PK-28 F-104G Starfighter

[Rob G]

And yet another from Oi. I found this'un in the deep stash while I was diving for Matchbox kits - clean forgot that I had it. Seeing as it fills an 'ole, Oi'll add it t'build. 

 

Enough silliness. Photos will follow when I can sort out the dichotomy between mobile Flickr and BM's size requirements. Life used to be easy... 

[Hook]

Oooh, pure nostalgia this one!

 

Will she be Canadian or West German?

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Rob

I'm embarrassed to say I'm a member of the "I don't remember buying that" stash searches  

Great to have this one in the GB, good luck.

Cheers Pat 

[Rob G]

Andre, I'll do the Canuckistanian version, same as I did way back in 19mumble. That cute little cartoon tiger on the intake is just... so cute. There will be the need for some markings adjustment, as the airframe that Matchbox have supplied decals for actually crashed 2 years before the Tiger Meet at Leuchars, but that's not going to be an issue. And I may (or may not) need to find or fake a Vinten VICON recce pod for it, but then it IS a Matchbox kit and they're not generally about the ultimate in accuracy, are they, so I may not bother. 

 

Pat, that doesn't happen to me all that often. My stash is enrolled (probably unwillingly) on a spreadsheet, and a careful peruse of that usually keeps me informed. The problem is that I sometimes buy kits and then never get around to adding them to the spreadsheet... which is why I pull everything out and check it every couple of years... It's amazing what you find, must be nearly time for me to do it again. 

[Rob G]

And on with the show. As is de rigueur at times like these, a shot of the box et contents.



Note the luvverly blue and white plastic... on reflection, it may have been the designer's best chance to represent the natural metal and white finish of boxtop choice, the Canadian Tiger Meet aircraft.

 

Not too many bits, as is usual for Matchbox, and they're large, colourful and chunky - I should be able to manage this in time.  😬

And the markings choices - as I've stated above, I'll be doing the Canuckistanian version.



Nothing will happen here for at least a couple of days, as I have a 1/72th Airfix  Spitfire PR.XIX to do battle with (what an absolute of a kit) and I'd like to at least get that to primer before I start anything else. Progress will happen , just not immediately.

[Hook]

Pure nostalgia once again!

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[JOCKNEY]

Great pictures Rob

I wasn't aware that that particular Spitfire was such a challenge 

Cheers Pat

[Rabbit Leader]

Great to see this one 104 unearthed from the 'Deep Stash' Rob. 

Now I think I've still got my faculties working, so don't suffer from 'I didn't know I bought that' syndrome, however I do suffer from "I forgot I sold that', which is equally as bad as I tend to then re-buy the same kits I sold off a few years ago! 

I do say, those decals do look really nice, it all seems sharp and in register, which is not always the case with Matchbox decals. With those Pink Instructions, this looks like an early release, perhaps the decals went pear shaped over time? I'd go the Canuck version too, great choice.  

Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave  

 

[Rob G]

1 hour ago, JOCKNEY said:

Great pictures Rob

I wasn't aware that that particular Spitfire was such a challenge 

Cheers Pat

Neither did I Pat, which is why I bought it. It was supposed to be a nice easy build to take away to work with me, but between flash, sink marks (oooh I still have nightmares about them), bits that aren't the right shape (I'm looking at YOU, bulkheads) and just general ick, it got put away for a couple of years. I've been using it as a test bed for some detailing ideas, and it will be OK when it's done, but I still prefer the Fujimi Griffon Spits, despite their 'interesting' interiors. Every one of them that I've built has been a pleasure. Which is the exact opposite of what most reviewers say. Maybe their reviewing goggles were set on 'rose' that day?
 

1 hour ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Great to see this one 104 unearthed from the 'Deep Stash' Rob. 

Now I think I've still got my faculties working, so don't suffer from 'I didn't know I bought that' syndrome, however I do suffer from "I forgot I sold that', which is equally as bad as I tend to then re-buy the same kits I sold off a few years ago! 

I do say, those decals do look really nice, it all seems sharp and in register, which is not always the case with Matchbox decals. With those Pink Instructions, this looks like an early release, perhaps the decals went pear shaped over time? I'd go the Canuck version too, great choice.  

Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave  

 

Yeah, that forget thing gets me, too, and in the same way as it seems to affect you - I have a feeling that that is what has happened with the F-104; sold one, bought one, got confuzzled. The decals do indeed look good, and like many of the lads are finding, they seem to still be in usable condition - I will find out for sure in due course. That instruction sheet is glorious, isn't it? Having looked at the box, and the plastic, and all.... I sort of don't want to break it up and make it. (Good grief, am I becoming that most detestable of all creatures, a KIT COLLECTOR? SAY IT ISN'T SO, MA, SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!) 😢😱

[Hook]

19 minutes ago, Rob G said:

The decals do indeed look good, and like many of the lads are finding, they seem to still be in usable condition

Last year I used the kit decals of my Matchbox EE Lightning - despite their age they performed surprisingly nicely. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[JOCKNEY]

Hi @Rob G

This Starfighter seems to have hidden itself back in the stash.

Is it still on your radar mate ?

Cheers Pat 

[Rob G]

@JOCKNEY Hiya Pat. Looks can be deceiving -  the Zipper is actually sitting on top of the bookshelf bit of my bench, mocking me. Still unmolested, I hasten to add - in between work, weather (it's been in the high 30s for weeks, with occasional Rhubarbs into the low 40s), trying to make progress on organising our annual model show and that thrice-damned Spitfire XIX, I've hardly given it (or its companion MiG-21) a thought. I had planned to spend some of my upcoming week off on it, but that week off is now... off. They want us on site, fixing more of their broken stuff.

 

Consequently, I've no idea when I'm going to get either of my Matchbox entries started, let alone completed - hopefully I WILL manage at least one of them, and if not, well...no surprise there, my track record for GB completion is a matter of great mirth in some parts of the internets (and if it's not, it should be!) Sorry and all that, old bean, but life can be demmned complicated at times, wot wot. 

[Rabbit Leader]

All good @Rob G, we all know life can get in the way of all the things we enjoy, so hopefully some time might open up sooner rather than later to get something done. There’s still a short while to go mate. 
Cheers.. Dave 

[Rob G]

In a surprise plot twist, I've made a start on me wee Starfighter (did'nae see that coomin', noo did ye?) (cripes, that's a terrible fake accent). 

 

I was sitting at the bench on Saturday evening, and 'der Spitfeur' was... annoying me. So I opened the F-104 and made a start. Thus far, the cockpit, such as it is, is painted, the fuselage is together, most of the big bits are cleaned up and the whole thing has been given a solid straightening with a sanding stick, as there's raised edges at every panel line (I wish I'd taken a photo). There's been other bits done, such as filling in the large gap under the fin/over the exhaust nozzle with Milliput and fabricating new mounts for said nozzle, as the originals were all out of whack. With some careful fettling of plastic, filler is at a minimum - a little bit of Tamiya under the tail, and a smear of Mr Surfacer along the long seams, just in case, but that's it. 

 

Some research has been done, as well. Given that I'm doing the Canadian version, and that the unit portrayed were recce specialists, I'll need to fill the gun muzzle, and I also get to leave off the wing tip 'Winders and their pylons. Ideally, I'd add tip tanks, but I don't got none. I have a photo of the subject flying without them (shortest recce mission evahhh!), so I'll make it like that. I should also add a VICON recce pod, but don't got one of them neither, so... 

 

No photos, time overtook me and I had to go to work. I'll sort some out when I'm home at the end of the week. 

[JOCKNEY]

15 hours ago, Rob G said:

In a surprise plot twist, I've made a start on me wee Starfighter (did'nae see that coomin', noo did ye?) (cripes, that's a terrible fake accent). 

 

None taken 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Rob G]

7 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

 

None taken 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

 

Ahh, good. None was intended, in fact I didn't even think about you when I wrote it. In my defence, me Mam is a Munro, and not one of them thar hills, either!

[Rob G]

As advertised previously, a few pix of my progress...

