Meng F-102A Delta Dagger

Convair submitted their design for what would become the F-102 in response to the U.S. Air Force 1954 Ultimate Interceptor program. Lessons learned from their development of the XF-92 Dart in the late 40's resulted in an attractive supersonic delta wing proposal to replace the F-89 Scorpion in the interceptor role. It was fast (eventually reaching Mach 1.2) and housed six air-to-air missiles in an internal weapons bay (no gun though!)

The Deuce (as the F-102 was actually known; no proper person ever referred to it as the Delta Dagger) was deployed as an interceptor to Thule Air Force Base, in Greenland, and Keflavik, Iceland, where it spent time intercepting Soviet reconnaissance aircraft and bomber patrols over the Atlantic. F-102s also saw some action in Vietnam as interceptors, B-52 bomber escorts, and even in the ground attack role.

Retired in 1979, the F-102 lived on in its highly-evolved form known as the F-106. The pair of aircraft are icons of a sort of retro-futuristic Cold War sensibility that I find simply beautiful.

The Kit

This is Meng's 1/72-scale F-102A (Case X) Delta Dagger. “Case X” refers to the slight upward slant of the wingtips, appropriate to early models. The kit is a 2012 tooling with fine engraved detail, excellent molding and fit with virtually no ejector pin marks, and clear instructions. We have the option to open the weapons bay, displaying six AIM-4 Falcons (of two different types, I believe A's and D's) on either extended or collapsed trapeze mounts. Landing gear is nicely a little more complex than average, complete with lights on the flaps. The decals are excellent, though some were problematic: the emblem on the air brake isn't sized properly and was a challenge to wrap around the part while conforming to the ridges and bulges; and the white and red striping running down from the top of the fuselage is simply too long, spilling onto the wings. I did without these markings. The decals responded well to Solvaset and were supple enough to settle nicely into panel lines (necessary, for example, for the prominent U.S. Air Force lettering along the sides of the fuselage). Many of the decals have generous amounts of clear film and care must be taken to prevent silvering.

We have the option of two main paint schemes: the gray of the traditional interceptor squadrons (2 versions) or a SEA camo livery. The former is the only natural choice for this aircraft in my opinion.

Meng wants us to use their paints, “Meng Colors”, which by all accounts are AK Interactive 3rd Gen acrylics but with an extra layer of inconvenience and confusion: inconvenience because they are hard to locate, and confusion because conversions to the original AK paints don't exist for all colors (including Sky Grey which is the color of the F-102).

Having developed a wariness of model vendor's paint specs anyway by this point, I decided to venture off on my own and locate more probably correct colors. It seems that Air Defense Command gray, with which strategic interceptors like the F-102 were painted, was FS36473. Vallejo Pale Grey Blue (70.907) allegedly matches this FS code. Internal surfaces were done with Mr. Color 351 (the greener of the two zinc chromates) and metallics were done in Alclad Aluminum and Steele. We are instructed to paint the trim around the engine intakes interior green, but this I believe is an error; photographs reveal this instead to have a metallic finish.

For the canopy, one could do reasonably well without pre-cut masks here, but I wanted to be able to produce the yellow seal around the glass panes which I imagined would be quite challenging to do freehand. Dead Design is apparently the only maker of 1/72-scale F-102 canopy masks for Meng, and I found them for sale from BNA in Australia and Super-Hobby in Poland. BNA had a slight edge on price and delivery time, so I placed an order a few weeks before Christmas. Three weeks later I receive the masks, open the package, and discover that the masks are for the Meng F-106! Mind you the packaging and instructions were for the F-102, somehow the masks got confused when they were packaged. BNA had no more in stock, and so I placed an order with Super-Hobby. Two weeks later, we were back in business. (Yes, it's insane to fly two tiny slips of sticker paper halfway around world (twice) but I guess this is what I've become.)

Finally, I decided to try out these Master Model pitot tubes made of turned brass. The F-102's is quite long and prominent and so I figured a good candidate. The hole at the tip of the model's nose needs to be carefully widened with a drill, and then the tube slips in nicely. We're supposed to paint a tight white and red striping pattern along this thing but I'd need human hair as a mask and simply didn't have it in me; instead I just sprayed some Alclad Aluminum directly over the brass.

Overall I gave the model very light weathering: a dark gray enamel panel line wash with Tamiya and some sparing streaks with oils on control surfaces and some of the panels under the fuselage. The F-102 just seems a clean and bright aircraft to me when I picture it.

I finished it with Alclad Semi-Matte to give it a hint of shine.

And so completes my first Century Series aircraft. Thanks for reading!