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Marvin Reyes
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Hobby Boss F-84G Thunderjet 1/32nd scale

September 25, 2017 · in Aviation · · 38 · 3.6K

Hi everyone: I managed to finish another kit, this time in 32nd scale (I usually do 1/48th). This is ' F-84G which, except for Eduard seatbelts, and some wire brakelines, is OOB. The decals are kit decals; I know, these markings are done a lot, but I simply had to do this aircraft because it represents the 58 Fighter Bomber Group, that, upon rotating out of Korea, turned over its aircraft to the new kids, the 474 FBG. The colors represent the three group squadrons, yellow, red, and blue. I joined the 474th (relabeled as a tactical fighter wing), and was in the blue squadron, the 428TFS. When I joined the 474TFW in 1969 at Nellis AFB, the three squdrons were still wearing the blue, yellow, and red colors, displayed in chevrons up on the tails of our F-111A. So, you can understand why I used these markings; heritage.

The kit went together very nicely, and very little filler was used.Perhaps, the most difficult part was getting the correct dihedral when attaching the main wings. I shimmed the slot, but still used some superglue to get a quick-setting attachment. After getting the wings on, I was able to properly position the main landing gear, which had to be perpendicular to the ground, not the wing. Again, I used superglue and accelerator to get a quick set.

The model was finished with Alclad II "semi-matt aluminum", followed by a coat of Pledge floor finish (the old Future) as a barrier for Tamiya panel wash. I added the decals, which went on fabulously. For kit decals, the Hobby Boss decals are excellent. I set each decal in a little puddle of Pledge, then used a broad, flat brush to remove excess fluid. During the drying process, the kit decals sucked-down into the panel lines and rivets and came out as you see in the pix. Once dry, I used a 50/50 mix ovr Testors Glosscote and Dullcote to get the final finish, which I determined from period pix was not very shiny.

That's it, another one done, on to the next.

Reader reactions:
16  Awesome

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.


38 responses

  1. Nicely done Marvin, it really looks good. Question, how big is it in 1/32?

  2. Love it! Now I have the inspiration to build mine!

  3. Beautiful job on your plane. Ironically I just picked up the older 1/48 scale Revell F-84E kit about a week ago from an online auction site.

    My Dad had a childhood friend named Michael Rebo, who flew F-84's in Korea and was shot down by a Mig-15 in November of '51. His body was never recovered until recently when some of his remains were repatriated to the US. They obtained DNA from surviving relatives and confirmed it was him. He had been missing for over 60 years.

    Lt. Rebo flew with the 49th FBG in the 9th FBS out of Taegu. His plane was credited to a Russian pilot who was an Ace in WW2. I have managed to locate a set of decals for the Russian flown "North Korean" Mig and plan on building both planes soon.

    Thanks for sharing this with us...

  4. I remember not so long ago I wanted to build a straight wing F-84 and my choices were Frog or Frog. Now we have two nice 1/48 scales and now THIS! I do happen to like these markings and I believe the USAF Museum has one in the same but she's polished pretty. I have a few Hobby Boss kits but have only finished my Yak-38 and I had the same experience with the decals. Nice and thin and snuggled down without a fuss! Do you have any shots of the instrument panel? HB switches between clear panels with film instruments like my Yak or 70's Monogram style molded panels like my An-2. Just wondering what the big G has. Yours turned out spectacular. The chevrons on the leading edge of the vertical meet up nicely!

  5. That right there is a nice lookin' job, my friend...that cockpit is "killer".

  6. Great colourful looking Thunderjet. Very nice modelling.

  7. AWESOME! I have only recently acquired this kit and I must concur with your assessment of this kit. It has very nice details and need very little aftermarket stuff to build into a very nice example of this iconic Korean War fighter-bomber. Your decal work and overall finish of this model is outstanding. well done!

  8. Marvin, this is another fine example of models from Marvin's jet works ! Well done !

  9. Very nice, I like these markings on the tail! Well done!

  10. Nice work, Marvin.

  11. One of my favourite aircraft, and you've done a great job with this one.

  12. I built this kit about five years ago and I agree it is a good kit. I also agree wholeheartedly that you did a top shelf job. Mine didn't get anywhere close.
    I also have been seriously contemplating on building another 84. Either one of the Tamiya ones in 48 or this beastie.
    Again fine finish!

  13. Thanks to all of you for your very warm comments about the F-84G...I appreciate everyone of you, and will post here again. I will also redo some of the pix to show some of the cockpit area. I only have my Samsung phone to take pix, so I'm limited in the photo area. Thanks again!

  14. I think this kit is HB's overall best. You've done beautiful work on this model.

  15. That's a beautiful model, Marvin - all aspects of the finish are superb.

  16. Excellent Thudcraft! I remember doing the old Hawk 1/48 way back and thought that was a big kit.

  17. Excellent work Marvin. Really wonderful. Cockpit looks great and all the panel lines and rivets just give this "real" appearance to the model.

  18. Ohhhhhhh man that is SWEET! I have one I started a couple years back, now I may need to finish it!

  19. Oh so nicely done, absolutely beautiful.

  20. good job great detail and good finish

    REGARDS

  21. Very nicely done. I also love the history part. As a side note, I was a young 1LT in the 428 TFS/474 TFW when we deployed from Nellis to Takhli RTAFB in Jan 73. I had 101 combat missions in the F-111A while there.

    • Tom: Wow! Someone from my old squadron, and aircrew to boot. I probably worked INS/TFR on some of the planes you flew in. While at Nellis, I would see Thud pilots wearing one of the most awesome patches, which read " 100 Missions North Vietnam F-105" I'm sure they made one for the F-111, and you qualified for it. Awesome!

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