Thunderbird Support: The 1950's

by Dan Hamilton

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History 

From their first demonstration flight in 1953, the United States Air Force Thunderbirds have impressed crowds around the world with their fighter jet formation flying.  Understandably then, the demonstration flight aircraft get all the glory from modeling companies and modelers.  However, unlike Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movies, the stars need help to “put on a show.”  Not only do the T-birds need their support crew, tools and parts to be waiting for them at each stop, but to further their promotional mission the public relations officer needs something to drum up interest in the local press and therefore something in which to give rides to local media and VIPs.  The first aircraft used by the team spokesman was a T-33A which allowed a passenger to be taken aloft and was painted in similar scheme as the demonstration planes.  As for the behind the scenes work, in 1955 the Thunderbirds began using a dedicated C-119F “flying boxcar” as their support craft until 1958.  It appears to have been their first support craft also to be painted in the team’s red/white/blue stars and scallops paint scheme.  Also, at least at some point in 1955, the Thunderbirds’ demonstration pilots lined up their F-84G’s in the background and had their pictures taken next to a line of Ford Thunderbird for each pilot. 

Sixty years later the public relations officer flies a two seat F-16D similar to the single seat F-16 flown by the demonstration team and the support craft is a non-descript C-141 Star Lifter.  Harken back with us now to yesteryear when things were different in the fifties.  Those specialized aircraft may be less well known but are just as impressive and just as deserving of a modeler’s attention.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

Construction 

As to the Thunderbird’s C-119, they used an “F” version but the only kits I could find were made by Italeri and were either the “C” or “G.”  A lucky email conversation with a gracious authority on C-119s -- Chuck Lunsford author of "Departure Message" & "Boxcar Down" – confirmed the “F” was like the “G,” just with different antennae and direction finder.  So it was the “G” model with few modifications would do.  The Italari kit has a beautiful flight and cargo deck.  However, the former is next to invisible when the halves are glued together and the later requires a flashlight to even partially appreciate even with the clam shell doors open.  There are major seams in the wings that require major filling – not my strong suit most of the time.  Otherwise, the kit is fun to put together and, in any case, really your only choice if interested in a C-119. 

The T-33 came as part of Hasegawa’s “Thunderbird History Set” – presumably because they did not make an F-84f or F-84g to complete the set and needed a substitute.  It is pretty straightforward kit but with little cockpit detail.  The only 1/72 scale Ford T-bird I could find was made by Glencoe Models and came as part of a “Classic Roadsters” combo set accompanying a MGTD.  The kit is even more basic, as you might expect, but with an inexcusably colored plastic windshield!  I used it only as a template for a piece of clear plastic that I had cut from a package and used as a substitute.

Painting and Decals 

There were so many embarrassing disasters with the paint job of the C-119 that I’ve repressed most of them (flashback example: with paint completed and decals affixed I started to spray what I thought was a final gloss clear coat but which I quickly realized upon application instead was gloss WHITE paint!!  Ok, its time to admit my wife is right and my 49 year old eyes may, just may need bifocals.  I use a magnifying head set when painting details, but I didn’t think I needed them on when I grabbed the paint can!)  The decals of course were a problem.  However, a great set of T-bird C-119 drawings from “Scale Aircraft Modelling” magazine allowed me to scan in the images, enlarge them and make almost passable decals for the stars and scallops for the tail surfaces.  Otherwise, the drawing guided my hand painting of the scallops on the nose and engine cowlings because I’m just not good enough at spray painting  (I’m not good enough at hand painting either, but at least it works from a distance). 

The T-33 decals that came with the kit appeared from the directions (they were in Japanese of course) to be for a 1957 version of the jet and were not consistent with either the drawings from “Scale Aircraft Modelling” or photographs from my official Thunderbird resource “We Rode The Thunder.”  Since I wanted the plane to be during the time period of the C-119 and the Ford picture taken in 1955, I used the magazine drawings as my guide and combined the Hasegawa’s decals with decals (old and dissolving) from an old set of Micro/Superscale #72-133 I had tracked down on ebay. 

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

Conclusion 

Despite all my self-created frustration, this was a fun follow up project to my build of all the Thunderbird demonstration team planes.  http://www.arcair.com/Fea2/1001-1100/Fea1013_Thunderbirds_Hamilton/00.shtm

Maybe somtime in the future, I’ll build the Blue Angels’ Public Information Officer’s TV-2 and its Support Crew’s Constellation with their easy one color Blue Angel Blue!   

Resources 

  • Bob Gore & Carol Knotts, We Rode the Thunder: The Autobiography of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds (2003) 

  • “Scale Aircraft Modelling”  Vol. 28 no. 9 (November 2006)

Dan

  

  

  

Photos and text © by Dan Hamilton