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Manuel Magrinho
66 articles

1953 F-84G Thunderbird – HobbyBoss 1/72

December 6, 2018 · in Aviation · · 25 · 2.4K
This article is part of a series:
  1. 1953 F-84G Thunderbird – HobbyBoss 1/72
  2. 1967 Thunderbirds F-100D Super Sabre – Italeri 1/72
  3. 1980’s F-16A Thunderbird; Hasegawa 1/72
  4. 1969 F-4E Phantom II Thunderbird; Hasegawa 1/72

Hello fellow modellers,

This is the first of a theme that I plan to build: teams.
Being one of the most emblematics, I had to begin with the Tunderbirds and their first plane.
The kit is from HobbyBoss at 1:72 scale and it's almost OOB. The fit is very good, nice decals, a good kit overall. The only issue is the closed canopy that I had to cut, but no big deal.
The instructions, however, had an error that can fool the beginner: they depicted this aerobatic version fully armed... but, well, this version and those decals are not for beginners...

Hope you like as much as I enjoied building it.

UPDATE:
Being an important issue on this model, the decals need one or two more words:
1 - Be careful with the tail. The decals should be placed before the horizontal stabilizers, or you'll have to cut them. (that's what I did, no big deal)
2 - They went well except for the tanks. The decals are curved but not perfect. Microsol or other liquid should be used (a lot). After that I still add some wrinkles which I coated with two coats of varnish and then carefully sanded. Some areas were then painted (had to mix paint to the exact tone).

Cheers,
Manuel

Reader reactions:
6  Awesome

7 additional images. Click to enlarge.


25 responses

  1. Manuel, this is utterly beautiful. The NMF and general paintwork are superb. A very high level of modeling skill.

    ‘Liked’

  2. Really gorgeous. Five stars!

  3. Outstanding work...thought for sure it was 48th scale at first!

  4. I was building exactly the dame kit and markings several years ago. And I’ve had a lot of issues with decals, as I remember, but anyway... Your ThunderJet looks beautiful, and opened canopy adds some freshness to the build. Good work!

  5. An excellent build ! Nice photos.

  6. Very nice work, I have done this in 1/48 and the decals were difficult there, I can imagine how they were in 1/72. A beautiful result.

    In 1954, the last year the Thunderbirds flew F-84Gs and the Blue Angels flew F9F-5s, I saw both teams, the Birds at Lowry AFB and the Angels at NAS Buckley Field (now ANG base the past 60 years) in the same year. Also saw the Thunderbirds in F-84Fs in 1957 at the opening of the Air Force Academy in its temporary quarters at Lowry, didn't know till a few years ago that I was watching the legendary Jack Broughton ("Thud Ridge") leading them that day.

  7. Looks good Manuel, I have the Tamiya kit to use these decals on !

  8. great job ob a tough scheme

  9. remarkable little jet model...stunning in fact! Looks larger then 1/72 b/c you captured details and overall look so well!

  10. Lovely jet & superb build! Is the NMF Alclad?

  11. That's really a beauty! Excellent work all the way around. Well done.

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