Enzo the Magnificent Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 This is my first build for this groupbuild. Scalemates states that the kit is originally from 1958 although this boxing is from 1976. I believe that the original version of this kit had a working ejection seat. The seat in this kit has a huge hook on the underside which fits into a slot in the cockpit floor but all the rest of the mechanism has been removed. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 This kit is pretty much as one would expect from a kit nearly 65 years old. It is covered in huge rivets! Millions of 'em! It also represents an early production aircraft without the cooling intakes on the rear fuselage. I usually build this sort of kit as a nostalgia build but this time round I think it will end up as a weird mutant - neither fish nor fowl. I am building a Trumpeter F-105 in the Century Fighters GB. I have replaced the cockpit with a resin unit and will not be using the fuselage cooling intakes. I will therefore be grafting these onto the Monogram kit but I won't be doing anything about the rivets or detailing the gear bays. I will also use the Trumpeter decals to represent the famous "Polish Glider". Lifecolor have released a new set of paints to represent the SEA camouflage scheme, so I will be trying these out on this build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) 43 minutes ago, Enzo Matrix said: This is my first build for this groupbuild. Scalemates states that the kit is originally from 1958 although this boxing is from 1976. I believe that the original version of this kit had a working ejection seat. Funny you should mention that! My parents bought me a kit when I was young - it had both a "working" ejector seat and a "droppable" Nuclear bomb and I could not remember if it was Monogram or Aurora, but I have had a look on Scalemates and the Monogram 1958 version did indeed have those debatable attributes. Here is mine not sure what scale it actually is or if it is Monogram. Not the best of photos as my cameras was pretty basic in those days. The Airfix Phantom and Revell F-111 were somewhat later purchases of course. Airfix grey paint on the F-4 as "Gull Grey" was only just starting to arrive in the model shops in Yorkshire after I built it! Pete Edited June 21, 2022 by PeterB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Nice choice of subject and markings! I was considering Monogram's 1/48 version for this GB in the same markings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Welcome Enzo nothing wrong with a Thud. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Great to see this one Enzo a real oldie worthy of attention. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimJ Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Nice choice. I was wondering how many of those pilots were ejected, never to be seen again. 🙂 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) Looks like they replaced most of the old "working" parts but I think the cockpit floor still has the slots in for the length of spring steel and the hole that the "hook" on the seat went through! If this boxing is "9808" then the review in D&S says it seems to be based on the short nosed YF-105B of which 13 were apparently built, but they reused it a few times claiming it was the longer nosed F-105G, though the nose looks quite long to me. No sign of the revolving bomb bay door which I think it had so you could open it and drop the bomb or the hinged canopy! I will watch with interest! Pete Edited June 21, 2022 by PeterB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 16 minutes ago, PeterB said: No sign of.... the hinged canopy! The canopy is definitely hinged. The hinge is along the centreline which is incorrect for a Thud canopy but would have made the part easier to mould. However, the pivot pins are tiny and I imagine that the canopy would have followed a similar trajectory to the seat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) Don't remember any problems with the canopy but the pilot went a fair distance - however he had a bright orange survival suit so that helped😆. For some reason I thought all US jet crew wore them - don't know if it was the kit instructions or I had seen a photo somewhere. Might even have been correct in this case if the red tail means it was supposedly based in Alaska, not that I would have known that at the time. Pete Edited June 21, 2022 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 I am building a Trumpeter F-105D in the Century Series GB using a replacement resin cockpitr. This meant that I could use the Trumpeter cockpit for this model. Hiwever, it did require the length of the cockput floor to be reduced to fit. As you can see, plenty of room for ballast! Fuselage closed up. I sprayed the splitter plates with the relevant camouflage colour but I think I got it wrong, so I will need to do a bit of work with a hairy stick later on. The kit actually represents an F-105B and so does not have the rear fuselage cooling intakes. These were taken from the Trumpeter kit with some plastic card used as a very basic representation of the strangthening plates. Main assembly complete. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 Firstly I sprayed a couple of thin coats of lacquer from a rattle can and then followed them up with grey car primer, again from a rattle can. Then a coat of tan. I am trying out the new SEA paints from Lifecolor. This is UA-562. a coat of lacquer to protect the paintwork and then some masking using my usual technique of blutak worms and masking tape squares, sealed with Copydex. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 On 6/21/2022 at 8:13 PM, Enzo Matrix said: working ejection seat. With explosives and stuff?! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 Just now, Bertie McBoatface said: With explosives and stuff?! Maybe a spring. Maybe a lazzy band. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 Just now, Enzo Matrix said: Maybe a spring. Maybe a lazzy band. They were cheating. Boo! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ballman Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 Cool, I built that kit in the late 60's, I think I still have the boarding ladder in my spares box. Thanks for sharing this. JB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 Sprayed with Lifecolor UA-561 to represent FS 34102 and then another round of masking. Next job was to spray the FS34079. The new Lifecolor paint is UA-560 but to my eye it is far too light. There is barely any contrast between it and UA-561. So I went back to my old favourite of Xtracrylix XA1110. I rather like the way it has turned out. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) On 7/20/2022 at 6:00 PM, Enzo Matrix said: Maybe a spring. Maybe a lazzy band. On my old version there was a length of spring steel which slid into slots in the cockpit floor. The seat, complete with pilot had a "hook" underneath and was pushed down against the spring and once in place was held by a catch operated by a small "button" on the side of the fuselage AFAIK. You pushed the button backwards a little to release the catch and the seat/pilot was shot up and out of the pivoting canopy - fortunately mine was wearing an orange painted "survival suit" and could eventually be recovered as it was a powerful spring! You can just imagine a dad building up the kit and presenting it to his small son at Christmas - kid presses button and family spent half of the day trying to find the ruddy pilot! Pete Edited July 22, 2022 by PeterB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Great job Enzo I always love your neat smooth paintwork! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ballman Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Looking sharp. Thanks for sharing. JB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 Decals applied. These were taken from the Trumpeter kit which I am building concurrently. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 Still moving forward on this one, with the greeblies ready for fitment. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 That's an old Chunderthief Mostly consisting of nose-weights too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 29 minutes ago, Mike said: Mostly consisting of nose-weights too I do tend to go overboard on noseweights... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 What a great lesson in how to build these often overlooked kits. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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