1/48 Revell / Monogram F105G of Le Bourget
I've waited twenty years for a better F105G than the Revell/Monogram offering. With each new release came only disappointment. Trumpeter and Hobby Boss kits still have R/M's pointy nose. Added to that those kits have deep panel lines and exaggerated/unrealistic rivets that look more like divots.
Then they topped it off with the WRONG tail. Their kits have a 'D' tail! I'm still bewildered why some manufacturers don't start with what's on the market and research how to make it better. So I dusted off my old R/M F105G.
First fix was the nose. Too pointy. I added two vertical spreaders to the nose to create a curve down to the radome. I cut the area behind the radome to relieve stress caused by the spreaders.
Add putty and sand until you achieve the proper contour. Unfortunately the four antennas and combat camera were lost in the sanding. I replaced them with scrap styrene.
The next thing to go were the oversized cannon vents. On the left I used an Eduard PE vent and made my own for the right side from sheet styrene. After rescribing the whole plane, the hard part was over.
A few other mods I made to my F105G was to drop the leading edge slats, added a splitter to the tail intake and sanded down the underwing reinforcement plates to more accurately represent the actual aircraft.
The Revell/Monogram F105G is far from perfect, but no one has yet to beat it for accuracy.
That's a beautiful-lookin' Thud, Steve...ya dun gud! One doesn't appreciate just how big those things are until ya see it up close. I walked under the wing next to the fuselage and didn't have to stoop (and I'm 6').
Thanks Craig. This is my first article here and I've learned what to do in the future.
Steve your weathering is SUPERB !
A really AWESOME build.
That's a great looking Thud. Thanks for sharing. I have also placed the images inline within text according to your references. Cheers /m
Nice touch...is that something WE can do when posting...?
Editor...Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
Really well weathered Thud Steve. Well done.
Like the way you approached the nose issue. I have spread fuselages in the horizontal before to correct the wing seams but not in the vertical.
Welcome aboard good sir , and a very fine entry you have given us.
Well done sir.
I'm really impressed how you scaled down the weathering, Steve.
Really, really nice, Steve. Impressive paint & finish work, matching the 1x1 very well.
I saw the first pic you have posted and thought that you went beserk on weathering the kit. Until I scrolled down and saw the real aircraft... WOW! IMPRESSIVE JOB! Better than the real thing! WOW!
Thanks to all! My wife asked why I wasn't building a newer, cleaner plane. I answered," they just don't have any character". At sixty-two, I have a lot of character also 🙂
Great model, Steve, the weathering is especially impressive.
Gorgeous Thud Steve, your modifications really capture the look of the '105.
Thanks Rick. I wish Tamiya would do a Thud. That would make the job easier.
Steve,
Excellent work on this. You have done a beautiful 105.