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1/72 F-100A Short Tail Kit Bash or something...


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Nice work on your Hun! It does look quite different with that shortened fin. In doing research for a couple of Huns I have (both F-100Ds - the ESCI kit and the Trumpeter kit), I've actually found a few photographs of in-service F-100s (in Vietnam, no less), with the slats up whilst on the ground. I was led to believe that this went against the fundamental physics of the Universe (both Newtonian and Einsteinian). Looks like I have photographic evidence to leave my ESCI wing alone!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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17 hours ago, Learstang said:

Nice work on your Hun! It does look quite different with that shortened fin. In doing research for a couple of Huns I have (both F-100Ds - the ESCI kit and the Trumpeter kit), I've actually found a few photographs of in-service F-100s (in Vietnam, no less), with the slats up whilst on the ground. I was led to believe that this went against the fundamental physics of the Universe (both Newtonian and Einsteinian). Looks like I have photographic evidence to leave my ESCI wing alone!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Jason, I've read that they were sometimes taped or fastened closed by ground crews at times, so in a maintenance environment, you would be good to go.  Otherwise, they worked strictly by gravity, hanging all the way down when still, but gradually retracting due to air pressure at increasing speed.  I doubt very much that they would have been rendered inoperative, as the needed lift/drag was needed to shorten takeoffs and to help slow down the landings...

 

Ed

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16 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Some nice work going on here Ed, good reference for future builds. Fwiw & I know you've solved your marking query, those profiles are from the F-100 Super Sabre in Action book.

Steve.

Thanks Steve -- now that I'm halfway through photo-shopping the markings! 🥲

 

Ed

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20 minutes ago, TheRealMrEd said:

Jason, I've read that they were sometimes taped or fastened closed by ground crews at times, so in a maintenance environment, you would be good to go.  Otherwise, they worked strictly by gravity, hanging all the way down when still, but gradually retracting due to air pressure at increasing speed.  I doubt very much that they would have been rendered inoperative, as the needed lift/drag was needed to shorten takeoffs and to help slow down the landings...

 

Ed

 

Yes, Ed, you do seem to be correct about this. Looking at those photographs, in two of them, the guns are being worked on, and in another, a crewman is fueling up a fuel tank, and the slat would have gotten in his way. In two other photographs, the Huns are at airshows, and I suppose the slats were kept up for a 'neater' appearance. However, the central air brake always appears to be down, and the stabilisers out of horizontal.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

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Hello again, next up, in this terrible photo,  I'm try to show the gap that exists at  the front of the windscreen.  I first partially fill the gap with G-S watch cement, then let that dry before adding any filler, to help keep filler from squeezing into the cockpit area later on:

 

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Above right, the windscreen has been masked to prevent sanding damage, and the filler has been added.

 

While that's drying, the next fiasco comes up.  While trying to work out the tail a artwork, I just noticed that I cut the tail off way too short.  Just to make sure, I scaled up some pics, then rechecked my drawings and they were both correct.  Somehow, I just managed to whack off too much!.  Anyway, here is a photo showing the correction made with plastic card, and what the correct height of the tail should be, measured from the bottom end of the rudder, to the top of the rear tip of the vertical stabilizer:

 

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This measurement should be made along the length of the rear edge of everything, not actually vertically as the drawing would indicate.  (I haven't figured out how to make Photoshop obey my every command!)

I will edit the earlier posted info to make this clearer at the beginning of the build!

 

Here's another picture, showing the filled front windscreen gap:

 

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Next, as is the case with many vacu-formed canopies, the lines are not very distinct on the Rob Taurus canopy,  My usual go to for masking canopies is masking tape or Parafilm "M", but in this case, I'll use Bare Metal Foil, which will pick up EVERY detail beneath it, so everything must be cleaned off with alcohol  before applying the foil, or I'll be trimming dog hairs and dust motes rather than canopy lines:

 

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The trick with the Bare Metal Foil is to use a brand spanking new blade (in my case an X-Acto #11) right out of the box.  The blade should be sharp enough so that only the weight of the knife tip itself allow the foil to be cut through, otherwise you will get jagged edges.  If you are not familiar with using this stuff, practice on a model "mule" before trying it on the real thing!

 

Above right, the trimming is done, and the excess foil is removed using my sharpened hard plastic sprue "chisel" that I normally use for removing masking.  Note that the cockpit rear area is filled with very time "bubble" foam; hobby foam would work as well.

 

Next, the wings are glued on, and we're ready for the paint shop:

 

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Not pictured, I first shot the model overall with Alclad II Black primer.  When that had dried, the model was inspected under a bright light, and re-sanded where necessary.  Then a coat of de-canted Krylon Black enamel spray-can was air-brushed on, and allowed to dry for two days, followed by an overall coat of Alclad II Airframe Aluminum, which will act as the base for further shades of metal paint:

 

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It actually looks better in person than in the photo.  Despite my best efforts, sometimes I still have trouble with pictures of NMF aircraft!

