USAF Thunderbird Aircraft |
F-84F, F-105B, T-38 & F-16 |
|
Gallery
Article by Darren Roberts |
|
|
When I was asked
to build a collection of Thunderbird aircraft in 1/48 scale for a local
museum, I wasn't quite sure I could do it. But, I've never been one to shy
away from something different, so I took on the task. Some kits, such as the
F-16, F-100, F-4, and F-84G were pretty easy to find markings for. Then there
were the others!
For the F-84F
above, I started with the Monogram kit and built it OOB. The challenge
was in the markings. I masked and sprayed all the scallops and used bits
and pieces from my decals spare box and other T'bird markings to finish
it off. I ended up using a set of stars from Superscale, which worked
out rather nicely. I used SnJ for the natural metal.
The
F-105B started out life as a Monogram F-105D. I modified the radome of an
F-15 Eagle and grafted it (with lots of filler!) to the fuselage of the
F-105. I reshaped the tail
and
sanded off the raised area where the cooling vents usually go. Of
course, now there's a conversion for all of this! All the scallops were
masked off and sprayed, including the bird on the bottom. Again, SnJ was
used for the natural metal and decals were scraped together from spares.
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
The T-38 is
Fujimi's kit (actually 1/50) with a whole bunch of Monogram F-5F parts
crammed in and made (and I mean MADE) to fit. The blue in the decal set
was a bit too black and the red a bit too maroon, so I ended up masking
and spraying those. At least I didn't have to scrounge through my spare
decals this time.