1/32 Scale Italeri F-104 ASA-M Italian Air Force with real aluminum skin
Hi friends, here is the completed F-104 ASA with real aluminum skin. I am so glad to be done with F-104s for awhile! This kit is my second 1/32 Italeri Starfighter and they are a good kit, but I added a lot of scratchbuilt details, including a scratch built tail section to make it an accurate ASA version. The metal took the most of time to do and it is a pain! I designed custom decals for this kit to make it exactly like the one that my customer flew in Italy. He also told me their planes were famous for being very dirty, and thats the way he wanted it. He supplied lots of pictures and good God their planes are filthy lol!
This kit took around 150 hours or more...I lost count!
34 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Anthony Conway said on June 14, 2020
Very nice job , that is a lot of work but worth it in the end. 👍
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Yes! Thank you very much!
Dan Lee said on June 14, 2020
That is quite a beautiful model. I like how it turned out. Hope your customer will be happy with it.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thanks Dan!
Haslam Yeoman said on June 14, 2020
Great result for all that hard work. That NMF is quite a contrast to the polished to a mirror finish style and is very effective in Moho.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thank you sir!
Stellan Schroeder Englund said on June 14, 2020
What a beaut! Nice to see a NMF being all dirty. You did a very good job on this. The Italians had the good taste to strap some good size missiles to the sleek 104 making it look like a real fighter. Never saw AIM-9 and -7 combo though.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thank you ! The missile combo was a request by the customer who flew that fighter.
Stellan Schroeder Englund said on June 14, 2020
Must be great to have a svale model of a fighter you have flown. I am sure customer looks at it several times a day.
Tom Cleaver said on June 14, 2020
I take it we can now unlock the door to the padded cell? You'll be on good behavior, yes? 🙂
Not something I would ever attempt, but major props to you for not only attempting but achieving. Great work.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
If I never see another piece of aluminum I’ll be happy
Tom Bebout said on June 14, 2020
Beautiful work Rick, she really looks the part. Your out come was worth the effort, and I assume your customer was delighted as well.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thank you! She is off to Italy on Monday, I certainly hope he enjoys it 😁
Pedro L. Rocha said on June 14, 2020
Might just be the most realistically made dirty NMF I’ve seen, just how did you replicate thar worn and dirty look of the aluminium.? The detail in all the model is also exquisite, fantastic work allround. Your pilot friend must be delighted with “his” plane 🙂
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thanks Pedro! It’s actual metal so you must sand the metal so the effect will adhere to the metal. I used a number of things: washes, oils etc. then airbrush semigloss and mat finishes. It was a long process!
Robert Royes said on June 14, 2020
All of the above, fantastic results! That J-79 looks great too.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thank you Robert! The engine was fun!
Rodney J. Williams said on June 14, 2020
I'll agree with all the above comments and add that I built several F-104 several years ago in what they called "Race/Show" planes. I forgot where I found the real planes but I saved photo copies of each one. I just reviewed my "iModeler" list and discovered that I never posted any of my F-104 models. I'll start posting some of them soon.
Anyways, you have a great looking "bare-metal" model. RJW!
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thank you Rodney! Look forward to seeing your 104s!
George R Blair Jr said on June 14, 2020
This is an awesome build, Rick. I have nothing bu admiration for someone who can put a metal skin on a model and make it look so good. When I first joined the Air Force in 1973, my first permanent assignment was at Luke AFB in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time, Luke was the training base for German F-104 pilots. Got to see a lot of Starfighters while I was there.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thanks George! Real metal, is a pain in the rear lol! I’m former Air Force as well 1986-92. Never had the chance to see the 104 in person, but after building 2 back to back I’ve learned a lot about them!
John vd Biggelaar said on June 14, 2020
This is an unbelievable build, Rick.
So many hours.
But it really resulted in a fantastic Starfighter.
Rick Schad said on June 14, 2020
Thank you so much John! Now on to the next adventure!
Marc Barris said on June 15, 2020
FANTASTIC, well done.
Rick Schad said on June 15, 2020
Thank you Marc!
Greg Kittinger said on June 15, 2020
Wow - really came out well! All that elbow grease and tender-lovin'-care paid off!
Rick Schad said on June 15, 2020
Thanks Greg and a lot of cuss words and yelling lol!
Spiros Pendedekas said on June 16, 2020
That’s a truly fantastic job, Rick!
A well used NMF Starfighter cannot be depicted more realistically!
Congratulations!
Rick Schad said on June 16, 2020
Thank you so much Spiros!