Republic F-105D Thunderchief - USAF workhorse in Vietnam - Trumpeter 1/72

[Dennis_C]

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is a model I finished in the end of 2023. As sunny spring days started - now it becomes easier to make photosessions so I'll try to catch up with some more models completed in 2023.  

 

 

No surprise - it is a classical Trumpeter 1/72 kit of a venerable USAF aircraft that saw super extensive use in the war in Vietnam - naturally in its classical SEA camo scheme. 

 

 

What I've chosen as a prototype - is a fairly well known F-105D of 354th TFS/355th TFW stationed at Takhli airbase in Thailand in circa 1967. This particular aircraft was decorated with a 'Honeypot II' nick name and had one MiG interception marking. Main duty of 355th Fighter Wing in Vietnam was carrying bombing missions from Thailand to various targets across North Vietnam. Something 355th TFW was doing for five long years between 1966 and 1970. 

 

 

I've long been thinking of more unusual bombload options but after all stopped with a very classical option of 6 mk.82 bombs on the fuselage MER, a Sidewinder on a starboard wing and a jamming pod on the port wing. 

 

 

Trumpeter kit is fairly simple and straightforward if built out of the box. However I did not look for easy paths and brought some aftermarket stuff and scratch built mods. First of all I obtained and used Aires cockpit set. It worked quite finely. It did require cleaning and thinning fuselage sides but at the end sat properly into right place. Cockpit set had enough photoetch parts to get even nicer result with detailed instrument panel, seat harness, etc. Other aftermarket mods included Quickboost afterburner air intakes, ventral fin, coloured wing tips, Master pitot tube, Reskit wheels. All worked finely except for wing tips which turned out to be thinner than the wing and I spent quite a lot of time sanding and puttying the joint line. 

 

 

Hand-made mods included some decorations in main gear bays, new centerline pylon and reinforcement stripes for MER, new pylon for Sidewinder, some minor additions such as internal side of speed brake behind the tail, correct positioning of engine pipe (Trumpeter suggests to put it too deeply), couple of antennae. I used Hasegawa weapon sets to get MER, mk.82 bombs, jamming pod and a Sidewinder. 

 

 

Paints are typical Hobby Color for SEA camo. Brown colour is heavily whitened H310. H303 and H309 for greens. H311 for FS36622. Undercarriage bays are vallejo green zinc chromate. Jamming pod and AIM-9 are painted Vallejo white. Decals are from PrintScale. I was very cautious about using them but in fact they turned out quite okay. Thin, strong - did not break apart. Despite experience of other modellers, they did not tend to wrap around themselves. So I was positively impressed. Printscale set also had necessary stencils so I do not think I used any original Trumpeter decals. Some final touches were made with Tamiya pigments to add a little dirty look especially on the undersides. 

 

 

And some close up photoes:

 

 

Thanks for watching!

 

Kind regards,

Dennis

Edited March 31, 2024 by Dennis_C

[Vultures1]

Very nice Thud, Dennis!

 

Your additions and modifications have made a really positive difference to the Trumpeter kit. I'm glad the decals worked well for you too

 

Chris 

[billn53]

Nicely done! Coincidentally, that’s the same scheme I’m using with my current F-105 build.  

 

 

[Dennis_C]

4 minutes ago, billn53 said:

Coincidentally, that’s the same scheme I’m using with my current F-105 build.

Yeah, this is quite popular scheme. It is in Printscale set and I think it's also present in a new Caracal set. 61-0159 survived the war and has been on display at Davis-Montan AFB. In 2023 it was returned to its original serial number and was repainted with "Honeypot II. Have gun will travel" markings.

https://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=1653

So all this - restoration and new Caracal decal set - will make this scheme even more popular I guess. 

[billn53]

18 minutes ago, Dennis_C said:

Yeah, this is quite popular scheme. It is in Printscale set and I think it's also present in a new Caracal set. 61-0159 survived the war and has been on display at Davis-Montan AFB. In 2023 it was returned to its original serial number and was repainted with "Honeypot II. Have gun will travel" markings.

https://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=1653

So all this - restoration and new Caracal decal set - will make this scheme even more popular I guess. 

 

Also the set by Uprise Decals, which is what I will be using.

 

 

 

[Dennis_C]

6 hours ago, billn53 said:

 

Also the set by Uprise Decals, which is what I will be using.

 

 

 

61-0069 seems to be on every Thud decal sheet 

 

EDIT: hold on. Sorry. It's Cherry Lady, not Pussy Galore. Well this one is not so super popular

Edited March 31, 2024 by Dennis_C

[flyboy2610]

I've always liked the Thud! There is one mounted on a pylon at the Ashland exit along I-80 between here and Omaha.

 

 

I need to get back up to the SAC museum one 'a these days! They have a lot of historic planes!

[one72]

The Thud is my favourite Vietnam conflict aircraft. It’s always a treat to see a well built and presented Thunderchief adorn the pages of this forum. Very well done!

[Eric Mc]

That is a cracking looking F-105D. I had a go at the Hasegawa one but it lacks the vent slits in the nose which are so prominent on the real thing.

 

I might search out the Trumpeter one now as it looks really good.

[bigbadbadge]

Great work onvthis one Dennis, looks fantastic.

Chris

[Dennis_C]

52 minutes ago, Eric Mc said:

I had a go at the Hasegawa one but it lacks the vent slits in the nose which are so prominent on the real thing.

Thank you for comment! Is Hasegawa originates to the times when my 61-0159 was still stationed in Thailand and flew bombing sorties? Scalemates say 1966!!! I suspect in that case the kit lacks a little more than just vent slots

[Eric Mc]

I'm sure it's not perfect but those vents are so obvious that I can't finish my Hasegawa build until I find some way of depicting them. I decal would do, to be honest.

[Parabat]

Very nicely done, impressive model.

[2lefthands]

Very, very beautiful model!

[VT Red Sox Fan]

Wow, just seeing this and I must say this is one good looking Thud—even if I caught it months after it was posted—well done!  Best, Erwin

[Knight_Flyer]

Very sharp looking build. I actually like using Printscale decals because they're thin. They can tend to wrap or fold in, however I can most times able to salvage them with re assembly.

 

There is one story I heard about a Thud mission and been meaning to verify if it's genuine. Apparently one pilot did the usual procedure of jettisoning tanks and bomb racks when pursued by a MiG. Said bomb rack then hit the MiG as the pilot flew into it.

 

 

[Dennis_C]

30 minutes ago, Knight_Flyer said:

There is one story I heard about a Thud mission and been meaning to verify if it's genuine. Apparently one pilot did the usual procedure of jettisoning tanks and bomb racks when pursued by a MiG. Said bomb rack then hit the MiG as the pilot flew into it.

Huh! Well - in theory that is possible. And that MER rack is a massive device I should say.