 

This is my solution to the wonky tailpipe mounts - a big wad of Milliput forced into place around the tailpipe and allowed to cure. It works, the downside is that it's made the back end heavy, so I'll need to add nose weight... 

 

 

And the underside of the tail filled to hide the unsightly Original Equipment cavern as installed by Messrs Lesney & Co. 

 

 

Fuselage together and filler curing. 

 

 

and last but not least, a select collection of white bits, all cleaned up and ready for installation in due course. 

 

 

Since these were taken, I've sanded down the filler (which is just a smear) and fitted the port wing. No photos yet, I literally put glue to wing, put wing to fuselage and ran out the door to go to work.

 

More when I'm home again. 

[Rob G]

Things progress. Not quickly, mind you, but they do progress. Photos will follow (and I'll redo the ones above, oops sorry, they're big), but the starboard wing is fitted, more fillering has been done (not large quantities, but there's been a lot of little niggles) and the canopy has been polished (word of advice - DO NOT, under any provocation, attempt to use Tamiya Putty in lieu of Tamiya Polishing Compound. Don't ask me how I know this...) (No, seriously, don't.) I've also modified the nose gear well position and shape in accord with a Hasegawa kit as a pattern; I'm not sure what the Matchbox designers were smoking when they drew the original, but it wasn't tobacco. 

 

What else has gone on... a quantity of bird shot and Araldite has been added to the nose, to counterbalance the epoxy putty in the tail, and the intakes have been fitted (and filled. Are you seeing a pattern here...) 

 

Waiting for filler to dry is painful. However the week off that I had looked forward to, that was then taken away, is now back on. So hopefully, in between many, many neglected household chores, I'll find some spare time to get some.models finished this week. I have a fortnight until our local show, and seeing as I run it, I should probably put something in more than once a decade. This year is the year

 

More later. 

[Rob G]

Right, photos and a report.

 

First up, a close up of why there's stripes of filler all over this thing. As can be seen, there's a depression/rolling in of the parts where the intake meets the fuselage. EVERY component has had this, and the only cure is judicial use of filler. In contrast to this, every scribed panel line had a raised lip on each edge. Some aggressive use of a sanding stick was called for.

 

 

Next, nose gear well mods. Filled the forward section to make it shorter (MBox do provide a piece for it, but it's very, very wrong - not that my interpretation is necessarily right, but hopefully it's less wrong), cut back the angled rear end, moved the leg hole back and filled the original, and whittled away the wedge bit at the front of the well. If I did it again, I'd plan for the wedge and do it differently, getting a blade in there was no joke.The grey line is Mr Surfacer, to fix a slip. When I have a minute, I'll figure out where the retraction jack has to fit, and make one to suit. I'll also drill another hole in there for it to fit into.

 

 

Made some new nose gear doors. Like the mods above, they're chunky - I decided to attempt to ape MBox in my mods, making new things as if they'd put just a little bit more effort in and added details in their inimitable fashion. Although, I am imitating it, so maybe it's not inimitable? Hmm. The main gear doors are a mite hefty, but look OK - it's a Matchbox kit, so sturdiness is to be expected.

 

 

While cleaning up and thinning out the intake lips, I made a mess of them - hence, replacement was called for. Cut back the old almost to the panel line, then superglue in a section of Evergreen styrene strip, fill and trim. Honestly easier to do than it seems, if a bit fiddly. Don't be scared of doing new things, it's the way we learn.

 

 

Nose. I was all ready to blow a coat of primer over the thing when I realised that the tip of the nose wasn't on, and adding it afterwards was not a viable option - way too much fettling required. Hence, it was added early, faired in with superglue and Mr Surfacer, and sanded down. It looks OK. The pitot is a couple of bits of Albion Alloys brass tube. My original intent with this kit had been to do it like I would've done it back in '81 if I had some of the skills I had now, but I forgot - I was going to replace the kit pitot with a cut-off pin (as was de rigeur  back in the day), but I got through making this one up before I remembered my plan, so the fancy one was installed.

