A bit more progress, with most of the fuselage joints filled and sanded as required , although I'll wait until the primer has been applied before deciding on the state of the air brakes.
As the canopy will be fitted in the closed position (I can't be bothered sawing it into three pieces!), the cockpit and seat will be completed, and the canopy masked and fitted, before continuing with any more sanding or construction. Therefore, some additional detail has been added, and a seat knocked together using parts from the ESCI and Revell kits, plus some additional detail.
PIC 1. As with the Revell kit, the air brakes are designed to be fitted in the open position. The 'hinges' were cut off and the forward edge of each brake sanded, before fitting in the closed position. As mentioned above, I'm not sure about those gaps around the edges yet. The joint lines at the fin and rear fuselage have since been filled and sanded, along with a sink mark on the opposite side.
PIC 2. The air intakes and shock cones have been fitted and, although a much better fit than the Revell examples, a very small joint line needed filling on each side. This was done by dissolving finely-stetched sprue into the gap, then sanding once set. The auxiliary intake doors needed to be engraved. Apart from the originals being fairly heavy raised detail, I think this aircraft must have been destined for the Australian market, as they were moulded upside down ! (I'll get me coat later!).
PIC 3. Some very basic detail has been added to the avionics bay cover, and has yet to be tidied up. As with the rest of the cockpit, detailing is being kept to a minimum, as the closed canopy is quite thick, and distorts the view - what there is of it.
PICS 4 to 6. The RDAF Starfighters were fitted with a powerful spotlight, angled at 80 degrees to port, used for identifying aircraft at night. This was replicated using plastic tube, with the lens and rear of the lamp housing punched from plastic and clear sheet. Being so small, and using a somewhat crude miniature leather punch to make the lens and back-plate, provided an unexpected bonus, by creating domed discs. The pics show the parts, assembled, and fitted in place, ready for painting later. I originally fabricated a mounting bracket, but this prevented the canopy from seating properly, so it was removed, and the 'lamp' clagged directly to the avionics bay cover !
PICS 7 to 11. Originally delivered from the RCAF with the C-2 ejection seat, Danish F-104s were fitted with the improved Martin Baker GQ7A seat, so this is in the process of being cobbled together using parts from both kits, plus plastic card, wire and foil.
The seat in the ESCI kit seems to be a cross between the C-2 and MB GQ7A, whilst the 'spare' seat from the Revell kit is a reasonable, though basic, representation of the latter. The ESCI part for the support frame and rails has a better head rest section, so the head rest was removed from the Revell seat, and the ESCI part fitted in its place, after improving the shape of the head-rest pad, and reducing the size of the 'ribs'.
The BCF bottle on the port side of the Revell seat was filed to shape, and the seat cleaned up, before adding the rails and enlarging the side panels. The PEC was also added to the port side, and additional harness straps will be added from foil, along with the firing handles, using copper wire.
All being well, I should get that bit completed tomorrow, and the cockpit buttoned up.
Thanks again for your continued interest and support, and I'll post more soon.