EF-105F Thunderchief YGBSM

[Clunkmeister]

I’m at a standstill on my Fokker project as I wait for reference material, so....

Here’s my take on one. I’m thinking I’ll do an EF-105F from the Trumpeter G kit so obviously there’s plenty of hacking, cutting, and sawing go do.  An F looks NOTHING like a G.

Someone dared me to do it, so here we are. 

But before we get crazy into details, the shape needs to be fixed.  If I can’t get the shape more or less right, I’ll pass on it as a valiant try   The Trumpeter Kit is legendary for its basic shape issues, from the nose all the way to the he fin and even the ventral fin being all kinds of goofy  so, we start with the most basic, remove the ECM pods and insert some smooth side in hid place  

[Clunkmeister]

I decided to look very closely at the canopy. The single seat D kit has a canopy that is more fiction than fact, although someminor vixen and posing it open will hide much.

The two seater seems to fare a bit better. A bit of shaping on the turtleneck and we should be OK

[Clunkmeister]

A lot of soul searching going on here.  My heart says “speedbird”, a slick early F in NMF, but my brain say Vietnam, possibly Ryan’s Raiders or Red River Showboat.

[BlrwestSiR]

You're off to a great start Ernie. 

I like the idea of Ryan's Raiders myself. They had the wraparound camo right?

Carl

[Clunkmeister]

1 hour ago, BlrwestSiR said:

You're off to a great start Ernie. 

I like the idea of Ryan's Raiders myself. They had the wraparound camo right?

Carl

Some of them did, yes Carl. But it was a very short lived experiment.  

[Kaireckstadt]

13 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

You're off to a great start Ernie. 

I like the idea of Ryan's Raiders myself. They had the wraparound camo right?

Carl

Copy this! Impressive start Ernie!

I would also prefer the SEA-scheme. I love it...

[harv]

Great start cupcake ! Super good work on the ECM pods area.....harv 

[Landlubber Mike]

Great start Ernie!  Lots of cosmetic surgery there  

[Bomber_County]

The masterclass has begun, taking a seat, this is going to be good...............we await with bated breath Ernie.......

[HubertB]

It’s probably only me, but IMHO the Thud is only good-looking in silver paint finish (silver paint, because when the -F entered service, Operation Look-Alike had had the NMF F-105s repainted in corrosion-protection paint)

Hubert

[Clunkmeister]

7 hours ago, HubertB said:

It’s probably only me, but IMHO the Thud is only good-looking in silver paint finish (silver paint, because when the -F entered service, Operation Look-Alike had had the NMF F-105s repainted in corrosion-protection paint)

Hubert

Yep.  I think thy called it “Air Defense Grey” or “Canadian Voodoo Grey” by ModelMaster.   It’s a odd color and hard to match.  P,us, yes, it’s some seriously boring. 

[HubertB]

No, Ernie, it was definitely silver paint. Very much like English « Speed Silver ».

In the early 60s, Look-Alike was put in place to harmonise to the same standard all the F-105s. As operations in Europe had shown that the ‘chiefs were susceptible to weather corrosion (have you seen the rain when it’s falling on Bitburg  ? ), it was decided to paint the F-105s in silver. Then, when deployed in Vietnam, they were camouflaged in the SE-Asia scheme.

Thus, at one time between 1964 and 1967, you had NMF, silver-paint, and camoed F-105s, although the NMF birds were disappearing fast... There were even some « D » in NMF in the early Vietnam deployments. But, if European rain was bad, imagine what it was like in Thailand or Vietnam ...

My assumption is that, besides the prototypes, the « F » were delivered in silver paint, given the timing.

Hubert

[1to1scale]

18 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

Yep.  I think thy called it “Air Defense Grey” or “Canadian Voodoo Grey” by ModelMaster.   It’s a odd color and hard to match.  P,us, yes, it’s some seriously boring. 

FYI, Gunze makes ADC gray paint. H57

[Clunkmeister]

Thanks for the clarification, Hubert.   I’be seen pics of Vietnam D’s In NMF, but like you said, they’re few and far between.

to me, the G is the ultimate Thud. They did a thankless dirty, crazy, insane job and did it well.  The F did the same thing, but without all the fancy electronics.    Insanity!

[Clunkmeister]

Update 01/15/21

Got both smooth sides of the fuselage installed and some handy dandy Milliput filled the gaps for me.  On the right side, I got cocky and in a rush and started drilling holes too far back. 
The result?  I created myself a bit of extra work.  But my good friend Uncle Milliput came to help. 

This weekend, my goal will be to complete the resin conversions and additions, plus drill any holes, vents, and drains left out by Trumpeter  

 

[Clunkmeister]

I absolutely live for this stuff.  Cutting plastic, then pushing, prodding and massaging resin to fit where plastic once was. 
It’s simple exercises, but they keep you sharp because you can screw up oh so easy if you let your guard down. 
The dorsal fin replacement is one of the easiest exercised in modeling. 
The Trumpeter supplies abomination looks hideous, like a blob of plastic  the GT Resin replacement component simply slides into place, no muss, no fuss

[Clunkmeister]

Next, we’ll explore nosecone fitment. The Trumpeter part looks kind of fictional. Too long and pointed. 

[TJTX]

Looking great.  I can't decide if I want to go with the GT Resin dorsal fin or the Quickboost one.  I have both of them and keep going back and forth.  Right now I'm leaning towards Quickboost.  Loving the tutorial as you lead the way for this resin dummy.  

[Clunkmeister]

Tony, just remember to always cut a bit short of where they tell you to.  I’ve been there, done that, and made me a ton of extra work

[Clunkmeister]

Another area that’s gonna need serious help are the intakes.  

Simply put, they are pure fiction.

The ENTIRE ramp assemblies are completely MIA, matter of fact, it’s like absolutely zero attemp was made at trying to even vaguely represent them.  

Also, there are no ducts inside the fuselage at all, nor is there any compressor behind the stator on the engine face.   I guess maybe Trumpeter thought this was powered by a ramjet, not a turbojet?   Turbojets need a compressor, and we’re gonna have to make one. Oh yay.  

[Clunkmeister]

We need to make the ramp and it’s track.  This should be a relatively straightforward exercise. I now see why so many folks use FOD Covers. 

 

[TJTX]

I've got a spare set of intake covers for you if it all goes sideways!

[Clunkmeister]

49 minutes ago, TJTX said:

I've got a spare set of intake covers for you if it all goes sideways!

Thanks, Tony. Then I won’t be at all conservative here. If it goes all pear shaped, I’ll call y’all.   But it looks somewhat a simple fabrication. The trick will be to make both exactly the same. 

[Clunkmeister]

Well we achieved our weekend goals, and with time to spare. 
The corrected fin and nose really help correct the look of Trumpeter’s mess.  
 

Now, out with the Dremel and start drilling out vents and cooling slots. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Lots of splicing and dicing there Ernie. Nicely done too. I don't always remember the measure thrice, cut once rule myself. 

Carl