"The Year I Was Born" F-100D Super Sabre

[billn53]

I sprayed the interior of the intake trunk with SMS Metallic Aluminum. This is my first time using SMS metallics, and so far I'm impressed. 

 

 

I also installed the Aires afterburner can & nozzle. The only join was at the very rear of the fuselage, so I added some Apoxie Sculpt for support. This adds significant weight to the rear, so I'll have to be careful not to end up with a tail-sitter.

 

 

 

With the instrument panel installed, I had to do a bit of surgery to the cockpit opening to make things fit. Right now, it looks pretty ugly, and I'll have to do some tidying up:

 

 

A test fit of the canopy shows no clearance problems with the bang seat. Unfortunately, the kit plastic isn't terribly clear. Polishing and a dip in Future will help, but I fear my interior detail will be lost due to canopy distortions. I could use my Rob Taurus vacuform canopy (which is much clearer), but it's a two-piece part and I'd have to show the canopy open. Not a show-stopper, but I'd prefer to have the canopy down, if possible.

 

 

With the major items installed, I checked the balance and it looks like she'll sit on all three legs. There's not much margin, however, so I'll add some nose weight for my peace of mind:

 

Tomorrow's plan is to close the fuselage and start working on the wings.

 

Meanwhile, things are heating up in my front yard. The chipmunks have called in the heavy armor, which is digging in along the border with Snakeland:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Serkan Sen]

Very impressive and interesting build and front yard stories at the same time! I follow both with great interest...

Serkan

[billn53]

Day 4, and here we go!

 

I installed the intake trunk, cockpit, and peace-of-mind weights into the fuselage:

 

 

Then, (drum roll, please) closed it up:

 

 

A fair amount of clamping force was needed around the cockpit area, as evidenced by this stress mark 😱 :

 

 

Not to worry, it's just cosmetic and will disappear under paint.

 

Next job on the fuselage is to fair in the front of the Trumpeter intake with the ESCI nose:

 

 

Moving on to the Blackbird Models wing . . . .

 

I cleaned up the flash around the slat actuators, and noticed that the very front of the wing is rounded off (compare to the Trumpeter wing on the right). Also, the innermost actuator (circled) must be removed as it didn't exist on the actual aircraft:

 

 

I'm trying out a new putty, very similar to Bondo but a poo-colored tan instead of Bondo's bright red. Here, I've filled in the resin "join lines" inherited from the Trumpeter wing:

 

 

I used styrene rod to fill the holes for pylons I won't be using:

 

 

Finally, I had to sand down the front edge of the Blackbird Models wing to eliminate a step where it meets the ESCI fuselage:

 

 

[billn53]

Having closed the fuselage, I sanded the seams and was impressed with how well everything fit together. Very little, if any, putty will be needed as far as I can tell. I did have an outstanding job to merge the ESCI nose to the Trumpeter intake trunk. I used Apoxie Sculpt for this as it has a good working time and can be smoothed with water. Here are the before and after pics:

 

    

 

I also attended to a few detail items on the fuselage. I drilled out the holes for the 20mm guns:

   

 

and then installed the gun panel. The kit has tabs for the panel, but I found it sat a bit too deep at the front end, so I used BluTack to support the panel while I glued it in place:

   

 

Next, I drilled recesses for the retractable landing lights. I'll insert lenses into the recesses after painting.

 

 

I had to fix a self-inflicted boo-boo, where I had accidently sanded away part of the lower fuselage forward of the nose gear bay. A bit of scrap styrene did the job:

 

 

Because I'm using the Aires cockpit parts, scrap styrene was also used to fill in an unneeded locating hole forward of the cockpit:

 

 

With that done, the fuselage is almost ready for primer. So, I turned my attention to the Blackbird Models resin wings. First, I sanded down the filler I had used on the wingtips:

 

 

Then, I glued bits of styrene to the front of the wing root, as the resin part was rounded off instead of coming to a sharp point. Once the glue had completely cured, I carefully sanded the styrene to shape:

    

 

I am still irked that Blackbirds's wings are merely copies of the too-thin Trumpeter wings. So, I decided to experiment with an alternative course of action . . . .

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

What you see is the ESCI wing, which has had part of its leading edge cut away and replaced with the corresponding section from Trumpeter's wing. Also shown is Trumpeter's leading edge slat, which fits on the grafted-on actuators. 

 

My plan is to finish the job on the other wing, tidy things up, and if I'm satisfied with what I have, send the Blackbird resin to the trash bin.

