**** DONE: 1/48 RF-84F Thunderflash - Jet/Recon/Transport GB

[T Bolt]

User Name: T Bolt
Name: Glenn
Category: 1, Advanced
Kit: Heller RF-84F Thunderflash
Scale: 1/48th.
Accessories: Bare Metal Foil Co. decals, Scale Aircraft Conversions landing gear, and I will taking off the raised panel lines and scribing them. Also scratch building the camera bay.

My Third entry in this group build is also in the reconnaissance category with a photo recon version of the F-84F Thunderstreak. The Thunderflash was a F-84F Thunderstreak with the jet intake taken from the nose and moved to the wing roots to make room in the nose for the camera bay.

Like the F-6A Mustang that I'm building as my second entry, The RF-48F I'm depicting also flew with the 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. After the war the 107th returned to being a Michigan Air National Guard unit and flew many aircraft including the F-51H Mustang, A-26B/C Havoc, F-84B/C/E/G Thunderjet, F-86E Saber, and F89C Scorpion before converting to the RF-84F Thunderflash in 1958.
The 107th operated the Thunderflash for almost 13 years before it converted to the RF-101A/C Voodoo in Jan, 1971. After that they moved on to the F-100D/F Super Saber, A-7D/K Corsair II, F-16A/B/C/D Viper, and currently fly the A-10 Warthog.

 

[Crimea_River]

Goin' out to town Glenn! Brilliant!

 

[T Bolt]

I know Andy, three might kill me (or my wife might ) I almost picked this one rather that the F-6B, but when I found decals for the very same squadron I could not resist. And it's an Air Guard unit from my newly adapted state of Michigan!

 

[N4521U]

You musta picked just because of the name!!!!!!

Three? You may be sorry......

 

[T Bolt]

........Three? You may be sorry......

Yea Bill, but no rigging!

Here's the kit. I bought it off a guy at work along with a few other kits for something like $20. It's an older kit with raised panel lines, but it looks nice, about like the quality of the monogram century series jet kits right before they switched over to recessed panel lines. The decals are Bare Metal Foil and I have Scale Aircraft Conversions metal landing gear on order. This last was an impulse buy yesterday when I was making up an order to Squadron, then immediately had a "I can't believe I just spent that much" moment shortly after the order went in. Never used their landing gear before and sure hope it's worth the $15.
Right now I plan to scribe the panel lines. Never did a whole kit before so I think I'll start on the bottom of the wings and see how it goes.

 

[Airframes]

Great choice Glenn, and a type I've always liked - big, chunky and purposeful looking.
Coincidentally, I've been looking at available kits for the 'standard' fighter-bomber version, to do as a UK-based bird, in the 1950s. The Heller and Monogram (currently released by Revell) come out best, as the Italeri/Kinetic kits are apparently quite inaccurate, especially around the nose intake.
I'll be interested to see what you think of the kit for general fit etc., as the build progresses.

 

[Wayne Little]

Awesome....and Shiny too!

 

[meatloaf109]

Should be a corker!

 

[N4521U]

Good plane for the panel lines.
I've wondered if Partial lines would be in order since the whole line is not visible all over the plane at one glance. even ever so lightly that even the scribed line would be nearly invisible. Yah think???

***I'm anxious to hear what you have to say about them legs too.

 

[ccheese]

Good one, Glenn. Whatcha gonna do with all them itty bitty parts ?

Charles

 

[T Bolt]

I started with the panel lines on the wings a couple of days ago by scribing along the existing raised panel lines using them as a guide for my scribing tool. I didn't want to do all of them and ended up doing about 80%, then filed and sanded the raised lines off. Took some before and after pictures (pic 12) but you really can't see much difference between them because the ghost image of the old lines in the silver plastic shows up more than the new lines even though they have been sanded off and polished. The silver plastic is really making it difficult because of that.
Picture 3 shows the wings glued together. Still have to work on the glue seems. Picture 4 is the tanks and jet tube glued up but panel lines not done yet.
This kit isn't as nice as the last of the raised panel line Monogram/Revelle kits like I stated before. There are almost no locating pins (none in the wings or tanks and only a couple in the fuselage) and the surface has an irregular texture in many places that would make it impossible to get a decent NMF with out sanding the whole thing down. I have the Monogram/Revelle F-84F kit in my stash so maybe I'll take it down and take some side my side comparison pics.

 

[meatloaf109]

Lookin' good!

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff so far Glenn, and I know what you mean about 'silver' plastic - it always seems to be a sod to work with; either too shiny, too textured, too hard or too soft, and always seems to show up scratches and other marks.

 

[T Bolt]

Getting ready to start in on the cockpit and found these pictures. Paint looks original to me and the color is not chromate green. What do you guys think would be a good color match, RLM 02??.

I'm tired of chromate green cockpits right now anyway.

 

[meatloaf109]

It should be a dark gull grey, if memory serves.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

I would have thought a gull grey as well Glenn, nice change from the chromate. Scribing came out well mate, but oh the silver plastic, it is funny stuff.

 

[Airframes]

I agree - a grey shade. Don't know the US name for the colour, but it's the shade/tone as shown in your cockpit photos (ignore the slight greenish hue, due to exposure of the original image and then shifts due to variations in computer monitors). This was the first style of 'cockpit grey', and similar to the F-86, f-100 and most others up to the late 1960s - mid 1970s, when a slightly lighter shade was then used.

 

[meatloaf109]

Yep, it started in the F-86, I believe. A "Gull grey" for cockpit interiors in USAF aircraft. Continued up into the '70's I think.
Ask FlyboyJ to be sure.

 

[N4521U]

I have this, if it helps.

 

[Wayne Little]

Nice little reference chart Bill...