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Carl Smoot
9 articles

Monogram 1/48 Lockheed F-80 Shooting StarShelf Of Doom Rescue

November 5, 2023 · in Aviation · · 40 · 440

This kit was the first one I bought back in 2017 when I returned to the hobby. It was a bagged kit with no instructions and the decals were trashed. I think I paid $3.00 for it. It has gone through heck getting to this point. I will refer you to my build thread in the Work In Progress - Aircraft for other details.

https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/shelf-of-doom-rescue-to-a-five-footer/

It is definitely not contest quality, but I am happy enough with it and glad to finally get it finished.

Reader reactions:
19  Awesome 7  1 

40 responses

  1. What do you mean not contest quality? That's a great looking NMF bird with flashy markings. Especially considering the quality of the kit you completed (the kit itself is not great.)

    • I agree Dan (@dbdlee), the kit is a bugaboo of a kit from a build standpoint, but the shape is accurate compared to the alternatives. I felt that I had to replace the raised panel line detail but at the time I did it, my skills were not good enough and I didn't have the proper tools to do any riveting or fastener restoration.

      Thanks for the compliment. I am happy with the result, but there are numerous ghost seams and scribe line misses.

  2. Absolutely stunning result, Carl! An awesome looking F-80!

  3. That is a great result from the old Monogram kit! Wonderful work, Carl @clipper! πŸ‘

  4. Nothing wrong with that

  5. Agree with all the above compliments, Carl @clipper
    This Shooting Star became an absolute star, to me she is absolutely contest worthy.

  6. The only Gold that matters is what you think of the outcome...WELL DONE!

  7. An absolutely great looking F-80, Carl (@clipper). I would be overjoyed to have a build of this quality in my collection. You should be very proud of your accomplishment.

  8. This is excellent.

  9. Looks good from where I’m sitting.

  10. Who says that modeling skill and elbow grease doesn't count for anything? Given the age of the kit it still carries the day and in your hands Carl ,this kit has some strong painting and photography that makes for a show stopper.

    • Thanks Stephen (@stephen-w-towle), taking an old kit and updating it is something that I enjoy. It's funny because I bet if you asked anyone who built kits in the 60s through 80s, they would probably all would have had thoughts during those times about how they wished that detail and molding could have been better. Yet, I hear today all the time about the charm of going back to those same old kits and doing exactly what I did to this one. πŸ™‚

  11. This really came out great, Carl (@clipper). It is a really standout paint scheme that is well-executed. It was a pleasure following along on the build.

  12. Beauty mate. Well done.

    Competition standard is relative so don't worry about that.

  13. I just wanted to put out a heartfelt thanks to all who have responded and or left reactions. I have found this forum to be superior to others in this regard, more like a modeling club. Thank you all.

  14. Nicely done! Your finish on this looks great, especially for NMF.

  15. Well done. Those old Monogram kits can be a lot of fun. A relative recently gave me a P-38 and Mosquito still in the original Monogram boxes and unopened celophane bags he got at a garage sale.

  16. πŸ™‚ ... Greetings ... πŸ™‚ :
    I see nothing short of an impressive work and model Carl.
    If ... and this is a big IF, if any negative point to this build is to be found, for me ...
    it is the lack of a figure ( I love figures ), but hey, that is just me.
    Don't sell it short ... BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.

  17. Outstanding work on a tough kit!

  18. One of the things I did to make this easier was eliminate the engine display option. I glued the forward and aft fuselage pieces together before gluing the fuselage side pieces together. This eliminated any potential mismatch. But I also had to add in a brass tail pipe which required some epoxy putty and bracing.

  19. Beautiful job on this old Monogram P-80. I'm a big fan of updating the old kits from when I was a kid. The old Monogram kits were usually accurate shape wise and with care hold up today, just like yours!

  20. Excellent result and a beautiful scheme.
    A charming old jet, love it.

  21. Nice recovery, Carl...that is a really nice looking F-80!

  22. I think it looks splendid, Carl. Great choice of markings! The Arctic Red helps a lot.

  23. Again, thanks for the compliments everyone. I agree that the red and blue really make this kit pop. Someday however, I would like to do one of the battle hardened Korea birds.

  24. This F-80 turned out very nice. That’s a difficult kit to build well.

  25. I just found some references which indicate that the tip tanks were actually white with blue trim rather than metallic. Oh well, maybe next time.

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