, you did a fantastic job on the conversion! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John R Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 I am wary of any last minute tweaking like that as it's so easy to ruin the whole job. Sometimes you just have to admit that you could have done better and settle for that. There is another way that I have used in the past and that is to make a faint grey outline of the panel as a decal. The auxiliary intake doors aft of the cockpit on my P1052 were done this way. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Lovely pair of 104's! Cheers, Andre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Beautiful pair of Starfighters, I too love the purity of the clean jet, theselook stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 On 6/29/2018 at 2:31 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: As a Fan of “X” planes and Prototypes I say Excellent work. What he said! It's fascinating to learn how (deceptively?) simple this project was in terms of donor kits. I'm sorry to say I'd not seen the XF before today so the comparison photos are a welcome bonus. Lovely work on both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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