The F100 used the P&W J57-P-7 Engine. Maxing at about 17000lbs of thrust. The F104 used GE J79-GE-11A turbo Jet engine, which put out only about 15,800lbs of thrust. But the lesser drag on the aircraft in addition to the difference in weight (Over 7000lbs.) made the F104 seem a lot more powerful, even given it's smaller power plant.
The original F5 series planes used a set of GE J85-GE21 Turbo Jet engines. Each putting out 5000lbs. of thrust for a total of 10,000lbs with slight improvements until the F5E Tiger II. There weren't a lot of major differences between the earlier versions. The F5G also known as the F20 Tigershark, had the F404-GE-100 Turbo Jet Engine which produced a 17,000lbs of thrust and was afterburner capable. It came out a bit late to survive on US sales only. While a great little fighter with some light ground attack capabilities, planes like the F16 and F18 had already made it obsolete when it was designed. The main issue being the small weapons load it was capable of carrying due to it's small light airframe.
I have the canopy hardware installed. Now all I have to do is install the canopy, fill gaps, prime, paint, and decal. The landing gear bays on this one are not really accurate, so I am considering doing it wheels up...
I've been a busy bee this last weekend. My Sister in law is having a baby, and Deb and her mom held her baby shower Sunday. So I got a lot of quality time with my Daughter and I have started teaching her to airbrush. She is picking it up faster than I did. lol I may let her have a crack at the paint on this one. My one peeve with this kit is that it is molded in that dark OD green you see in the images. But the paint needs to be Red and White. So I will probably end up doing two thin primer coats.
I don't know what the deal is on eBay these last couple of weeks. All of the F5 kits are going for quite a bit, even the R/M ones.. lol
Bockscar:
Sparrowhyperion:
The Starfighter was a slightly older design. The F-20 was a response to the US Air Force who had not purchased many of the F5 series due to what they thought were underpowered engines, despite the fact that as a pure fighter/interceptor, it could outperform almost every other comparable aircraft they threw up against it. The F5 was designed after pilots extolled the maneuverability and speed of the little T-38 Talon trainer. The F5 all the way up to the E model sold mostly to buyers outside the US. The F20 was simply an F5E, with better avionics, a slightly heavier capacity, and the same engine as an F16 stuck in the rear instead of the smaller twin engines.
I'm still waiting for the Primer to arrive, so paint on the Sabre is still on hold. I may be able to get some primer on this bird tomorrow if gap filling doesn't take too long.
I'm going to have to pick up an F5 and a T38 some time in the future so I have a complete set. lol..
Rich
Bockscar:
Rich;
The Tigershark reminds me of the Starfighter, almost like the next design evolution.
Looks great........how's the painting going......?
Gosh Rich, imagine an F-104 with an F100 plant???....lol...
Thanks for the info on TigerShark, one sweet bird awrite!
Yeah, I won my first art contest in 1967, I had bought a Freedom Fighter, and glued the two fuselage halves
onto a big collage. I got sent to the Ontario Finals.......never made a dime.......lol.....
Found my Testors Freedom Fighter......yeah...need the Talon and the Tiger.......