RalphSarc

Yeah I’m very pleased!!

Thanks Peter. I’m extremely pleased with the fit of this aging kit. It’s almost as good as a new tooling!!! If I get a chance I’ll prune and paint the chassis then I can begin weathering it before starting the truck body.

Chassis assembly completed. Lots of fiddly parts but again the fit was perfect making it a joy to assemble.

Finished the track boogie assembly along with adding several parts to the chassis.

Thanks Jeff. The kit comes with a decal sheet plus I have an additional CAF decal sheet.

Continuing the chassis build up and of course a few roadwheels. Really amazed at the flt of all the parts. I’ve encountered absolutely no issues so far. Like a said early some parts and a few seams required a bit of cleanup but certainly nothing major.

Skipped forward to step 10 and mounted the front axle and steering mechanism to the chassis. Even with the kits age all the parts fit perfectly.

The front axle assembly is steerable and actually works!!!

On to step 7 assembling the axles, front wheels and rear track suspension and road wheels.

Completed step 6 assembling part of the front and rear suspension to the chassis.

Yeah this kit is an oldie but a goodie, lol!!! Lots of seam lines and ejection marks however cleans up pretty easily. The fit is pretty perfect even after the years. I actually have all three variants.

Let’s go build a Century Jet!!! The Canadair CF-104 Starfighter (CF-111, CL-90) is a modified version of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter supersonic fighter aircraft built in Canada by Canadair under licence. It was primarily used as a ground attack aircraft, despite being designed as an interceptor. It served with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and later the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) until it was replaced by the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet. The CF-104 entered Canadian service in March 1962. Originally designed as a supersonic interceptor aircraft, it was used primarily for low-level strike and reconnaissance by the RCAF. Eight CF-104 squadrons were originally stationed in Europe as part of Canada's NATO commitment. This was reduced to six in 1967, with a further reduction to three squadrons in 1970. Up to 1971, this included a nuclear strike role that would see Canadian aircraft armed with US-supplied nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict with Warsaw Pact forces. During its service life the CF-104 carried the B28, B43 and B57 nuclear weapons. When the CAF later discontinued the strike/reconnaissance role for conventional attack, the M61A1 was refitted, along with U.S. Snakeye "iron" bombs, British BL755 cluster bombs and Canadian-designed CRV-7 rocket pods. Although Canadian pilots practised air combat tactics, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles were never carried operationally by Canadian Starfighters (however, examples provided to other air forces, such as Norway and Denmark, did carry Sidewinders on a twin-rail centreline station and the wingtip rails). The CF-104D two-seater did not normally carry any armament except for a centreline practice-bomb dispenser. There were 110 class A accidents in the 25 years that Canada operated the CF-104 resulting in 37 pilot fatalities. Most of these were in the early part of the program centring on teething problems. Of the 110 class A accidents, 21 were attributed to foreign object damage (14 of which were bird strikes), 14 were due to in-flight engine failures, six were as a result of faulty maintenance and nine involved mid-air collisions. Thirty-two aircraft struck the ground flying at low level in poor weather conditions. Of the 37 fatalities, four were clearly attributable to systems failures; all of the others were attributable to some form of pilot inattention.[11] The accident rate of the CF-104 compares favourably to its predecessor, the F-86 Sabre. In only 12 years of operation the F-86 had 282 class A accidents with a loss of 112 pilots. The Sabre was also a simpler aircraft and was normally flown at higher altitude.[12] The CF-104 was nicknamed the "Widowmaker" by the press but not by the pilots and crews of the aircraft. David Bashow states on page 92 of his book "I never heard a pilot call it the Widowmaker". Sam Firth is quoted on page 93 in Bashow's book "I have never heard a single person who flew, maintained, controlled, or guarded that aircraft of any force (and that includes the Luftwaffe) call it the Widowmaker". The pilots did refer to it, in jest, as the "Aluminium Death Tube", "The Lawn Dart" and "The Flying Phallus" but generally called it the 104 (one oh four) or the Starfighter. Low level attack runs in the CF-104 were done visually at 100 feet AGL and at speeds up to 600 km. Low level evasive maneuvers could increase speeds to supersonic. The aircraft was very difficult to attack owing to its small size, speed, and low altitude capability. Dave Jurkowski, former CF-104 and CF-18 pilot is quoted "Because of our speed, size and lower level operations, no Canadian Zipper driver was ever 'shot down' by either air or ground threats in the three Red Flag Exercises in which we participated." The CF-104 was very successful in operational exercises held by NATO. The Canadians first took part in the AFCENT Tactical Weapons meet in 1964 and did so every year after that. This meet was a competition between squadrons from Belgium, France, Germany, the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands. Scores were based on several factors. Bomb accuracy, time on target, navigation, mission planning and aircraft serviceability. Pilots were chosen at random from the various squadrons to accurately represent operational capabilities.

On the step 5 assembling the chassis frame.

Quad mount is assembled. Lots of fiddly parts but looks the part!!

A bit of weather on the quad mount using Uschi Metalic Polishes and dry brushing Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum.

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

Thanks Carl I appreciate it:

Thanks Peter it was a fun build.

My “Aces High” interpretation of Chuck Yeagers Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” as it appears on display in the Smithsonian. On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, the X-1 reached a speed of 1,127 kilometers (700 miles) per hour, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 13,000 meters (43,000 feet). Yeager named the airplane "Glamorous Glennis" in tribute to his wife. Air-launched at an altitude of 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29, the X-1 used its rocket engine to climb to its test altitude. It flew a total of 78 times, and on March 26, 1948, with Yeager at the controls, it attained a speed of 1,540 kilometers (957 miles) per hour, Mach 1.45, at an altitude of 21,900 meters (71,900 feet). This was the highest velocity and altitude reached by a manned airplane up to that time.

All done!!!

Haven’t used a Flory Wash in a long time. Thought it would add a bit of detail to the X-1.

Bench view!!

Pedo probes installed. I wonder how long it’ll be before I knock one off, lol!!!

Early morning decals!!

Landing gear installed and canopy unmasked.