Hasegawa 1/72 F-106A *** Finished ***

[AdrianMF]

I have a "Delta Combo" boxing of the old Hasegawa F-102A and F-106 and built the F-102A for last year's Century Fighters GB. So next up is the F-106:

Not many parts, but very crisply moulded.

I will probably do the bicentennial scheme.

 

The tooling dates from 1969. It needs a little bit more detail in the cockpit and wells, but otherwise it's good to go!

 

FWIW, here's the Deuce from the combo:

 

Regards,

Adrian

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Adrian

 

I'd forgotten about these double boxings, so it's great seeing one on here. 

Lot's of decal option too.

Good luck

 

Cheers Pat 

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

watching on, thought about dragging my F-106 out for this one and converting it to a B model. 

[AdrianMF]

3 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

F-106 out for this one and converting it to a B model

That would be great to see! The tandem seating 106B looks a heck of a lot sleeker than the side-by-side 102B.

 

It looks like just a longer cockpit but I guess it's a nose replacement job beause there will be some subtle shape changes?

 

Regards,

Adrian

[AdrianMF]

On 16/02/2023 at 09:11, JOCKNEY said:

Let's of decal option too.

Kinda "just right". Enough to look properly busy, not so many that you get "Phantom Phatigue" putting on all the stencils...

[PeterB]

Hi Adrian,

 

The only real problem with this and the F-102 as I recall was those ruddy missile bay doors. I was lucky enough to get a set of Aeroclub closed doors from John (Aeroclub) before he stopped selling the bits off and it saved a heck of a lot of work! I built them both back on the Interceptors GB at the end of 2020. I think I may have some spare decs if you are interested - need to check as they may just be for the 102! Yours are probably a much more recent set anyway so will probably work, unlike those in my old kit boxing AFAIK. I did a couple of modifications such as making a new enlarged refueling receptacle on the spine the kit one being poor, and adding a collision warning light. There are other potential changes to the kit you could make depending the period you are aiming at as they underwent "improvements" such as replacing wing fences with slots, which Hasegawa actually covered in the reissued boxings, the original having fences. Here's a link to my build.

Pictures mostly removed to save space on Flickr but can be reinstated if required, but this shows the new receptacle and light.

 I think I used Master nose probes!

Pete

Edited February 19, 2023 by PeterB

[AdrianMF]

4 hours ago, PeterB said:

potential changes to the kit

Thanks for the heads up Pete. The kit scheme I chose for the F-102 used the Case XX wing (the kit is Case X) so I know Hasegawa can be wrong - I will do a bit of reading around the subject before diving in. The fence/notch issue may explain the "new parts" flag on the kit (I couldn't spot any changes in sprue shots from the web).

One day (and what better time than during the F-106 build?) I will make a closed missile bay for the F-102, because the open one is just push-fitted.

 

[edit] it turns out there's an F-106 website maintained by F-106 veterans and it has loads of info, including numerous pictures of my intended subject. Happy days!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

On 2/16/2023 at 11:30 PM, AdrianMF said:

That would be great to see! The tandem seating 106B looks a heck of a lot sleeker than the side-by-side 102B.

 

It looks like just a longer cockpit but I guess it's a nose replacement job beause there will be some subtle shape changes?

 

Regards,

Adrian

I dug the kit out only to find the kit windscreen and canopy missing, while I don't need the single-seat canopy I do need the windscreen to go with the vacform canopy which does not include the windscreen section. TIme to dive back into the stash to see what else I have.

[AdrianMF]

Well finally I got to the bench, and this eeny-meany-minied its way to the top of the pile!

 

First up, some chamfering off of edges where there is a sharp corner or flash on the piece, so that it fits better into its intended location, showing here the fin insert and nosewheel bay:

Next up, cut up the ejection seat ready for a gentle rework:

 

As per @PeteB's advice above, cut out a better in-flight refuelling point:

 

The air intakes are quite large and end in a wall quite close to their front ends. I thought I would remove the bulkhead and box in the inner face of the channel to give the impression of them curving away inside, instead of being blanked off (stbd bulkhead already cut away):

 

I still need to do some cockpit, wheel well and missile bay detailing before it becomes straight kit assembly, but I have at least started.
 

Regards,

Adrian

[AdrianMF]

Well, today's word is "focus". And "concentration". And "purpose". And did you know that I'd not gotten around to building a closed option for my F-102 missile bay?

 

I pulled it out this morning to have a look at what i did for the cockpit interior and then this happened:

 

I might as well block the new bay out with balsa and slap some filler over it before getting on with my "proper build". I think i may have to make some changes to the F-106 bay too. I've seen it described as a bit shallow and it does indeed look that way.

