modelling minion Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Hi gang, After announcing what my second build would be for the GB I thought it was time to actually make a proper post for it even if I won't start it for about a week until my F-7 is closer to the finish line. I have chosen what I consider (and many others) to be one of the true icons of the Cold War, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. When it comes to the 1980's in the geographic scope of this GB there are only two options open, namely either Japan or Taiwan. having built a JASDF F-104J a couple of years ago I decided that this build would be in the colours of the ROCAF (Republic Of China Air Force) and you can't really have a collection of F-104's without a ROCAF one in it as they operated every version of the F-104 with the exception of the C and F and scored the first ever kills for the type when 4 f-104's engaged a formation of PLAAF J-6's and Major Hu Shih-lin and Captain Shih Bei-puo each shot down one of the J-6's over the disputed island of Qemoy. The kit I will be using is the Eduard NATO boxing of the venerable Hasegawa F-104G which comes with a couple of resin extras (basically just one each of the Martin Baker or Lockheed ejector seats) and a very nice decal sheet which will be of no use whatsoever for this build, here is a shot of the box top; And the contents to prove that the plastic is as yet untouched; A shot of the resin extras along with a couple of other resin bits I have that should find their way into the build and the etched fret that Eduard add to the box; The lovely, but useless for this build, decal sheet; And a look at the sheet I have ordered from Bestfong in Taiwan which should hopefully arrive in time; I have used one of their sheets before when I built a ROCAF P-47N a few years ago and that sheet was of excellent quality so I have no doubt that these will be of the same quality, we shall see. I've had great service from them so far as the sheets I ordered were dispatched within 24 hours of placing the order and I was given a tracking number, which works! Thanks for looking in and as usual any comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 (edited) Taking a front seat for this craig. Wow those markings / scheme are super! Edited August 26, 2019 by Dansk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 Thanks Paul, very glad to have you aboard. I like Starfighters in camouflage and the SEA scheme does look good on it, I just hope that the decals turn up on time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Who doesn't like a 104 ? Ive often considered one of these but the Samurai Starfighters keep drawing me back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 14 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Who doesn't like a 104 ? Ive often considered one of these but the Samurai Starfighters keep drawing me back. Can't fault you for liking JASDF Starfighters Dennis, have you seen this upcoming book by one of our own? There id also going to be a new decal sheet by Fundekals which looks good, it's not on their website yet but the author of the book is a friend of mine and he has shared some info with Fundekals who have sent him a sneaky peek of the schemes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Just now, modelling minion said: Can't fault you for liking JASDF Starfighters Dennis, have you seen this upcoming book by one of our own? There id also going to be a new decal sheet by Fundekals which looks good, it's not on their website yet but the author of the book is a friend of mine and he has shared some info with Fundekals who have sent him a sneaky peek of the schemes. Yes I'm a member of the AsianSirArms SIG. i got the advance notice last week in the newsletter. If i had a nice bank account I would have already ordered it. Sadly thats not the case, so will have to dream and hope he issue's more than the initial 100 copies. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 20 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Yes I'm a member of the AsianSirArms SIG. i got the advance notice last week in the newsletter. If i had a nice bank account I would have already ordered it. Sadly thats not the case, so will have to dream and hope he issue's more than the initial 100 copies. Dennis Forgot that you are also a member of the SIG Dennis. There has been some great stuff in the newsletter recently, the articles on VNAF/VPAF F-5 operations by Mark Attrill ( our very own @Tiger331 ) were very good and made a VPAF F-5 a very close second choice for my next build with the F-104 winniing because one isn't being built by anyone else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Look what dropped through my letterbox toady; Literally one week from ordering them they arrived safe and sound all the way from Taiwan, now that is what I call service! No excuses now for not getting her finished on time, better get my finger out and finish the F-7 then hadn't I. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Hi Craig. Wow! - that's a very impressive looking kit and those resin and PE extras will really make it a special build. Great looking scheme and great your decals have arrived! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Nice choice Craig. This is is a great boxing of the Hasegawa Starfighter. Will be watching with interest. