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1/72 - Republic F-84F Thunderstreak by Sword Models - released


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I would need to see one. That fin looks a touch tall, and as per everyone else, decal numbers 29 and 30 lack the 81st wing Dragon in the centre. They have nothing, some show a horse. Nobody gets it right. And moulded in speedbrakes!

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2 hours ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

decal numbers 29 and 30 lack the 81st wing Dragon in the centre. They have nothing, some show a horse. Nobody gets it right. 

 

It is indeed a strange omission but maybe they can get Techmod to do a small additional sheet?

 

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img481

 

But I have to say I like Sword kits and I like the looks of this. 

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In Before Centuries by MSGT David Menard USAF (Ret.) on page 76, F-84F FS-852 is shown in colour and the 81st FBW is missing from the `mushroom', at least on the starboard side.

 

Regards

Robert

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2 hours ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

If it has the large parabrake fairing it's should be on the intake splitter

That’s not necessarily true, Frank. The nose splitter pitot was on early block numbers while the port wing pitot was on the later ones. It wasn’t related to the parabrake as older machines were retrofitted with the larger fairing but retained the nose pitot. A good spot on the dorsal beacon!

 

Martin 

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Let’s not knock the kit too much, chaps. It is a modern tool kit of a prominent Cold War jet that has been ignored for way too long. We all know that Sword kits are just the start point and that work has to be done to get them improved. Thank you Sword!

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Im looking forward to this but have one serious question ? It looks from the model that the nose gear strut doesn't have enough forward rake. That and the nose doesn't have the slightly nose high attitude I expect from a Thunderstreak ? Fully admit this could just be poor photography but does anyone have any thought's or opinions ? 
 

Dennis

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I might be a bit picky, and I will do a comparison against the real thing, which I have come to know quite well. Some things may be camera distortion, like the fin, so when it gets here, I will run a comparison with the fin and rudder length.

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26 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

nose gear strut

The Sword nose gear strut is the same as the RF-84F and is poor, in my view. The tyre is the wrong thickness, the dimensions are slightly wrong, it lacks detail and, as you say Dennis, it isn’t raked forward enough. On my Sword RF-84 I used an Airfix replacement which at least has many of the missing attributes. I’ll do the same with the F-84Fs ;)

 

This is all just being picky, though. I am just grateful that the kit is to be produced! :)

 

Martin

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49 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

On my Sword RF-84 I used an Airfix replacement which at least has many of the missing attributes. I’ll do the same with the F-84Fs ;)

I agree the kit is very welcome and I happen to have an Airfix kit sitting here. So Im covered for at least one build. It will be an NMF Illinois A.N.G. Bird from the late 50’s or early 60’s. 

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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  • 2 weeks later...

There is indeed something wrong with this landing gear - I noticed it already with the RF-84F.

But in truth, you'd have to analyze the design of both the main and nose landing gear legs. Well, 90% of the photos show the F/RF-84F in the take-off configuration, with four (let's not be afraid of this word) oversized auxiliary tanks. In the take-off weight, the F-84F's own bare weight is only 48%, and the remaining 52% is the weight of fuel and armament. I do not know the exact stroke of the main leg shock absorber, but analyzing the photos you can see that the lower edge of the empty plane's engine nozzle is about 70-90 cm higher above the runway than in the plane ready for take-off. And here lies the problem of the lack of the angle of attack in the Sword model - the main landing gear is made in the empty aircraft configuration.

It's difficult for me to assess how big an impact this has on the geometry of the front landing gear, but just changing the angle between the fuselage and the ground will result in pushing the wheel slightly forward. And if that's not enough, you can still lengthen the diagonal puller lever.

Cheers

Michael

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Here you can see the photoes of the decompressed shock absorber 

https://447bg.org/air-modern/modern-usa/f84f-thunderstreak/

What Sword gives in the kit is clearly the compressed struts for the loaded aircraft (see sprues shots on the previous page). 

So looks like some play is needed around the length of the main gear or maybe with the main wheels size.

Assembled Sword model sits as an empty aircraft in the museums in the webpage above with almost vertical front strut. If the fuselage is tilted back - the front gear will receive the right angle for the loaded aircraft.

 

Edited by Dennis_C
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Unfortunately, the Sword kit is not ideal, which I pointed out to our Czech colleagues when describing the RF-84F a few years ago.

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235040085-sword-172nd-rf-84f-thunderflash/page/6/#comment-3138489

At that time, I compared it with a life-size original F-84F from the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow. And the wheels are not too big - on the contrary, they are too small (just like the whole area around them, i.e. the gear bays and their covers). As soon as this new F-84F hits my workbench, I will try to convert its landing gear so that the model resembles the F-84F we know from photos and from nature.

Drawings of swept wings 84s circulating on the web are full of errors, including size errors. Years ago, I compared vintage Airfix and Italeri kits here with drawings and the original. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235002180-recommendation-for-f-84f-thunderstreak-in-172/&

Against their background, Sword is almost perfect, but the word "almost" makes a difference. Interestingly, Airfix and Italeri give too big wheels, and yet the assembled Airfix model raises the nose quite decently - I've never built the Italeri freaks, so I don't know how it works there.

Cheers

Michael

 

 

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The kit looks nice though eh? Let's try and focus on that. Until we've built a few I don't see the point in nitpicking about small issues (extant or not), which can be a simple fix (if they even exist). I shall be getting one of these for sure!

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13 hours ago, Sabrejet said:

The kit looks nice though eh? Let's try and focus on that. Until we've built a few I don't see the point in nitpicking about small issues (extant or not), which can be a simple fix (if they even exist). I shall be getting one of these for sure!

I built a couple of the RFs and they are a better than anything else on the market despite the flaws. If the F-84F has similar “flaws” I will be equally as happy. Let’s face it, Sword are the only manufacturer to recognise the significance of the type and to then produce it in 1/72. Well done, Sword!

 

Martin

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8 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

I built a couple of the RFs and they are a better than anything else on the market despite the flaws. If the F-84F has similar “flaws” I will be equally as happy. Let’s face it, Sword are the only manufacturer to recognise the significance of the type and to then produce it in 1/72. Well done, Sword!

 

Martin

Sword is a manufacturer that recognises importance of many-many types completely ignored by others. 

I built their 1/72 Harrier T.8, Cougar F9F-8T, JP.5, T-33 (well this one has an alternative) plus Tarangus labelled J-29 and J-32 and keep RF-84F and AEW Gannet in stash. None is available from any other manufacturers other than as relict kits from ebay. 

None were easy builds, but all of them built into nicely looking models. 

Keep on going, Sword!

Edited by Dennis_C
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