 

 

[billn53]

Day 6

 

The other wing is done, and we're now getting close to throwing some paint (well, primer first) at this thing.

 

 

I did discover one error on my part. I must have mis-aligned the starboard wing when I earlier glued the wings together. That caused the starboard wing to be nearly 1mm thicker, at the wing root, than the port wing. I discovered this when I was boxing in the main wheel wells (not trying for accuracy, just to hide the black void between the wing halves)

 

 

 

I used some styrene strip to close the excessive gap between the upper and lower wings, glued & clamped them together, and let the glue set up overnight:

 

 

The misalignment when the wing was originally glued together is likely why I had a step at the edge of the slat, on the bottom side, that isn't present on the opposite wing. Stretched sprue helps fill in the gap:

 

 

 

All is well now, but I'm glad I discovered this when I could still fix it. Otherwise, I might have ended up with the Hun leaning to the right after installing the landing gear!

 

I have today and this weekend before classes start -- let's see how much I can get done before then.

 

 

 

[Killingholme]

Great thread! Really like these "thinking out loud" topics- they'e genuinely instructional.

 

What a shame however that nobody had recently posted an inspirational build thread of a century-series fighter demonstrating that all that was required to avoid the moulded-in slats issue was building the kit right out of the box, but posing it in flight. Maybe you'd have avoided all this hassle...

 

Will

[billn53]

33 minutes ago, Killingholme said:

Great thread! Really like these "thinking out loud" topics- they'e genuinely instructional.

 

What a shame however that nobody had recently posted an inspirational build thread of a century-series fighter demonstrating that all that was required to avoid the moulded-in slats issue was building the kit right out of the box, but posing it in flight. Maybe you'd have avoided all this hassle...

 

Will

My last build (Red Baron Starfighter) was in-flight, I didn’t want to do two in a row.

 

My gf suggested I build it on the ramp but with slats-up… just add the duct tape holding the slats up 😜

[AdrianMF]

Looks super! It’s a great review of the available kits and extras too.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[billn53]

15 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Looks super! It’s a great review of the available kits and extras too.

 

Thanks, Adrian.
 

Why is it that the Esci F-100 (released in 1984) is so much better in overall shape than the 2010 Trumpeter kit? I’m now happy I have a couple more Esci in my stash!

 

 I also have the Academy’s boxing of the Italrei kit, which is a strange beast. The primary parts (fuselage, wings, horizontal stabs) are identical to Esci (though a bit less “crisp”). The minor pieces (wheels, canopy, etc), however, are different and inferior to Esci’s. 
 

And, I’ll soon be receiving an ancient Hasegawa kit I found cheap on EBay. I bought it for the underwing tanks, and will be comparing it to the Esci out of curiosity.

[opus999]

This is really coming along quickly!  The cockpit turned out beautifully, as did the burner can.  I'm really glad you were able to use the kit wings in the end.

 

Can't wait to see some paint!  

[billn53]

9 minutes ago, opus999 said:

 

Can't wait to see some paint!  

Same here! I was up early this morning, thinking it would be a simple job to fire up the airbrush I get some paint on. Well, I found a few things that had to be done first…. But, at least I was able spray some Mr Surfacer along all the seams & joins, looking for flaws that need to be fixed before doing any real painting.

 

I’ll post some photos of this morning’s work, in a bit.

[opus999]

1 hour ago, billn53 said:

Well, I found a few things that had to be done first

isn't that always the way?

[billn53]

It's Saturday evening, which means I've been working on my Hun for exactly a week, now. Here's today's progress report:

 

The 79th TFS aircraft I am modeling dates back to the late 1950s. Best I can determine, ESCI's Super Sabre represents a F-100 from the mid-1960s. Thus, I found I needed to do a bit of backdating. First, the underwing fuel tanks. The tanks in the ESCI kit are the "long" version introduced in the '60s. Fortunately, the Trumpeter kit has the smaller tanks that I need:

 

 

 

I'll also be using Trumpeter's pylons, as they are more detailed than the ESCI parts. I measured and drilled holes for the Trumpeter pylons. A test fit shows the pylons fit perfectly:

 

 

 

I'll also be using the earlier, "straight" refueling probe from the Trumpeter kit, instead of ESCI's "bent" probe.