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 6 hours ago, PlaStix said: Hi Craig. Wow! - that's a very impressive looking kit and those resin and PE extras will really make it a special build. Great looking scheme and great your decals have arrived! Kind regards, Stix Cheers Stix, It is a nice scheme and I'm really impressed with the look of the decals and the service from Bestfong has been great. 5 hours ago, franky boy said: Nice choice Craig. This is is a great boxing of the Hasegawa Starfighter. Will be watching with interest. James Thanks James, Glad to have you on board. It is a nice kit and will be my 3rd Hasegawa Starfighter and will not be the last, although I'm very keen to see what the new Kinetic kit will look like. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 4 hours ago, modelling minion said: Cheers Stix, It is a nice scheme and I'm really impressed with the look of the decals and the service from Bestfong has been great. Thanks James, Glad to have you on board. It is a nice kit and will be my 3rd Hasegawa Starfighter and will not be the last, although I'm very keen to see what the new Kinetic kit will look like. Thanks Craig Im keen to see the Kinetic 104 also. I had a look on one of the Far Eastern kit sellers website a couple of days ago and at over £50 with postage I think I’ll wait for the big H to get some in. Hopefully shouldn’t be long now. Looking forward to a progress report. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Good choice Craig, and weird as it may seem I do like a Starfighter in camo colours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Jabba said: Good choice Craig, and weird as it may seem I do like a Starfighter in camo colours. That makes at least two of us then! I think it makes a difference from the expected natural metal or ADC grey. Nearly finished the F-7 so hope to make a start over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I've got this kit in the stash , i look forward to seeing you build it craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 1, 2019 Author Share Posted September 1, 2019 16 minutes ago, Hewy said: I've got this kit in the stash , i look forward to seeing you build it craig Cheers Glynn, I'm looking forward to starting it myself. The F-7 is done so I need to get some pics done for the gallery and then I can get going on the F-104. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 Well I've been slowly plugging away at my F-104 and I'm still impressed by the Hasegawa mold and how good a build you can achieve OOTB. She is now very nearly ready to close the fuselage halves together so I though I had better show a couple of the in progress pics which have been taken over different days hence the differing light quality in the pics. We will start with the cockpit and IP which are stock kit parts which have been painted and slightly weathered but have no additional parts added to them, first the cockpit tub; And the instrument panel; Whilst that was going on I have added the built up main undercarriage bay and added it to one of the fuselage halves, this is a quite nicely detailed area and really doesn't need much adding as the main gear doors cover most of it, I gave it a quick wash of very thin Revell anthracite just to show how the detail would show up and this is how it looks in situ; The engine is also nicely detailed, especially as you can see none of it when it is installed in the fuselage so here is a shot of the afterburner ring and the rear of the engine before they were installed; The actual exhaust nozzle has also been painted and given a bit of weathering but it may get more later, here is how it looks now; An engine won't work without air so the intakes have been built up and added to their respective fuselage halves and they fitted very well indeed and just needed a light sanding to blend them in, here is what one looks like; Next job will be to get the cockpit tub in place and the fuselage halves closed up which should hopefully happen over the course of the weekend. Thats it for today so as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Nice to see a well painted up ip craig, looking good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 29 minutes ago, Hewy said: Nice to see a well painted up ip craig, looking good Cheers Glynn, I've just about got the fuselage closed up now, it needs the joins sorting in a couple of places but on the whole it's pretty good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Great to see your progress Craig and looking excellent already! Great looking instrument panel. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 Thanks Stix, hopefully I will get some time on her today, really could do with some rain so that i don't have to work in the garden 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Superb tub craig 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 Thanks Paul very much appreciated, nothing like as good as your Mig-21 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Fantastic work Craig, the cockpit looks excellent and I look forward to the SEA scheme on a F-104! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 7 hours ago, mirageiv said: Fantastic work Craig, the cockpit looks excellent and I look forward to the SEA scheme on a F-104! David you are far too kind as always, especially knowing what you can do with a Starfighter. The build is slowly plodding along which is nothing to do with the kit and a lot to do with the amount of time (or rather the lack of) that I have been able to spend on it, hopefully I will be able to get some more pics up tomorrow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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