Jump to content

YF-104A Starfighter 1/72


Recommended Posts

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.

 

p?i=81c2fa192ad0052792b41285b2e14e9a

 

p?i=8fa2fbe3d946ef84353f5e307bc86c80

 

p?i=0035a017253dc3040b45d00e91b84aa6

 

With the XF-104

 

p?i=c97494be0f7b2b384627ebe1d73473f5

 

p?i=109d2f187bc0bae956e345d0bd90f39b

 

p?i=ef81fe586233672d9570d146c52513ca

 

John

  • Like 29
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

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

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

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.

P1052%20front%20side_zpso0absayd.jpg

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/29/2018 at 2:31 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

:thumbsup: 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

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...