 

Back eventually,

 

Ed

 

 

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Thats a big step forwards Ed.👍

Good catch on the height of the tail and a good job on sorting it out too. You have also done a great job on fairing in the front canopy and masking it, I know what you mean about dog hairs though, they get everywhere don't they.

Looking forward to seeing more of the paint on.

 

🇺🇦

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, it's been the usual paint shop hastle -- paint, fill, sand, re-paint, etc., but I'm finally making some progress.  Some catch-up pics, first showing the left wing, etc. mostly covered with Parafilm "M":

 

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Next, the Parafilm "M" is cut away from the panel to be painted, using a new #11 X-Acto blade.  (again here, we want just about just the weight of the knife blade to do the cutting of the film.  Not trying to plow furrows into the paint!).  Shown below after the panel has been painted, with the Parafilm mask left on surrounding areas.

 

 

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Next after more body panels have been painted.  Some subtle color variations here and there.  I wish I could state that a certain color is used here or there, but in reality I'm only going for contrast of various panels, worried more about lighting variation than actual magnesium, titanium, unborn exotic unobtainium....

 

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You will note very light vertical streaking on the rear end, using Alclad II Sepia, which is to denote barley heated metal, not the harsh colors found after years of service.

 

Next the "essential" decals have been added, to depict this particular aircraft.  Other smaller generic decals will be added later:

 

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Of note is the "USAF", on the wing.  On the pictures of the YF-100, as well as all of the F-100A pictures that I've seen, they feature the "North American" rounded font, vs the 45-degree Amarillo font usually seen on the later marks.  I got mine from and old F-86 Sabre jet decal sheet.  The other marking are made up from three separate Trumpeter F-100C kit decal sheets, which I had laying around.  One of which, I built Laven's F-100C, which didn't need the "5" 's.  The second kit, used here, and yet another kit in the stash, to hopefully be used one day for my own YF-100, so no waste!

 

The artwork printed so-so on the tail decals, as all I have is an inkjet printer, so it's not as sharp as I'd really like it to be.  Also, I wish that the two white lines separating the red stripes from the black and yellow checkerboards was not there, but that's a function of having to print on white decal paper.  I may experiment with some tiny strips of silver decal and see whether that helps. We'll see.

 

For those with access to better printing capabilities than I, the artwork is provided, which show all the elements combined.  This artwork is free for all to use for any non-commercial purposes.

 

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Last, the actual size artwork for 1/72 scale, at 320 dpi, which will print several copies:

 

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This artwork appears larger, because most of our computer screens display at about 72 dpi.  Print them out with the printer set to 320 dpi and they should work fine.

 

It is possible that the background of the circular Luke AFB emblem should be Insignia Blue, but I can't prove it from the only photos that I have, so I let it go as black.  The decals that I found  had the background as way too light a blue color, so I could not use them. 

 

I still have all the original separate elements of the artwork (checkerboard, red stripes, and Luke emblem ) available, so if anyone wants to re-work any, PM me, and I'll send them along.

 

Well, hopefully back soon, wrapping up this old girl.

 

Later,

 

Ed

 

 

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Well, I've been inching along.  As is usual with me and group builds, everything in the world, including my dog, has been conspiring to slow me down.  Or maybe, it's just old age and flakiness...

 

Anyway, next up is the afterburner can.  First off, some overall primer, then paint of a darker metallic shade -- can't remember what, might have been Alclad II Steel, but just something dark:

 

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Above, center, the afterburner "leaves" are made up of tapered and straight alternating section.  The tapered sections are of a lighter metallic color, so the straight, darker ones much be masked, in this case with strips of tape 1.4mm wide.  This is not as hard as you might imagine for me to figure out, as I used my Infini Easycutting Type A mat, shown above right.  This device has indentations in 10ths of a millimeter, from 0.4mm to 1mm.  I just finally found that a double wide strip of two 0.7mm markings did the job.  I love it when a tool figures it out for me, because no way was I gonna cut, with a ruler, exactly 1.4MM wide tape!

 

It turned out pretty well, but oddly enough, the markings vary on the actual part are not all exactly even:

 

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Sadly, this photo also shows a needed step that I failed to do earlier in the build!  I just plain forgot/overlooked it.  Remember the part about getting old...?  The missing part was that on the horizontal stabilizers (stabilators), they normally droop a bit at the rear when they hydraulic pressure bleeds off.  The kit has them to be built even or level.  To rectify this, I had to cut the flat "tabs" off the stabilizers, and then used them to fill the slots in the fuselage sides.  When dry, they were sanded flush and refinished, and when dry holes, were drilled into each fuselage side and each stabilizer at their pivot point, to fit wire that was just a bit thinner than the plastic of said "tabs".  Below, "A" shows where the "tabs" were but off, and "B" shows where they were glued into the fuselage sides to fill the slot:

 

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One word of caution here: on many jets, such as the A-7 Corsair II or F-8 Crusader, a piece of wire can be placed straight through the entire fuselage, then the stabilators are glued to the ends of the prepositioned wire.  Won't work well here, as the F-100 fuselage is tapered at the rear, so that the stabilators splay outward a bit, and thus, each requires it's separate piece of wire, bent as needed --  the very reason that I modified the exhaust tube mount earlier, to allow later glue access to this area.  I just forgot to actually do the work, earlier.

