Fly Low Fly Fast - Darryl Greenamyer's Red Baron Starfighter

[billn53]

*** New photos added June 8, 2020. See bottom of this post ***

 

2020 is almost half-way over, and I had built only one kit this year (compared with a dozen in 2021). So, as soon as my University finals were over, I got back to the bench. Here's the result.

 

In fall and winter of 1976-77 I was a freshly-minted Ensign attending the US Navy's Nuclear Power Training Unit, deep in the desert west of Idaho Falls, Idaho.

 

   

 

At the same time, former Lockheed test pilot Darryl Greenamyer of the Red Baron Flying Service, also in Idaho Falls, was attempting to beat the low altitude speed record with a souped-up F-104 Starfighter he had built out of scrounged parts.

 

 

 

On October 24, 1977, Greenamyer set a FAI Class C-1 Group III low-altitude, 3-km speed record of 1,590.45 kilometers per hour (988.26 mph), which still stands to this day.

 

 

 

Hasegawa has produced two versions of the Red Baron Starfighter -- one in 1/72 and another in 1/48 scale. For this project, I used the 1/72 Hasegawa kit, almost entirely out-of-the-box.

 

 

Hasegawa provides decals for the colorful Red Baron scheme. I didn't trust my 15-year old decals, so instead used them to create masks with my Silhouette Cameo 4 cutter:

 

 

     

 

 

 

Paints used are Tamiya TS-26 "Pure White" (decanted from the rattlecan) and Mr. Color no. 3 Red.

 

The WIP can be found here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235108525-the-red-barons-zipper/

 

 

On to the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, a few detail shots:

 

 

 

My biggest issue with the build involved the canopy. Instead of the Hasegawa 3-piece item, I elected to use a single-part canopy from the Monogram F-104 kit, which was (almost) an exact fit. Unfortunately, after I had epoxied it in place, I discovered it had shifted in position and the rear was no longer along the aircraft centerline. I wasn't able to remove the canopy without fear of breaking it, so instead I sanded down the overhang on the right-hand side and sanded/filled in the ledge on the opposite side. This, of course, severely marred the clarity of the canopy, and I had to sand and polish out my self-inflicted damage:

 

   

 

   

 

The pilot figure, by the way, is from PJ Productions, which I had to modify ever-so-slightly to fit in the cramped cockpit:

 

 

Hasegawa provides about a half dozen tiny clear lenses for lights and inspection windows on the fuselage. Instead of trying to install those fiddly things (my carpet monster would have been happy if I had!), I filled the holes with clear UV resin, and used transparent paint for the colors:

 

 

 

Nose pitot probe is from Master-Model:

 

The kit's exhaust nozzle and afterburner can are just fine as they are -- no aftermarket needed:

   

 

That about wraps it up. I'm really pleased about how the paint scheme turned out, and look forward to adding more zippers to my collection. If nothing else, my Red Baron Starfighter adds a bit of much-needed color to my display case:

 

 

 

Thanks for viewing!

 

*******************************************************

 

New photos posted June 8, 2022. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

[81-er]

Very nice work  There's a fair few other beauties in your display case as well.

 

James

[Chrisj2003]

Very, very, very nice, and different, zipper, lovely clean finish, and the base adds a lot.

 

Chris

[billn53]

22 minutes ago, 81-er said:

Very nice work  There's a fair few other beauties in your display case as well.

 

James

 

Thanks! I'm already starting to run out of room in my display case...

[Unfinished project]

Great looking Starfighter even as a model on display it looks like it’s going a million miles an hour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[billn53]

30 minutes ago, Unfinished project said:

Great looking Starfighter even as a model on display it looks like it’s going a million miles an hour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It certainly must have felt like a million miles an hour, doing nearly 1000 mph at less than 300 ft altitude!

[Pantherhawk27263]

Great job! Very well done!

[hsr]

Nice build! What did you use to get such good transparency on the sanded canopy? When I do that it is never that clear.

[Head in the clouds.]

Wicked! One of my favourite American planes and one you have captured perfectly....clean, low and fast.

[billn53]

45 minutes ago, hsr said:

Nice build! What did you use to get such good transparency on the sanded canopy? When I do that it is never that clear.

Admittedly, the camera makes it look clearer than it actually is. After polishing with Tamiya polish, I used the polymer coating product shown below, which is at least as good as dipping the canopy, and takes just a few minutes to do.

 

 

[hsr]

2 minutes ago, billn53 said:

Admittedly, the camera makes it look clearer than it actually is.

My camera makes mine look more cloudy. 

 

Thanks

Howard

 

[AdrianMF]

That is so sharp! Love the base too, perfect.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Pete in a shed]

Eye catching and eye wateringly fast . Great looking model and well done with the canopy repair. If I had done that amount of damage it would have gone in the bin faster than Darryl Greenamyer was travelling!

Pete

[AliGauld]

An absolute stunner.

Words fail me yet again.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[billn53]

1 hour ago, AliGauld said:

An absolute stunner.

Words fail me yet again.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

Words fail me all the time. Probably a sign of my advanced age . . . . 👴

[SAT69]

That color scheme makes the already elegant F-104 look that much more elegant!

[billn53]

Just now, SAT69 said:

That color scheme makes the already elegant F-104 look that much more elegant!

Absolutely! I must have a half dozen Starfighters in my stash, this was the one that sang out to be built!

[junglierating]

BZ to you👍

[Maginot]

Tasty project! Very fetching paint scheme.

[stevehnz]

Brilliant result Bill, me likes a lot.

Steve.

[Luka]

This just screams SPEED! Nice sharp and impressive vignette 👍

[Winenut]

What a great version!

 

have never seen that before

 

Seems like there are a lot of 104s coming onto the forum

 

I've got one in the pipeline.....not quite as good or as flambouyant as yours though I'm afraid!

 

Cheers

[James G]

Great build. Love the display of your collection too, I aspire to something similar!

[Rob K.]

As I said in the WIP, nice background story, nice build and like the base and overall end result. Great build. (And I got hold of a small bottle of tipex correction fluid - been using it already - thanks for sharing - its great for corrections after you have mis-scribed)
👍

Rgds

Rob

[k5054nz]

Utterly stunning, and exactly what I have planned for my Esci kit! Bravo!! I thoroughly enjoyed your build and the end result is nothing short of gorgeous.