Hey FSM,
I'm back to share another SoD rescue!
This F-80 was started a while back and shelved after I painted the shark mouth. It didn't come out as sharp as I wanted, so the project stalled. It's interesting how one little thing like touching up paint can cause me to lose motivation on a project. Anyway, after finishing the Jugs and Cobra, bvallot asked about this ol' build. Yes, he called me out and I had to answer the bell. So, I dusted off this kit and got to finishing it.
First thing was first, I touched up the mouth and teeth as well as I could. Not as sharp as I would've liked, but I can live with it. Then I painted the red nose and vents. The NMF is Alclad Aircraft Aluminum over their white primer. Other Alclad shades were used for different panels. The rest of the painting was done with Testors and MM enamels. Weathering is Flory washes and pastels. A TD seat and a set of wheels were also used on this build. Other than that, it's the kit's plastic, rescribed.
The decals are from Aeromaster's "Shooting Stars Over Korea, Pt. 1" sheet. A quick word about the markings. According to my research, FT-798 was with the 8 FBG, 36 FBS in Korea. From what I can tell, it was in-country while the 36 FBS wore the shark's mouth. I couldn't find any evidence that this particular airframe wore the mouth, but as the Mythbusters say, "It is plausible." Eh, even if I'm wrong, I think it looks cool. So, there's that...
Anyway, let's look at the pictures, OK?
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I'm not 100% happy with this build, but I think it's a solid 3-footer. It's bright and colorful, and the shark mouth jumps out at you from my shelf. I think it looks pretty good considering it's an ancient mold.
Anyway, feel free to share your comments and criticisms. Thanks for looking!
Cheers,
-O