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bob mack
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Tamiya 1/48 F-84G Thunderbird “Four Queens”

December 31, 2018 · in Aviation · · 35 · 2.5K

Taegu AFB South Korea 1952

the little round hole was an access cover so ground crew could get to the electronics below the canopy

pilot is Col. Joe Davis Jr.

58th Bomb Wing

the white canopy frames were not individual windows...the frames were a fiberglass bakelite reinforcement frame glued to the inside of a blown canopy...canopies were blowing off due to pressure differences between the inside and outside pressures

although no match for the Mig 15 in a dogfight the F84 along with the and the AD made a superb pinpoint bombing platform

this was the first aircraft chosen by the elite aerobatic team "The Thunderbirds"...perhaps they were named after the aircraft

i used the kit decals...they worked fine you just have to soak them about 15 minutes and use Mr. softener on Asian decals...Microset on European and U.S. made decals IMHO

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

35 responses

    • oh thank you Gary you are really awesome

      • Wanted to add these earlier but didn't have access to my pics from my visit to the USAF in Dayton in November.

        2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  1. Absolutely Gorgeous! Great paint job and so so colorful!

  2. Nice-lookin' build, Mr. Mack...very nice indeed.

  3. This plane and George Laven's F-100 and F-104 represent everything I like best about 1950's USAF!

    • oh Josh...i do sooo love Lavins "hun"...i'll have to look up his f-104...cutting edge released a sheet about 20 years ago...wish i had a way-back machine

  4. Ooooooh. THIS is special. Thanks for sharing, Bob. A delight to see.

    ‘Liked’

    • thank you so much David...when you posted your article on the USS Essex a couple days ago i had just received my trumpeter 1/350 USS Essex the day before...you put a genuine smile on my face

      • Ah, Bob. I’m itching to do another carrier. I figure I learned a lot on a steep curve with the Enterprise this year and that 1/200 Hornet (I’m guessing you’ve seen it...) is stuck in my brain like a colonic parasite.

        Thanks for supporting the series, Bob. Hope you have a great 2019.

        @p38j

  5. Beautifully done!

  6. Great build and a lovely colorful finish. What did you use for the NMF? It makes me want to drag out an F-84 from the stash!

    • thank you very much Colin...i used the new Vallejo acrylic metal with no primer, with a future overspray...it really has to be misted on easy...i wanted to mask off dissimilar panels but it wasn't impervious to masking so i backed off but the sheen is gorgeous...i started out with the black primer but it orange peeled as i had no thinner so i removed it with mr color leveling thinner...i imagine that or lacquer thinner would cut it but the silver needed no cutting

  7. Bob, this is a great F-84. I like all the versions, but these straight winged models are very handsome.

    Well done!
    Oh - and your photos are excellent!

  8. bien terminado y pintado Bob

  9. Very nice build. The Thunderbirds inherited their aircraft from their predecessor team, the Skyblazers, which originally had flown F-80s. It is still possible that the T-birds' name was derived from this aircraft, although I believe the T-bird pilots hated it, as did almost all who flew the "Repulsive Blunderjet." You made a fine job of it!

    • yeah but you've got to remember it's pretty much all the Western democracies had until the Sabre and that even came up short compared to the Mig 15...when the f-84 got better engines it improved but it seems like the Soviets must have gotten better German scientists and aircraft designers than the west...very cool history lesson there on the Skyblazers and i appreciate the compliment

  10. Just beautiful! A great looking Republic Thud craft. Nice explanation on those canopy frames.

  11. This is a great looking plane ! I especially like how you captured the look of the bare metal finish.

    My Dad had a friend named Mike Rebo who flew these in the Korean War. Sadly he was shot down and killed by a Russian Ace flying a North Korean Mig 15. He was listed for many years as MIA.

    His body was recently repatriated and returned to the US after a DNA sample was provided by his family. I plan on building up one of these very soon.

    I hope that mine turns out half as nice as yours.

    Happy New Year.

    "liked"

  12. Excellent job on the F-84 Bob. It appears you used all the stickers provided in the kit. That's what took most of my time with my Revell F-84, all those decals! However, it just doesn't look the same with out them. Splendid looking model.

  13. thank you Tom for the wonderful comments...the nomenclature stencils are well worth the couple days work...very rewarding...as my German teacher used to say in high school kleider machen lauter/ clothes make people

  14. Nice work, Bob!

  15. An excellent build Bob - love everything about it - the NMF, the colorful scheme - just a stellar build. And thanks for the info in the canopy framing - I may have missed that prior to building mine!

    • thank you very much for the compliment Greg...i thought a great deal about you when i was building this...yours may be correct...a lot of the f-84 e's didn't have the correction and i think don't quote me but many may have been done in the field but i'm not sure...it seems to be very hard to get technical info on the Korean war...here's a photo showing it is inside the glass...of course i painted it on the outside...some called the access plug a blow out plug but i was on a blog that got a hold of a ground crewman from that time that definitely said it was an access plug...i don't think these came off easy like the Mustang because of the pressure problem and you had to get to that stuff sometimes

      1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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