Thunderstreak F-84F 1/48
The kit is the Kinetic 1/48 with correct nose (Quickboost). I prefered to built a metal finish F-84. Maybe i should have read before the relevant note of Tom Cleaver on "modellingmadness.com" : « The plastic surface is very slightly pebbly, just sufficient to be very noticeable under a metal paint finish».
So the look is a bit dull, but i think it's not a real problem when I look at vintage photos of the weathered aircraft.
In August 1955 the first Belgian Thunderstreak was delivered to N° 3 Squadron of the 2nd Wing based at Florennes. Towards the end of the same month two Belgian pilots had the honour to break the sound-barrier, something which made it on the front cover of all national newspapers. In the hands of pilots such as Marette and Dupont, Belgian Thunderstreaks executed fascinating solo displays all over Europe.
The elegant Thunderstreak remained in service with the Belgian Air Force until May 1972 when the last operational aircraft was flown into storage at Koksijde airbase.
The Thunderstreak suffered from the same problem of poor take-off performance as the straight-wing Thunderjet, even with a more powerful engine. On a hot day, 2,285 m of runway was needed for a take-off run. However, like its predecessor (the Thunderjet), the Thunderstreak excelled in cruising flight and had predictable maneuverability characteristics when it remained within its planned flight envelope.
Nice one. Like the early jets in NMF. Any load for the outer pylons?
Thank you Stellan.
On most photos I have, no charge on the outside pylons, neither bomb, rocket nor additional tank on the belgian aircraft.
Beautiful bird, Christian - like that shot with the shadow on the wall, very arty. Lovely finish and shading. ‘Like’ this a lot!
Shadow on the wall : by chance, I passed by the kit on the table at sunset and I saw that. Many thanks David.
A beautiful accident then; the best kind. I tend to just have accidents...
Only such accidents, It would be wonderful... Especially in kits building !
Beautifully done, Christian! I really like your NMF finish and the way you loaded the aircraft with fuel tanks. What few real F84s I've seen had only auxiliary tanks - the same 2 you've portrayed.
Ok, thanks Jeff !
Very well done, beautiful model!
Many thanks Allon.
Looks great, but I am biased! I've always preferred the lines of the Thunderstreak over the Sabre. (Especially if the F-84 wasn't carrying any stores.) I do like the Kinetic kit in that it provides a gun bay, but I will probably build mine as a camo ANG bird as like you say the surface in not friendly to NMF. Unfortunately the TanModel RF-84 is the same way and I do intend to try and make it shiny. The Monogram and Heller releases however have the nice polished molds to make doing a NMF a treat though. Is the Belgian bird in the photo the one your kit is modeled after? It's always neat to see a photo of the real life subject! Great job on your Thunderstreak!
Yes Josh, my model is the Belgian aircraft 3R-B on the photo : "3R" means it was based in Florennes (1st squadron, 2d Wing).
Like you, i like very much the "Streak", despite the fact it was not a super jet, i find it elegant with something "vintage".
My next kit is precisely the RF-84 Thunderflah from Tanmodel and i'll paint it Nato. However, on my opinion, Tanmodel molds are much more smooth than Kinetic, even it's not perfect.
Thank you for comment Josh.
Very nice NMF and a beautiful Thunderstreak!
Thanks Pedro !
Outstanding finish/weathering/detail and overall NMF - one of the better ones I've seen.
Waw thanks Craig !
Beautiful build! The NMF and the whole presentation is simply stunning!
Many thanks, Gábor, very happy you find it stunning.
Super build Christian love the NMF finish!
Here is one in the NATO scheme.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Ah thank you David ! i guess it's in Brussel Museum. Above the "streak" is a Thunderflash in Nato scheme, i'm going to build this kit in next weeks (Tanmodel). In fact, it will be FR-27 , it stands now as Monument at Spa-La Sauvenière airfield in Spa (Belgium).
Recently, i had the opportunety to take some pictures of this poor old RF-84...
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Absolutely Christian, we were in Brussels for a trip in February and went for a visit enjoyed Brussels and the Museum immensely.
You make me want to visit it again ...
Christian, Your NMF looks really good, it has that shinny finish with a hint of dull to it, that keeps it from looking like a trophy (hope that makes sense !), and I like the Belgium scheme. Well done !
Well, i always try to present "natural" models and your comment raises the doubts that one always has by proposing a painting.
Many thanks Terry.
That's a super model - love everything about it. Great NMF, and I do prefer the dull finish to the high-polished look. Love the Belgian colors also - really stand out nicely on NMF. Great work!
No doubt, everybody agree to the NMF : glad.
Thank you Greg.
Great job on the finish
Thank you so much George.
Yes, everyone should always check TC's reviews to find out where the minefields are. 🙂
This is very nice Christian, and as the one photo of a NMF F-84 shows, you got it right about a duller finish. Aluminum goes dead flat fast under sunlight.
Very good work.
Yes Tom, model building needs to be cautious like in minefields...
So, I'm glad that you approve the NMF look of my Thunderstreak.
A great build ! I like the F-84's design too, the predocessor of the F-105 which followed.
Here in Belgium, we had the F-104 starfighter to replace the F-84, no F-105. I think the "cheaf" engine was twice as powerful as the "streak" 's one.
Great Job Christian, your natural metal finish is excellent.
Thanks for comment Rick.
looks superb
Many thanks Bob.
You knocked this one out of the ball park. Perfect in every way...really sweet. Your NMF work is awesome despite any surface issue. You are correct not to worry about the surface b/c like most well used NMF service aircraft they do not look anything like airshow planes. No mirror finish on most of them. You obtained just the right amount of sheen. I also have the Kinetic F-84F and it has sat in stash for many years. I totally forgot about it until I saw yours. Maybe a future project now but I think I will try the NATO camo on a foreign user like Hellenic AF or something. Great job and thanx for sharing.
Thanks Paul. I'm happy to have bring you the beautiful F-84 back in mind, I hope your NATO camo version will be successful. I see some pictures of the hellenic AF here :
http://www.thunderstreaks.com/f-84f/other-thunderstreaks-aircraft-in-active-service/
One of my all time favourite aircraft which unfortunately I never saw flying. I've built a few and still want to build one more - In the ridiculously bright Belgian very high vis markings.
Inspirational build, Christian, beautifully done, sir.
Thanks Ian.
There are so many planes that we'll not see fliying, so the best consolation is to build kits 😉
Can I ‘like’ this again - it is just a lovely build, Christian.
Thank you !