This is going to be my new long term project that I will work when I feel like doing something different than my other builds. It's the Trumpeter F-100D in 1/32nd scale and my hope is to eventually build this in one of those iconic revetments. But that is a long way off.

First the kit and what I have (so far).

It will have the SEA camouflage. I have decals from CamPro, a camo masking set (which I am not sure I am going to use), cockpit, wheel wells, and burner can from Aires, wheels from AMS Resins, Eduard photoetch for the air brake and buckles (which I may not need). I have the Zacto corrected nose and an AeroBonus ejection seat and pilot coming soon (which I will determine if I want to use later). There's a few other things, but at the moment, I cannot remember what they are (as they are being delivered).

Yes, there's some outlay of funds here. The kit was an XMAS present, but I've bought all the other stuff. I've always liked this aircraft and attempted to build one years ago from the Monogram kit. It was actually coming along quite nicely, but was a victim of my rush away from modeling a decade ago when I decided my new hobby was building my wooden cabin cruiser. That's mostly finished now and I had decided to get back into building models a few years ago. This was one of the earliest kits I got.

There are numerous issues with this kit, but in 1/32nd scale, it's the only game in town. I have a very detail tweak list I got from the Large Scale Planes website which should help with most of the issues.

But the first issue in my mind is the model is festooned with divots representing flush rivets. Trumpeter, why?

I am going to fill these with filler , but some of those divots are in panels and a acceptable representation of screws holding on panels.

So the first order of business (on the fuselage for now) was identifying which divots would remain and which would be filled. This involved identifying all the screwed on access panels (at least as best as I can tell). Using as many photos as I could find, and comparing them to the model, I marked all the access panels. Inside of these panels, I will leave the divots. Everything else will be filled.

After this, I will tackle the wings and other parts. There's much more to do just for this part, but this will be the first phase of that work and I expect it will take a while to complete.

So that's it for the moment. The Constellation is waiting on a clear base to spray over the metallic finish. The Mustang has been partially assembled and is in the seam work stage.

Great entry, Carl @clipper
Indeed a lot of extras which will, together with your skills, make this an awesome Super Sabre.
Looking forward to this build.

Yes, this kit is fairly large, although in real terms, it's only somewhat bigger than my A-20 in 1/48. However, I remember the size of my 1/48 kit from Monogram and this is much much bigger than that.

I've begun the task of filling all the divots. I am using a new to me putty for this. I've heard this sands better and smoother than Tamiya putty so I am giving it a go. It is also much less expensive and comes in a large tube that will last a long time (assuming it doesn't dry out).

THe tail piece was my initial experiment and it looks awful with all the putty on it. But it wet sanded real well and looks much better afterwards. I have had to go back and fill a few divots that didn't quite fill properly, but that will be easy enough. I'll clean out the panel lines once I am done removing the rivets. The remaining panels have too many divets and I will reduce the number of these using the same filling approach.

And as a comparison, here are some photos from my long gone Monogram build. Cockpit was stock. Notice the spacers needed on the interior of the fuselage to get it to line up. Even then , there was a lot of exterior work needed. The fuel tanks were converted to the 375 gallon type. I'll be doing the same thing with the fuel tanks on the Trumpeter kit. Of all the kits I got rid of when I stepped away from modeling (no actually, ran away from), this is one I wish I had completed and kept.

Great work and very nice conversion on the fuel tanks, Carl @clipper
The interior looks really great.

George, @gblair, I considered the acrylic filler but I've had mixed results with that. The biggest problem is the need to keep going back and filling in divots because the acrylic filler would not stay in when wiping off. Probably still less work than sanding and then having to clean up putty and restore sanded damage. I guess due to shrinkage, using something like Mr Surfacer or Perfect Plastic Putty, I was afraid I would end up with the divots still being visible.

No excuse really. I just bought the Bondo to try out because I had heard good things about it and it was far less expensive per ounce than Tamiya putty. So I tried it out. It does sand real easy which is nice. I am going to prime one of the parts to see how it looks after clean up.

As far as the amount of work, well I go into these long term builds with the notion that it is going to take a long time, and I mix it with shorter builds to keep me from getting burned out. I work on it when I feel like it with no thought of trying to get it done by some arbitrary deadline. Makes for a much more relaxing hobby, at least to me.

I know what you mean George (@gblair). I never really cared for the competitive nature of contests as there is no real incentive for less experienced modelers to go to compete. And I don't buy into the idea that having others criticize your work can make you a better modeler. What makes a modeler better, is wanting to be a better modeler. I too build for myself and try to get better as I go. But if something, isn't contest perfect, it's not going in the trash bin.

As for wipe off seam filling, I am still trying this out and seeing if I can improve. I was using 91% Alcohol to wipe away Mr Surfacer, but it would only work effectively if the Mr Surfacer was only just dried. If it fully cured, it took much more effort with alcohol and I ended up removing nearly everything including the areas I wanted to fill. I switched over to normal Mr Color Thinner and it is more effective even if I let the putty dry longer. (BTW don't use Rapid Thinner or Lacquer Thinner, these will dissolve the plastic.)

Hi, Carl (@clipper): The putties I use are Vallejo Acrylic putty and Perfect Plastic Putty from Deluxe Materials. PPP is much thicker, so I use it to smooth around canopies. Both will come off using alcohol, or even water. If the putty is dry, you can take it off slowly and work to sculpt the putty, or keep it where you want it. For filling rivets, I would use a paper towel damp with alcohol. Remove it little by little and it should work. I hate sanding, so I use the acrylic putty whenever I can. 91% alcohol is much more aggressive than 70%, so I tend to use the weaker stuff. I have never tried Mr Surfacer, so I don't know anything about it. Good luck on the rest of your rivets.

Nice, solid progress, my friend @clipper!