professordeath

Gary, I have to concur with the other comments regarding the cockpit work. You've done a fantastic job. I noticed what looks to be an oxygen hose. If so, how did you make that or is it a kit or AM part?

Thanks professor!  That hose is a piece of copper wire, wrapped with a somewhat smaller diameter copper wire.  After I compressed the "coils" of the smaller wire, I coated the entire section with super glue this time.  In the past, I've coated the wire with white glue.  I can't see much difference in the two frankly.  Of course, final step is painting it.  I toyed with the idea of crafting a mask for the hose but I wasn't sure of the details, and I was really ready to finish the cockpit.  In the end, I left the bare end of the copper showing.  Thanks for the compliment.

Gary

jschlechty

Fantastic looking build!  I know you said the seat belts were PE, what about the rest of the cockpit? Is that detail the kit, or PE.  Either way, it looks awesome!

Thank you very much!  The seat belts are the only PE in the cockpit.  I scratched the oxygen hose and added a few bits of copper wire and stretched sprue.  There is a piece of aluminum tubing that transverses the cockpit just ahead of the seat.  That replaced some molded in detail.  Man, I'm really glad you liked the 'pit.   Since I decided to go with the PE harnesses, I did try to spend a little more time on the "office".  Thanks again!

Gary

Fantastic looking build!  I know you said the seat belts were PE, what about the rest of the cockpit? Is that detail the kit, or PE.  Either way, it looks awesome!

Thanks stik!  Yes, that PE harness is Eduard's set for the F104G.  I thought they would be close enough for government work.  I guess they'll do.  Anything to watch out for?  Well, you see those canopy locks?  They are part of the two support arms that hold up the canopy.  Dude, I had a hard time getting those glued to the insides of the canopy.  Several aborted attempts at that.  If I had it to build again, I'd try some two-part epoxy maybe.  Because they have such a tenuous purchase on that canopy, when I installed the canopy, I was afraid to push those two arms further aft, where they really should be.  I just couldn't face dealing with them again if they broke loose.  So, the canopy and the four (4!) parts needed to install it, can be a pain in the rear.  In fact, the canopy and it's assorted parts is not glued in place.  It's jsut sitting there, looking pretty.  The rear support for the canopy should be closer to vertical than it is here.  I think the hydrauilcs on my plane have a slow leak, allowing the canopy to lower a bit.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

You'll need some weight up front of course.  There is an ideal space on top of the intake splitter.  I epoxied a 150 gr. 7.62x51 (.308) bullet there.  It fit like it was made for the space.  Hmmm, might be too heavy now thinks me, so I added a metal pin in the front gear, above the wheel.  Oh, one more thing.  The rear horizontal "planes don't have much area to glue to the vertical stab.  I worked on their fit, getting them a bit closer and sort of sweated their attachment too.  It's a grand old Monogram kit, with beautiful detail and even though it has (gasp!!) raised panel lines, it can be made to work.  Stik, if I think of any other problem areas I'll get back in touch.  Thanks again for your comments!

Gary

Tex, she is beautiful!   Especially that cockpit and bang seat!  Is the PE harness part of a set for the Hog or is it a generic set? I also spy some canopy locks and other goodies... I have this kit in my stash although I am torn as to what scheme to do. It'll be NMF probably but... there is a Hollywood scheme I just may do... Anything to watch out for on this build?

Thank you sir!  Not too bad for an old guy I guess.  Lol, as I buy more and better kits (finally!), my eyesight gets worse and I lose more feeling in my fingers.    Arrggghhh...whoever said getting older wasn't for sissies, sure knew what they were talking' about.   I'm glad you enjoyed this build!

Gary

Wow nice job!

Borg R3-MC0

I like the overal build and think the seat looks very good. Are those PE seatbelts?

Thanks Borg!  Yeah, the belts are painted PE from Eduard.  Man, they've got some kind of detail don't they? Right down to the stitching on them.  I could never paint anything like that!

Gary

I like the overal build and think the seat looks very good. Are those PE seatbelts?

Thanks Gamera!  That camo job gave me fits.  I tried a card stock mask at first.  I've had good luck doing that with German splinter patterns, but this time I had too much overspray going under the mask.  That meant doing it freehand.  It did require quite a bit of repainting and touching up to get what you see.  There are many flaws but uh, "skillful" photography somehow kept them more out of sight!   I do certainly appreciate your comments!

Gary

Really nice work there Gary, love the camo!

Wow, thanks for the great comments!  I've had the F-84F in my stash since the late '80s, it was about time that I got around to building her.  I think she turned out okay; I've still got a long way to go in some areas, but you know what?  It always feels good to finish another one and stand back to enjoy that.  Thanks my friends!

Gary

Wonderful job; it actually looks better than the real thing in Doog’s picture!

Wow! Really excellent work. I love that kit...lots of detail right in the box. I built the older boxing...NMF "Bushmaster"...carrying a nuke....picked it up to look at it and the nose gear fell off...lol....

Outstanding work Gary! There was one of these parked outside the Airman history museum on Lackland AFB that I should have taken pics of.

Very nice job, Gary! Actually saw one of these in the flesh about a month ago - same camo scheme, too!

Got one in my stash...not sure when I'll get around to it though...

Thank you both!  I really appreciate it, your comments mean a lot to me.  Thanks again.

Gary

Super sweet!

Wow.  That's sharp!  Great paint and detail work.  

-O