 

 

And finally, a first hit with primer. Only the front, because I couldn't find a rod large enough to fit the rear orifice securely, so it had to be hand held. I'll get the tail end later. In the background is the thrice-damned Airfix Spit XIX, which I am working on as humour allows. It's not been a fun journey, and I've lost interest, but it will get finished.  And yes, it is too dark - Humbrol 230 IS NOT a good match for PRU Blue, despite what Airfix would have you believe. IMO.

 

 

Hopefully this all makes some sort of sense and is of interest to someone (doubtful on both counts).

 

The pilot is undergoing paint, and will be installed before the canopy is fitted. Gotta fill the Matchbox cavernpit somehow! All the little bits will get primer tomorrow, and detail painting will follow.

More later.

[Hook]

She does look like a Starfighter!

[JOCKNEY]

On 04/04/2022 at 07:55, Rob G said:

and last but not least, a select collection of white bits, 

 

 

I have to admit Rob I was a bit nervous wondering what the next photo was going to be of ! 

 

Fortunately it was bits of Starfighter 

 

Great progress mate 

 

Cheers Pat

[Rob G]

On 4/12/2022 at 11:58 PM, Hook said:

She does look like a Starfighter!

 

Starting to, yes. A loooong, long way from perfect, but not bad, considering. Thank you. 

 

12 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

 

I have to admit Rob I was a bit nervous wondering what the next photo was going to be of ! 

 

Fortunately it was bits of Starfighter 

 

Great progress mate 

 

Cheers Pat

 

Ummm.... Ohhhhh Kaaaayyyy. It was indeed bits of Starfighter, whatever else might it've been? Thank you, it's coming along quite quickly (for me). 

 

And on with yet another report. 

 

Having done a round of post-primer filling, I'm calling it 'good enough'. There's a couple of minor bits that could do with looking at, but this isn't a show winner, so let's leave things as they are and get on with it. 

 

Mr Pilote is painted and has been given a seat in his cockpit armchair. The canopy has been masked and glued into place. While I wait for that to dry (so that I can then clean up the inevitable overflow that results) I'm looking at paint. 

 

The white Tamiya primer will do for the white bits, especially once given a coat of gloss. The grey underwings are going to be a mix of Tamiya paints, as suggested by Mike Belcher in a post on this very forum, yes indeed. Britmodeller, eh, the answers to everything. The rest of the fuselage is bare metal, and for that I'm going back, waaay back (anyone know the song reference? Answers on a postcard...) In keeping with the somewhat vintage feel, I'm going to exhume some Humbrol Metalcote and have at it. I have some original tins in the bottom of the paint drawers, so... wish me luck. 

 

More later (with pix, if you're very, very good). 

[Rob G]

I am, as the cool kids say, well chuffed. Got the underwing grey mixed and applied today, and also masked up for and got the Humbrol MetalCote Polished Aluminium on, which looks pretty darn good, if I say so myself. While it will never be mistaken for anything other than a polished silver paint, it looks very hitech in an early 80s way, and I'm happy, because that was the look I was going for. There's more modern, more betterer solutions available, but I'll save those for more modern, more betterer kits.

Photos.

 

 

 

And Mr Pilote, who could be better, but as he'll only be seen under a Matchbox canopy, near enough is good enough. (And he looks even better using my old unmagnified and unfocused Mk 1 Eyeball.) He's a bit of a dandy, wearing white gloves to match his helmet.

 

 

 

Having given the thing a good polishing by hand, I'm going to allow the model to rest overnight and give it another coat tomorrow, as there's a few thinnish areas that would benefit from a bit more depth (and I managed to polish the paint off the nose gear doors, so while I'm fixing those...).

More later.

 

(Also, I give up on trying to work out how to best post photos here - sometimes it's perfect, sometimes I get the 'link' underlines on following text.  Despite much messing about trying to find the culprit (and I'm pretty computer savvy), it appears to be random. After this GB finishes, I think I'll stop stop posting photos here, it's just too much effort to go back and clean things up after posting.)

[GREG DESTEC]

That's looking really good in the oh so shiny finish. The driver looks very dapper 👍

 

Cheers Greg 🍺

[Hook]

35 minutes ago, Rob G said:

which looks pretty darn good, if I say so myself

Seconded!