[Beard]

I seem to have recently developed an unhealthy interest in USAF jets and this thread isn't helping.

[AdrianMF]

21 minutes ago, Beard said:

and this thread isn't helping.

Then I absolutely shouldn't tell you that the crisply-moulded hard plastic is a joy to work with...

 

Meanwhile, somewhere several miles off the intended route for today, the finishing touches are being put on a closed F-102 missile bay:

 

Another round of sand and paint, draw the door edges on with pencil and make a couple of red and white placards...

 

Now, where did I put that F-106 kit??

[Beard]

7 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Then I absolutely shouldn't tell you that the crisply-moulded hard plastic is a joy to work with...

No, you shouldn't but, luckily, I wasn't listening - too busy trying to find a reasonably priced example of all the Century-series.

[AdrianMF]

Well the F-102A got a closed up belly, and the F-106 got nothing:

 

I tried to make the warning placards with white decal stripes and a paint marker. A world of disappointment! Next time I have the printer out I will do it properly. But not until the F-106 is finished!

[AdrianMF]

In all the excitement of making an alternative closed F-102 missile bay, I managed to glue on the cockpit/nose wheel well and the air intakes. The air intakes were stuck on with CA and sanded down using the CA as a filler. I reckon they will be seamless (at least on the outside!). I love the hard plastic and crisp moulding!

[AdrianMF]

Right, no more F-102 nonsense!

 

Cutting out the inaccurate but nicely-done ribbed undercarriage bay, starting with the scriber and moving on to the Big Knife to save my scalpel blades:

A little bit of damage around the edges to repair, but it was quicker and easier than expected:

[AdrianMF]

On 23/02/2023 at 07:26, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

I do need the windscreen to go with the vacform canopy which does not include the windscreen section.

Ray, that's a bummer! I have the kit canopy out today and I just wondered, seeing as how the windscreen is pretty much two flat planes, what would happen if I made a masking tape template, transferred it to some clear plastic, and bent it in the middle:

 

It pretty much fitted with a five minute first attempt. The picture of the masking tape is taken square on on centimetre squares with a ruler for reference, so you might care to give it a go (or you might not...)

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

[edit: I've just noticed on the photo that they have moulded in a raised line showing the demarcation between the ADC grey and the anti-glare black! I've checked that they don't have raised stars and bars too  ]

[AdrianMF]

Cockpit detailing done:

 

There are lots of variations in the cockpits so I've aimed at making it look busy rather than researching a particular version. You won't see much when it's closed up anyway. The shelf behind the seat is under the metal part of the hood and behind the headrest, so I've left it empty.

[AdrianMF]

Today's first job is adding some inlet ducts behind the excised bulkhead:

 

In passing you can see that the weapons bay is far too shallow to accommodate the missiles when the door is closed, but I'm going to ignore it if the missiles hang down by the right amount when it's open.

[AdrianMF]

I got press-ganged into home repair duties today, but I've finished the air intakes with some paper cones and a dummy fan wheel:

 

So, was it worth it?

 

Marginal, I'd say. 🙄

[Jinxman]

22 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Marginal, I'd say. 🙄

But we do know it's there! 

[AdrianMF]

Some detailing that won't be invisible (just distorted!):

Now I can close up the fuselage and add the wings, then it's time to make a refuelling vent, then sort out the missile and undercarriage bays.

 

The instrument panel has the early dials, whereas the intended bicentennial scheme would have had the later ribbon instruments. I won't tell if you don't...

[Dave Slowbuild]

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I won't tell if you don't...

Mum’s the word.

Those seat belts look terrific by the way!

[AdrianMF]

Been fiddling about with the in-flight refuelling point:

 

It started life as a vent on the early models and became a combined vent and refuelling point when the capability was added later, so there are all sorts of variations (well, at least two), none of which match what Hasegawa gives you. Thanks for the heads up to @PeterB. I think I've got the basics of the shape right now.

[AdrianMF]

A little bit of progress and a lot of devil-is-in-the-detailing:

 

Fuselage is glued together and I have cleaned up the undercarriage legs and missiles, cut out a new missile bay ceiling and blanked off the inside fuselage step, assembled the missile mounting arms, repaired the missile mounting plate (my fault), and assembled and cleaned off the fuel tanks.

 

 

I filled the refuelling hatch and vent with Milliput, sanded it down and made a floor to be  inserted from underneath, if I remember to do it before fixing the missile bay ceiling!

 

I also added a chunk of solder behind the cockpit, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't need it to sit on the nose wheel. Better safe than sorry.

 

This kit seems to involve an endless amount of fiddling about - or maybe it's just me!