I know this is a GB but I've been looking for an opportunity to talk about this guy for a while, so I hope you all will grant me some lenience with a completed 'resto-mod' of the classic Monogram 1/48 F-100D which got its start as a display piece in my father's law office.

I was in my early teens in the late '70s when the kit originally released, and as with most examples of my styrene glue and enamel addiction, it came to me courtesy of my intermittent revenue streams (lawn mowing, paper route, etc.). When my dad saw the latest project in-work, he asked if he could display it on his office credenza upon completion. It was the first honor he had ever bestowed upon me, and I gave it the best effort I had in me before I began to learn of the more serious (read: adult) approach to scale model finish; I finished it in SE Asia camo with brushed-on Pactra flat enamels and applied the box decals without surface prep, but with the minimal set and size of the markings, I still thought it looked pretty good- more importantly, so did he.

Fast forward to 1988 and myself, as a US Navy short-timer on his last deployment, being sent home just 24 hours from a Philippines liberty call due to my dad's sudden and unexpected death. As his survivors, we went to clear out his office of anything of sentimental value, and I gently gathered the Hun and its later display mates (a 1/32 P-51D and a 1/48 A-10A) with an eye towards their moving with me after my USN discharge. They sat in a box at Mom's house, well past my EAOS (service separation date) and my settling out-of-state to start Chapter 2 of my life.

2001 came, and my wife and young family traveled for the first time to visit Gramma at her place. Only then was I reminded of the box; I assessed its contents - a few minor breakages but nothing to keep them from being displayed once more.

As it turns out, a lot can happen to plastic display models when money is going to raise kids instead of buying protective display cases, and by 2015, the F-100D was all that remained of the original 'credenza crew', and it had taken a beating of its own, no longer having landing gear, speed brake or the inimitable F-100 pitot tube out front. By now I was ready; I had re-entered the hobby, vowing no more brushed-on finishes with the new(ish) Aztek airbrush and compressor, and decided to pay belated tribute to my dad by restoring the Hun in an action pose (wheels-up).

I first tried Easy-Off oven cleaner to remove the original Michigan ANG finish, but ended up dousing it in brake fluid and scouring to the plastic with a toothbrush. I had the good fortune of still being able to contact Revell-Monogram for replacement parts, specifically the pitot tube; unfortunately it was a trifle curved towards the tip, and my remediation did NOT make it better.

I used a combination of Model Master enamels for the medium / dark greens and underside, and Tamiya water-based for the tan; I did ok with the water-based application but I'm still not comfortable with outcomes there. I chose the Caracal 1/48 "F-100D/F in Vietnam Part I" sheet with a bird from the 510th FS based out of Bien Hoa AB, as it represented a late-stage Hun with ECM and Nav modifications. As such, I needed to fashion a couple of items from styrene- one was a single blade antenna above and just aft of the intake, and the wedge-shaped mount for the APR-25 receiver antennas just below the intake. Sheet styrene was also used to replace the speed brake, main gear doors, the comm antenna blade on the aircraft spine, and one of the wing fences. I won't enter any contests, so if I can't make mods from scratch, then OOB is plenty good enough for me.

As to one of the most recognizable, and challenging parts of modelling the F-100D, namely, finishing the section of the tail affected by afterburner heat, I started by dry-brushing gunmetal grey, then dry-brush with metallic copper, then finish with metallic silver drybrush between the outline of frame members forward of the exhaust nozzle. I thought it turned out ok for what it was.

If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read about my already-built restoration for the Vietnam GB. Knowing this is outside the spirit of the GB, let me assure you that I have a Monogram 1/48 F-104C in SE Asian livery awaiting its turn on the bench- hopefully, the wait won't be too long.

Cheers from Central TX!

15 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Very nice build, George @george_akin

Thank you JvdB. Hope to have more to share soon.