Dennis_C Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 (edited) 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 by Dennis_C 50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 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 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Nicely done! Coincidentally, that’s the same scheme I’m using with my current F-105 build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 (edited) 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 by Dennis_C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy2610 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 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! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one72 Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 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! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Great work onvthis one Dennis, looks fantastic. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Very nicely done, impressive model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2lefthands Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Very, very beautiful model! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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