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Robert Royes
248 articles

F-105B Thunderchief, New Jersey Air National Guard 1965, Hasegawa 1/72.

August 10, 2019 · in Aviation · · 11 · 2.5K

Another moldy oldie, Originally I wanted to use the kit decals of 4th TFW, but they were mostly unusable. I decided to do an early NJANG pre SEA scheme. Besides spare decals I also used home made decals for the tail number for aircraft 75783 ,currently in storage at the Cradle of Aviation Museum L.I. N.Y. It began life with the 335TFS,4TFW, around 1965 it was transferred to the NJANG, until 1981. I'm not sure when the museum acquired it, but it was on display out side in the SEA scheme until that it was determined that because of the faded condition of the paint it would be refurbished, and it would represent the 4TFW scheme. Do to lack of space in the main museum it's currently housed in the restoration hanger. The photo of 783 in SEA camo dates to 1975, the hanger shot is current.

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

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11 responses

  1. Great lookin' Thud, Robert!

  2. If I recall correctly (and that's always questionable), a 72nd F-105 was my first airplane model I built - I think it was a Monogram kit. Always liked that jet. 🙂

  3. I Like this one ! You did a fantastic job with it. Looks great.

  4. Well done Robert, once worked with a Thud pilot that flew them in Viet Nam. Called it the triple threat, it would bomb you, strafe you then fall on you.

  5. Kit looks great. I know there are several newer models of this plane out, but I still find myself building a lot of older Hasegawa, Tamiya, Revell, and Monogram. You really can't go wrong. Really looks cool sitting there, doesn't it?

  6. When I was 16 in 1980, I was out practicing maneuvers in a Piper Cherokee 140 when a pair of NJANG 105B’s passed underneath me. I was at about 2,500 ft, they were maybe 800 ft over the farm fields of Southern Delaware. I can still see the lead pilot looking up at me as they made me feel like I was standing still!

  7. Looks good Robert, nice clean silver, well done.

  8. They all said it! - GR8 replica of the mighty Thud!

  9. Nice work, Robert. Those ANG Thuds are interesting subjects. I’ve seen a couple photos of those NJ “B” models late in their careers with some odd paint on them. It looked as if a dark gray had been used to touch up worn areas. I wish I knew where those pics were.

  10. My favorite scheme on a Thud - well done!

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