 

Next, the speed brake. According to Detail & Scale, the opening in the speed brake was enlarged in the early-60s to allow the brake to be opened when centerline stores were being carried. ESCI's speed brake has the enlarged opening. Trumpeter has options for both styles, and I considered using the Trumpeter early brake. That is, until I discovered the Trumpeter speed brake is well undersized! Here's a comparison of the ESCI and Trumpeter parts:

 

 

 

I converted ESCI's speed brake to the earlier version by adding styrene strip to either side of the center opening:

 

 

 

I also had to modify the speed brake opening in the lower fuselage. For this, I cut back the center section to match the narrower opening in the speed brake. Fortunately, ESCI (correctly) included the panel lines of the original opening, which made my minor surgery easier:

 

 

 

Those tasks done, I was finally ready to spray some paint primer. I airbrushed Mr Surfacer 1200 (thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner) along all the joins and seam lines, checking for flaws:

 

 

 

The Mr Surfacer revealed a few areas needing re-work, mostly around the nose area:

 

 

 

Which lead to a do-loop of putty, sand, inspect, putty, sand . . . .  Eventually I was satisfied (read: beaten into submission) and decided it was about time to glue the wings in place 🥳

 

The center section of the wing assembly fits very tightly into the fuselage. In my case, however, I had a significant step at the front join (which might have more to do with all the internal extras I added to the fuselage, than ESCI's engineering). There was also a step, much smaller, at the rear join:

 

 

 

Out came the course grit sanding sticks. After a fair amount of elbow grease, and a bit of poo-colored putty, everything was back in order:

 

  

 

Remember that, when I glued the wings together, I had misaligned the starboard wing, making it thicker than it should be? I fixed the thickness issue a-ok, but the misalignment created a significant gap along the starboard wing root (the other wing fit perfectly)

 

I used styrene strip to fill the gap along the wing root:

 

 

 

Followed with a layer of thinned down poo to blend it in:

 

 

 

And, that's where I am on Saturday evening! I'll let everything set overnight, and tomorrow I'll sand down the putty along the wing joins, add the wing fences, and get some proper primer on this Hun!

 

Maybe even some real paint . . . . 😉

 

 

[RidgeRunner]

Wow, Bill, I am impressed by your persistence to get those small errors resolved. She is shaping up nicely. 

[billn53]

7 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

Wow, Bill, I am impressed by your persistence to get those small errors resolved. She is shaping up nicely. 

 

Usually, my first inclination is to say "Who's going to know", and then "Nobody will notice". But, then I say "I bet I can fix that..." and I'm off to the races! 🐎

 

It's Sunday morning and I've already got paint on ! ! ! 

 

I installed the wing fences & pylons for the underwing tanks, and then sprayed the Hun and various minor pieces with Alclad Gloss Medium Gray Base lacquer. I've found that this gives a good, glossy coat for any metallic finish that doesn't require a black undercoat. After the painting was done, I popped everything into my warming box to speed the cure time:

 

 

My next decision is, What paint to use to simulate the aluminum lacquer the Air Force used on in place of natural metal.

 

I have another project underway today, it is this:

 

 

 

A nine pound pork shoulder butt. It went into my pellet smoker at 5am this morning, and should be ready for a late dinner tonight.

[AdrianMF]

Those two are tying for first place in my likes list!

 

(edit) all that work with slats has just got me googling F-102 pictures for my upcoming Century series GB entry. Pictures show no deployed slats on the ground - phew!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[2lefthands]

1 hour ago, billn53 said:

 

Usually, my first inclination is to say "Who's going to know", and then "Nobody will notice". But, then I say "I bet I can fix that..." and I'm off to the races! 🐎

Yep, same here

1 hour ago, billn53 said:

 

 

 

 A nine pound pork shoulder butt. It went into my pellet smoker at 5am this morning, and should be ready for a late dinner tonight.

Delicious!

 

Beautiful modelling, by the way!

[Nikolay Polyakov]

Excellent progress so far, Bill! 👏 It’s a great kit and I found the same issues with mine as you. I’m following your build with interest and hope all of your front yard residents are OK.

 

P.S.: Looks like an ESCI kit has a crispy panel lines and better quality surface than Italeri’s reissued boxing.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Nikolay Polyakov
P.S. added

[billn53]

1 hour ago, Nikolay Polyakov said:

 

P.S.: Looks like an ESCI kit has a crispy panel lines and better quality surface than Italeri’s reissued boxing.

You are correct, the detail in ESCI’s molding is better than Italeri’s.

[opus999]

6 hours ago, billn53 said:

Usually, my first inclination is to say "Who's going to know", and then "Nobody will notice". But, then I say "I bet I can fix that..." and I'm off to the races! 

Heh.  I've never done that...

 

You've done a masterful job of correcting these issues, and the bonus for us is we learn more about the F-100.  I confess, I've always admired the Hun as a sexy aircraft, but I know practically nothing about it.

