Trump F-105D Finished

MusicCity wrote:

Thanks guys.  Once again, I appreciate it very much. Bill, I've been waiting to get it done for a long time to ;)  It was just plain a lot of work because of the quantity of parts in the kit and all the aftermarket stuff that was used.  The "Construction Notes" at This Link give an idea of some of what was involved.  Glad you like it, but I still disagree with your assessment.

Beautiful Build considering how much work has to be done to the original kit. 

I'm a big fan of Republic Aviation.  I built a Monogram F-105 kit for a friend of mine who flew the "THUD" out of Tahkli, RTAB.  He didn't fly up North as the Phantoms had pretty much taken over that roll by the time my friend arrived but he did fly "in-country", over Cambodia and Laos.  The model sits in his law office in Clearwater, FL.  I've some great copies of the pictures he took and my favorites are of his "THUD" carrying some 3000 lbs bombs.   

The one thing both he and the other pilot he shared his "THUD" with said was it was a beautiful model but lacked one thing.  It was too clear.  Both stated that the F-105 was the dirtiest airplane either ever flew.  Oil, hydralic, and fuel leaks and spills coupled with wind blown sand and dirty and the residue of the black powder cartidge start system made the aircraft a mess.  That and being out in the SE Asia weather really dulled her down.

Again, GREAT MODEL OF A GREAT AIRPLANE!

Cheers,

leadsled757(aka thudfan!) 

Well I did not have to wait until I got back.  GoToMyPC is an amazing program.  I just looked at the build on my PC at home...450 miles away.  I wonder why I can't see it from here htough... I can see everything else

So now I can say...GREAT JOB

Thanks guys.  Once again, I appreciate it very much.

Bill, I've been waiting to get it done for a long time to ;)  It was just plain a lot of work because of the quantity of parts in the kit and all the aftermarket stuff that was used.  The "Construction Notes" at This Link give an idea of some of what was involved.  Glad you like it, but I still disagree with your assessment.

From time to time, life gets in the way of modeling. However, your work looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Andy

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments very much.

It did take a long time to build, 7 months from start to finish, but a lot of that was because I had some issues I had to deal with and just couldn't focus on a model.  The kit itself goes together quite well and isn't that difficult to build.  The owner had purchased a ton of aftermarket goodies for it (about 12 different PE and resin sets) that took a good bit of time as well.  The cockpit itself took a lot of time to complete because it was pretty difficult.  As I mentioned, it's all resin and photoetch and if I counted right there are about 120 pieces in the pit alone.

Mitch, you've put me in some pretty illustrious company that I don't deserve ;)  I am heading into your era though since the next one will be either an F-15C that I started last year or an F-15E that will be built as an Israeli F-15I Ra'am.  I might get around to doing a Tomcat one of these days.

Mark, I think he was pleased.  I've badgered him to pieces with endless questions over the past 7 months so I know I got most of the details to his specification.  I sprayed color swatches and sent to him prior to painting anything and got his approval.  We adjusted the bottom color a lot until I got it where he wanted it.  The decals were custom-printed and reflect "His" airplane name and tail number.  The ordnance loadout is what he said he typically carried on a mission, and so on.  All in all it should be real close to being what he wanted.

I didn't realize it until he picked it up, but he has spent over 2 years on this project.  He has already had one built and didn't like the end result, so mine is actually the second one he's been through.  I think he got what he wanted this time though because he said it was going home, into a display case, and never get moved again.

I had a blast building it, and it was great meeting a real live fighter pilot.  Glad you guys like it and I appreciate the comments.

Beautiful work, Scott!  I'm sure 'her' pilot was immensely pleased with the end result.

Mark

Scott, an absolutely stunning build.  You, Swanny and Pix produce some of the best work I've seen (OK, there's that guy in Paris who did the F-18 diorama...).  Can't wait to see your next project.  I wonder when an F-14 will make it's way onto your bench?  And knowing you, it'll be REALLY DIRTY!  Ha ha.

Mitch

Scott,

It's all  been said already, but I'm impressed. Congratulations. Outstanding build.

Steve

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the comments.  The pit is all aftermarket.  The seat was made by Legend Dimensions and the rest is mostly a color photoetch set from Eduard.  I admit I did spend a ton of time on the cockpit and was pretty pleased with the results.

Philo426, the landing gear is metal.  The nose gear is from Aeroclub and the main gear is from Scale Aircraft Conversions.  The main gear set, for some reason, doesn't include the nose gear whereas the set from Aeroclub does.  The owner provided the Scale Aircraft Conversions set but I was concerned about the nose gear because I was adding a bunch of weight up there.  I had an Aeroclub set left from my F-105G and I used the nosegear from it.

I think I added about 6 ounces of weight as far forward as I could get it.  The owner purchased a resin fin correction kit and all of the M-117 bombs are resin.  I was concerned about all that weight behind the CG and added a bit more weight than I needed.  Five ounces probably would have been enough, it was slightly nose heavy when finished, but I wanted to be on the safe side.

Mel, I agree to both points.  You should build him a plane and it must be terribly rough to not have them come home from a mission.  I'm sure the pilots and crew chiefs tend to get somewhat attached, and it has to be rough when one doesn't come home.  Build him one, by all means.  If you have questions let me know because I still have an "Expert" I can call on to answer them.  Joe flew virtually every version of the F-105 except for the pre-production model.  He has been an absolute wealth of information on this one and if you have a question I can get you an answer.

Brain44, he wasn't actually a "Customer".  He contacted me and asked if I would be interested in building it.  I told him I would and that if he provided the kit and aftermarket stuff he wanted used that my price would be $0.  I don't build them for profit, only for fun.  He told me that he would not hear of it, and I just said we'd work something out at some point.  He snuck one in on me though.  I mentioned that I wanted to build an F-15E as an Israeli F-15I.  I came home one afternoon and there was a big box on my deck.  It contained a Tamiya F-15E (1/32 scale, of course!), a ton of aftermarket goodies, and three different sets of decals.

Thanks again guys.  I appreciate the comments and I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

Excellent build Scott.  Well done!!

Regards,  Rick

Music,

I check rest of pic's, that is master work done.

Gumiflex