That looks awesome.

Mike

Nathan T

thanks Gamera. My decal sheet said printed in Mexico. Was yours Cartograph?

 

The sheet I was thinking of was definatly Zotz from Mexico, no issues at all. Though thinking about it yesterday I did use a second sheet from them on a Zero and it silvered badly. No idea why the odd uneven performance of these decal sheets. 

Murph: Ouch that sucks, beautiful model otherwise, hope you get your canopy. 

Nathan T

Thanks for the good replies everyone. Murph, I'd love to see your build. This kit just has such a big presence due to its size. I thought about loading mine up with practice bombs but ANG just didn't hardly carry anything. The main gear did disappoint me but no way was I shelling out 25 bucks for ugly looking metal gear. But like you said the weak point is lack of good attachment, so metal gear wouldn't be the only solution. I for sure thought Hobby Boss should have started out with a 1/48 kit instead of copy and pasting the 1/32 one.

Nathan,

I agree with your observations regarding the landing gear issue.  I was thinking that they overengineered some aspects of the kit so why couldn't they come up with a more solid - or overengineered - main landing gear attachment set up.  Limitations of scaling down the molds, I guess.

Here are a couple of shot of my Thud.  I had a *#@&*#*!!!!! moment with my main canopy and it is now in the garbage can.  Unfortunately HobbyBoss's customer relations on replacement parts is in the can beside the broken canopy.  :(  So until I am able to source a replacement somewhere or somehow, this is how she sits:

As for your Zotz decals, sorry to hear of your trials and tribulations there.  I've only used them once on my 32nd scale F-8 Crusader and had no issues with them.  Perhaps you got a bad sheet?

Anyway, enough about me and back to your build.  Again, your finish is very well done and very realistic.  Great job!

Take care.

Mike

Beautiful job Nathan, well done!

thanks Gamera. My decal sheet said printed in Mexico. Was yours Cartograph?

Not an aircraft you see modeled that often and you did a beautiful job on her Nathan, kudos sir!!!

Though I wonder if you got a bad batch of decals. I've used Zotz decals a few times and had great luck with them. On my air show JSDF air show Phantom there were a few huge, we're talking four inch long and inch high decals and they went down perfectly.

Thanks for the good replies everyone. Murph, I'd love to see your build. This kit just has such a big presence due to its size. I thought about loading mine up with practice bombs but ANG just didn't hardly carry anything. The main gear did disappoint me but no way was I shelling out 25 bucks for ugly looking metal gear. But like you said the weak point is lack of good attachment, so metal gear wouldn't be the only solution. I for sure thought Hobby Boss should have started out with a 1/48 kit instead of copy and pasting the 1/32 one. 

Nathan,

Excellent work on your Thud.  I just finished building the exact same kit out of the box, decals included.  I didn't use the naked lady decal on the top of the nose.  Your results are much better than mine as I don't pre or post shade panel lines and recesses or do much weathering.

I agree with your assessment that this kit is overengineered.  Spoiler flaps on top of the wings and nose gear assembly come to mind, although the nose gear and bay was quite sturdy when completed.  A complete engine that won't be seen unless you display the fuselage halves separate was also another bit of a waste.  I also found the main landing gear mounting tabs pretty flimsy.  I first used Tamiya Extra Thin on the gear legs and in the corresponding mounting holes and they failed.  I ended up using CA glue and accelerator.  Should have done that the fist time.  Kit decals were quite good, surprisingly.  They were thin and reacted well to Solvaset.  I used the CL tank, MER with Mk 82's on the inside and the outer pylons with Bullpups.

Congrats on a terrific build.  You did this kit justice.  Nicely done.

Mike

She's a real beauty! Fine job on the weathering, including the worn paint on the nose of those external tanks very realistic touch.

Nice work 

wing_nut

Pick a place of honor on the shelf for that.  It deserves it.

 

Need a bigger shelf now.

Thanks for the good words everybody. I do see I need to clean up the white sealant lines on the canopy with a brush. Wish me luck

Nathan - 

Outstanding Job! The paint and detail of this aircraft is amazing. Very Cool.

Nathan,

She looks fantastic! Only thing I can see that you could have done better, umm, umm, nothing! Great job!

I like that a lot.

Nicely done, Nathan.

That's a beautiful job. The paint and weathering look just right. You are correct on the "Ultra hog" nickname. "Thud" came about during all the problems they had early on when going into squadron service. "Thud" was the noise when one hot thje ground. There were 3 ways and F-105 could get you. It could bomb you, strafe you or fall on your head. Of course the negativity went away pretty quickly once they started carrying the load going into North Vietnam.

Nice thud.I have one tucked away and the pictures give me inspiration.

Very nice! I love the nose art 

AdeB

Super job mate. Skills indeed

 

Toshi

Thanks a lot guys. GM, ultra Hog as in one of its nicknames, stemming from Republic's F-84 being called the "Hog"... I think I have that right? And yes, a ton of extra details went into it, such as brake lines, canopy details, and angle of attack indicators etc...I'm trying to post the last bit of photos once crap bucket decides to play nice again. 

That is one fine looking build. Very very nicely done, Sir!!

BK

Fine looking aircraft model. In fact interesting, it looks like a much larder scale model. Which suggests real close attention to detail. That's a 6" model for sure.

But, why "hog"?

Thud?

I really like it!  You did a very nice job on her!  Keep up the good work!!!