[billn53]

23 minutes ago, opus999 said:

 

...  the bonus for us is we learn more about the F-100.  I confess, I've always admired the Hun as a sexy aircraft, but I know practically nothing about it.

 

Same here. I wasn't all that familiar with the F-100, until I started this build.

[billn53]

The pork butt is out of the smoker, and the F-100 is out of the paint drying box.

 

I really should have done this before painting, but I have a full set of Eduard photoetch for the Trumpeter F-100F, and I thought perhaps there is something that I could use on this build. As it turned out, I found only a few items. Much of the PE is for the cockpit (too late for that) or won't fit the ESCI kit (were Trumpeter and ESCI modeling the same aircraft???).

 

I was able to use Eduard's detailing for the wing slats (after all, I'm using the Trumpeter slats). Here's the primary part:

 

 

 

which was a bear to install (the CA just didn't want to adhere to the Alclad lacquer). But, it's a big enhancement and looks very good with the slats in place:

 

 

 

(Just don't look underneath the wing, it's pretty scary down there!)

 

Next, I painted items that will be bare aluminum* -- Landing gear, inside of the gear doors and air brake, etc. I also decided to go with bare metal for the underwing tanks:

 

 

        * SMS Metallic Aluminum lacquer

 

Finally, I'll be using Reskit wheels instead of the kit offerings. ResKit's wheels are always nice, but what I especially like is that the tires are molded separately from the hubs. Unhappily, the hub for one of my F-100's nose wheels has a molding flaw, so I'll either use the kit wheel or (perhaps) buy another Reskit set.

 

 

That's it for Sunday evening. Tomorrow, summer session begins at the University so my time available for building will be substantially reduced.

[Nikolay Polyakov]

19 hours ago, billn53 said:

I was able to use Eduard's detailing for the wing slats (after all, I'm using the Trumpeter slats).

Looking good! 👍 

 

19 hours ago, billn53 said:

I also decided to go with bare metal for the underwing tanks:

Can’t take my eyes off these beauties! 🤩

 

19 hours ago, billn53 said:

That's it for Sunday evening. Tomorrow, summer session begins at the University so my time available for building will be substantially reduced.

There’s no need to rush. Have a nice academic week!

[billn53]

It's been a couple of days since I last posted, but I haven't been totally idle. I'm managing to get an hour or two in during the morning before classes, and a bit more time in the evening. So far, I haven't had any homework but that'll change next week 😭

 

Yesterday, I painted a bunch of spoons with different kinds of silver-ish paint, to select which would give me the look of USAF silver lacquer finish:

 

 

 

I also tried a few clear coats, looking with something that had a bit of a shine, but not too glossy.

 

I finally settled on SMS metallic silver lacquer and Alclad "light sheen" clear. Choice made, yesterday evening I sprayed my Hun and this morning I did a light panel line wash. Here's what it looked like before any gloss coat being applied:

 

 

I don't know how tough the SMS metallics are, so after school today I sprayed Alclad Aqua-clear, which should protect the finish and give a good surface for decaling. Later, I'll apply a layer of Alclad Light Sheen.

 

One last thing while waiting for the Acqu-Gloss to dry . . .

 

The metallic aluminum on the fuel tanks looked a bit too uniform and boring, so I used metallic pigments to vary the reflectivity of their "bare metal" finish. It's not too easy to see in the photo below, but it's there!

 

 

 

The plan for tomorrow is to tackle the landing gear and other minor parts.

 

 

 

[billn53]

48-Hours is usually a safe time to allow Alclad Aqua-Clear to fully dry, so today after class I began masking and painting.

 

I painted the bays for the landing gear and speed brake interior green, based on photos I found online. 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of antennas on the fuselage, and the top of the fin, also got some color:

 

   

 

But, my main effort focused on the bare metal area around the engine. I started with a coat of SMS Steel:

 

 

 

I discovered the hard way that the SMS lacquer, if applied too heavily, will react with Aqua Clear and "craze" the surface. Fortunately, I was able to easily sand this boo boo out:

 

 

 

The pièce de résistance was recreating the heat discoloration on the bare metal. The aircraft I'm modeling had been in service only a few years, so hadn't suffered the extreme heat damage seen on Huns later on (such as Vietnam warriors). What I wanted to replicate was the milder discoloration seen in this photo:

 

 

 

Using AK Interactive XTreme Metal enamels in various shades of burnt metal, brass, and bronze, here's what I came up with:

 

 

 

Not too bad for a first try . . . . there's room for improvement, but that's for another day!