 

Next up, the ejection seat gets installed.  The earlier F-100's, XF-100 through at least most F-100C aircraft had an earlier type ejection seat, rather than the type depicted in the kit.  It was more complex, and looked very different than the later marks.  Rather than repeat THAT whole song-and-dance here, I'll just refer anyone interested to my build thread about George Laven's F-100C for pictures, a discussion, and the steps I took to make two different seats.  The one not selected for that "C" build, I used here, as I intended to build this short-tailed "A" version someday.

 

Link To The F-100C Build HERE

 

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I did add the PE seatbelts from the Aires cockpit set.  I don't know how accurate they are, but they look nice.  Please forgive the rather poor pictures, but these were shot without a stand, and I'm a little shakier than I usta was!

 

At last, the nose pitot tube, the leading edge slats, the one-piece ailerons (no flaps on this version!), the stabilators and tailpipe with afterburner can are added:

 

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Next, the landing gear and doors, the airbrake, and the tail bumper are added underneath:

 

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And we're rounding the final turn now, with only some small touch-up details and the main canopy yet to add.  It will probably be a few days before the finish, as I have to go out of town for several days in the near future, so I may not get it done.  I might just wait, anyway, so I don't rush too much and forget something else!

 

Later folks,

 

Ed

 

 

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Well this just gets better and better Ed, she really does look fantastic.

With your usual attention to detail you have sorted an issue with the stabs that I didn't as I realised too late and didn't want to damage the paint work, oh well something for my next build.

The ejector seat is also a very nice piece of work and looks very good indeed.

I am very keen on seeing the finished result but please don't rush it as there is plenty of time and your work so far has been superb and very informative.

 

🇺🇦

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Thanks folks, for the kind comments.  As I have said before, my main reason for posting any build threads is just to show how one person can do one model.  Not to say that it's  the best or only way, just tryin' to light the fire.

 

Also, as I have said before, most of what I know came from modelers before me, and I'm just trying to pass along some of what they managed to impart to me.  Sadly I can;'t remember all the names, all the places, and the source of all the techniques that I have learned.  Anything that I am able to pass on to others, to make it a little easier or a little clearer in approach, I mostly owe to them.  Therefore, I would humbly charge each of you to do the same in your turn -- impart knowledge.  Not so much "look what I did", as much as "look what YOU can do, if you so choose".  I know it seems a little weird in this day and age, but it is as easy to say "here's how I did it", as it is to simply show show what you've done. 

 

Why didn't they teach us HOW to build the pyramids?

 

Ed

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, I guess I'm back in the saddle for a bit.  The short-tail F-100A was almost done before I put a gun to my head and forced myself to take a vacation😁, but I wanted to take the time and go over it a final time before concluding the build.  After painting some nav lights, adding some wash here and there, I finally pronounced it done, with only the main canopy left to add.

 

I simply placed a drop of Formula 560 Canopy Glue atop the turtledeck, and stuck the canopy on, using an appropriately-sized piece of plastic card to hold it up until the glue dried:

 

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And that, my friends, is the end of the build saga of my short-tail F-100A.  I kind of like it, as it was not a difficult build, and is indeed something a bit off the beaten path...

 

Thanks for bearing with me, and final pics will be posted in the F-100 space anon.

 

ED

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Really glad that you have got this one finished Ed.

I have really enjoyed this thread from start to finish and have learned a lot along the way too, not least that turning a commercially available version of an aircraft into a very important but unavailable version is achievable with some ingenuity, skill and effort.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing this to the GB.

Very well done.

 

🇺🇦

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15 hours ago, Wings unlevel said:

As someone at the other end of the modelling skills and experience spectrum this build is very impressive to see! 

Well Wings, we all start at that end of the modeling scale.  Grinding away, wins and  losses, is the name of the game.  Even the "losses" of the ones never completed taught me something -- usually, what NOT to do!  Modeling is a skill to be slowly developed, much like speaking or walking; the more we do, the better we get.

 

Anyway, thanks for looking in.

 

Ed

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13 hours ago, Learstang said:

Great work on this unusual version of the Hun! With that short tail, and no flaps, this must have been a really 'fun' aircraft to fly!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Hi Jason.  Not only was this "short-tail" version a bear, there were plenty of other F-100 accidents in the beginning:   Sabre Dance

 

Ed

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I knew the F-100 was a bit of a handful to fly, with lots of accidents. That's why this version must have been even worse than the later ones, with that short tail (who needs lateral control?) and no flaps. And I've read about the dreaded 'Sabre Dance' and seen that amazing footage of that unfortunately fatal accident involving it.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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