Here are three Vietnam-era Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs AKA, Thud, Ultra Hog, and Lead Sled.  All three kits were built from 1/48th Monogram kits.  Before I start I want to thank two fellow ARCers whose names I shamefully can't remember.  Between the two of them they sold me 4 OOP Aeromaster sheets and an OOP F-105G kit.  If you guys are out there please contact me on the ARC Discussion Board so I can give you guys the credit you deserve.

Click on images below to see larger images

F-105D 62-4364 "PUSSY GALORE II"

       This aircraft was flown by Capt. Victor Vizcarra, 354th TFS/ 355th TFW, Takhli RTAFB from September-November 1966.  The aircraft was later destroyed in a ground accident on 16DEC68 while undergoing overhaul in Taiwan.
       Most of my models are built straight from the box and this one is no exception.  The model went together with very few problems.  The SEA paint scheme was applied by hand using Testors Model Master paints and weathered with Testors silver.  Before applying the decals I brushed on tried-and-true Future Floor Polish.  The decals came from the now OOP Albatros ALC-48004 sheet "The Thud Alley F-105 Nose Art".  The decals went on with no problems and responded well to MicroScale Micro Set and Micro Sol.  The weapons load is typical of what Thuds carried early in the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign, before they started carrying ECM pods.  Six Mk117 750lb bombs (two with "daisy cutters") on the centerline MER, two 450 gallon drop tanks, and two more 750 pounders on the outboard wing pylons.  This is a truly impressive bomb load.      

Now to answer the question you've all be asking, "What about the nose art?".  Along with the Albatros sheet is a page and a half story on the birth of Pussy Galore as told by Capt Vizcarra.  I'll give an abbreviated version here.  Most USAF aerial refueling was, and is, done with the boom system.  Up until the war in SEA most Air Force boom operators refueled bombers and had very little experience refueling fighters.  The tremendous size difference between bombers and fighters made it very difficult for boom operators to get the boom in the receptacle.  So Capt Vizcarra painted this giant nude female on the nose of his Thud.  The artwork was placed so her..ah..ah..ya know was over the receptacle.  This provided the boom operators a very nice target to aim for.  This was a tremendous morale booster for the tanker crews.  Many times when pulling up behind a tanker Capt Vizcarra would hear the boom operator say "Sir, she's here" and within seconds another pair of eyes would appear in the boomers window with cameras, as other members of the tanker crew took turns taking pictures.

F-105D 60-0504 "MEMPHIS BELLE II"

       This aircraft was flown by Maj Buddy Jones, 357th TFS/ 355th TFW, Takhli RTAFB from March 1967 to October 1970.  According to books in my 300 book library this aircraft was flown by Capt. Thomas C. Lasen on 30APR67 when he claimed a MiG-17 while flying with the 333rd TFS/ 355th TFW.  However, this aircraft is thought to have been flown by LTC Arthur Dennis on 28APR67 when he claimed a MiG-17 while flying with the 357th TFS/ 355th TFW.  Throughout its career 504 carried two kill markings, but officially it is only credited with the 30APR67 kill.  This Thud was one of the lucky ones to survive the air war over North Vietnam.  It went on to serve with my Guard unit- District of Columbia Air National Guard during the late 70s and early 80s.  While at Andrews it carried the kill markings on both sides of the cockpit.  The Memphis Belle II is now on permanent display at the USAF Museum.
       Again this model was built OOB with one exception.  While building the model I was looking through my library for pictures of this aircraft, I found what I was looking for in the F-105 Warbird Tech Volume 18.  On page 95 is a picture of the Belle taxiing out of its revetment in 1968 loaded with two Mk118 3000lb bombs with daisy cutters and a 600 gallon centerline tank.  I remembered seeing Cobra Company's Rolling Thunder Weapons Set at a local hobby shop.  I picked it up on my next visit to the shop.  This is an excellent resin set.  It includes two bombs, two pylons with sway braces, and a centerline fuel tank.  I took the daisy cutters from a couple of Hasegawa Mk 82s.  The decals again came from Albatros sheet 48-004.

Click on images below to see larger images

F-105F 63-8301 "JINKIN' JOISE"

       I have very little information on this aircraft.  It was assigned to the 357th TFS/ 355th TFW, Takhli RTAFB in 1968 and was flown by Capt Vern Harris with Capt Kim Pepperell flying as the EWO.
       Being a bomb loader in the ANG, I'm VERY picky (anal even) about how I load my jets.  Jinkin' Joise carries the standard pre-AGM-78 (the AGM-78 arrived in country around February 1968) Iron Hand weapons load- two SUU-30s (SUU is pronounced "sue") two AGM-45 Shrikes, and a 600 gallon centerline tank.  This was sort-of a one-two punch against SAM sites.  When a Shrike hit a SAM site it usually struck the radar dish on top the command van.  It destroyed the radar but left most of the rest of the site intact, including the 5 or 6 SA-2s that were arranged around the van.  So with the radar taken out the Weasel crews would usually roll in and finish off the site with the CBUs.

Click on images below to see larger images

       This model was built OOB.  The Shrikes are from the kit and the SUU-30s are from a Hasegawa weapons set.  The inboard weapons pylons were taken from a second Cobra Company Rolling Thunder Weapons Set.  The SUUs did require a little modification.  All of Hasegawa's bombs have two small dimples in them to make them easy to glue to Hasegawa models.  If I had mounted the SUUs based on where the dimples were placed the bomb would have been mounted on the bomb rack with the tail fins in the "+" configuration.  This is incorrect.  I filled in the dimples with Squadron white putty, sanded it smooth, painted them with Testors olive drab, and mounted them on the racks with the tail fins in the "x" configuration.
       The decals came from the now OOP Aeromaster sheet 48-374 "Takhli Weasels".  With RevMonogawa re-releasing the F-105G kit I'm sure these sheets will go back into production.

       Like a lot of modelers I like to think of my model collection as my own personal museum.  Every time I build a model I like to think I'm preserving a tiny piece of history.  And the history of the men who flew Thuds into the teeth of the North Vietnamese air defenses is worth preserving.  They were all heroes.  The air war over North Vietnam devastated the F-105 fleet.  Of the 833 F-105s built, 321 were lost in combat between 1965 and 1972.  111 were lost in 1967 alone.  Of the 321 lost in combat 16 F-105s were shot down by NVAF MiGs between 1965 and 1968.  In return, F-105 crews claimed 27.5 MiGs.
       In the future I hope to have more Thuds on ARC.  I'm currently working on another F-105F that will be built as one of Ryan's Raiders, a small number of Thuds that operated at night.  I also have two D-models up on the shelf.
Stephen