LorenSharp Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Since I've already done the Short lived Republic F-105 Thunderbird, It's high time to go to the waaay back machine and do the Thunderbirds first iteration with Tamiya's 1/48 F-84G. In real life Chrome no less! Not sure how that will work out. I haven't built a chrome plated kit since sine I did a Hawk P-51 back when Johnson was President. Lyndon, not Andrew. SO lets see what the kits offers us shall we? Lots'O Chrome thats for sure This should prove interesting. to say the least. But forward as they say... Into the Fog! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 All that chrome offends my eyes! Too, too shiny! It'll go nicely with your F-84F. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reini Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Whoa, that's shiny! 😯 As it was their first aircraft - did Thunderbirds got their name from Thunderjet? 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 The name actually come from the legend of the Thunderbird which is a part of several Southwest Native american Tribes. They are the third oldest demonstration team (1953) after French Air Force Patrouille de France (1931) and the Blue Angels (1946). It's also one of the oldest squadrons in the Air Force. It's beginnings dating back to the organization of the 30th Aero Squadron, formed at Kelly Field, Texas, in 1917. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Nice!, I have her little brother in the stash. Cheers, Andre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 After much dilly-dallying around I can finally begin on the jewel. Starting with the nose/intake I scraped away the chrome from the parts to be glued together. Because you know what? CA glue doesn't stick well to chrome either. Which took me aback. SO YOu still have to scrape and clean away chrome areas that need to be glued together. And then I added the tailpipe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 Frome there of course the cockpit. I decided this time to use the kits decals for the harness. Something different to do, and added the nose weight in the form of a lit supplied large ball bearing. The cockpit tub in all its glory. Adding that to the other pieces already inplace on the fuselage half. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 Glueing the halves together and adding the wings and tail assemblies. I also pre-painted the nose and tail in prep for the decals later. I'm not sold on the chrome look so I'm going to take some 1000 grit sand papaer and dull the chrome and give the surface a tooth before adding foil. I think that will give a much better look and finish to the project. Since I'm doing it this way. I went ahead and filled all the seams. Mostly along the top and bottom of the fuselage. the wings had a very good fit so I don't need to mess with them. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 Now for the FUN part! Metal foil and Decals! The foill gives a much better look than the chrome. And like the issue with the CA glue. Foil won't stick well to smooth chrome. SO I lightly sanded everything with 800 grit wet/dry paper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 The decal time! The kit decals are kinda thick and some some encouaging to not only settle down but not wrinkle in the process. I carefully set this aside to dry. though the decals are thick they will peall off the foil in a heart beat and will need a couple of coats clear gloss the seal and stay attached. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Nice work, LS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaasdebouwer Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 The chrome really is way too shiny, I think the foil is a lot more convincing. Nice work. 😎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 57 minutes ago, Klaasdebouwer said: The chrome really is way too shiny, I think the foil is a lot more convincing. Nice work. 😎 Thanks I agree. They were shiny, but not THAT shiny.And since its aluminum foil the light reacts just right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 Not all the decals wanted to stay stuck. After going back and reapplying decals from my spares and in some cases(most) using Kleer as a gluing agent, I finally got all the decals on and got them to stay stuck.And as a final guarantee a few coats of gloss lacquer to seal everything up. Now just a matter attaching the last of the small pieces and sticking a fork in this build. Touched up around the burner, Added the flaps, Gunsight and a better image of the instrument panel, A little dark wash to bring out the gerar well details, Fuel dumps, Speed brake, Landing and Nav lights And lastly the canopy and windscreen. The canopy I masked off for the while framing the once that dried for a few days, I covered that masking up and applied Alclad II Aluminum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 The final result being... This is my second finished build this year... and it's March. I need to get on the stick and get several more builds finished before they all end and I have a lot of half finished builds on the shelf. This in itself wasn't that bad or hard of a build. I now remember why I hated doing chromed models. I guess it takes doing one every 60 years or so to remind me. Next time, (if there is a next time) I'm stripping all the chrome off before I begin building. Thanks everyone for following along and giving all the comments, compliments and suggestions. They were really appreciated. But stay tuned, I have 3 or is it 4 more to get done before this STGB ends. I'll have the finals up in the gallery shortly. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Nicely done T-Jet in T-Birds colors. Ive not done a display team scheme in 35 years for a reason. I think you can guess what that might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 Thanks Dennis. This is my second Thunderbirds subject. I've got the others sitting in the stash waiting for the appropriate opportunity(Forgetting what a pain doing red, white and blue scallops are) I've done most of the Blue Angels, With those I have the Hellcat, Bearcat, , The BeetleBomb and Fat Albert left to complete that set.The Angels I've done I was going to put in the Navy Inspiration Gallery her in a couple of months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt B Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I like it! Seeing a completed model is giving me motivation to keep hammering mine out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meindert Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Nice model LorenSharp ! I have similar plans but than for a 1/32 F-84G Thunderbirds using the HobbyBoss kit. As I am not aware of any 1/32 decals for this, I did my own decal design. And had them custom printed. If anyone is interested in this sheet look at my webpage here.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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