The F-84F
Thunderstreak has always been one of my favorites. This originates maybe from
chilhood when I was impressed by a massive 24 aircraft take-off during an
air-show. Belgium used 197 Streaks and these wore very flamboyant unit markings
till the mid-sixties ( Afterwards they were painted in the so- called SEA
scheme) .They were also very well known all over Europe for the aerobatic
displays during the sixties , wearing rather colorful schemes. Two wings of BAF,
each with 3 squadrons used the Thunderstreak from 1955: 10th Fighter bomber Wing
at Kleine Brogel with 23,31 and 27 squadrons and 2nd Fighter Bomber Wing with n°
1 ,n°2 and n°3 squadrons in Florennes .The last ones were withdrawn for use in
1971 with n° 1 squadron and many of them found there way as decoys
on BAF airfields .
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The model is
the old Monogram 1/48th scale , firstly issued in 1982. It is a nice detailed
model but it suffers from one rather big mistake: on the Monogram model
the airbrakes are positioned 0.4 cm to far aft .The AB had to be cut
off and moved forward at the correct place (pic 03 and 04 jpg ). As
far as I know , this "big" error has never been mentioned in any
magasine or article about this model. Thunderstreaks used two type of
tails, short one on earlier series and and higher one (+28 cm in real ) .The
Monogram has the higher tail but the slope of the leading edge is the one of the
shorter one( 132° versus 135°). I corrected this also but do not recommend
this modification as it is barely noticeable. For those suffering AMS as I do, I
can add that the horizontal tail plane is placed 0.5 mm to high and the fin cap
should be squared off by 1mm. Al the rest of the model is on spot , especially
the front fuselage and wings. In this article , I enclose drawings of the rear
fuselage , I made using original T.O's and measurements on real "F" to
help you correct your model ,if wanted(pic 005.jpg) These were first
published in IPMS Belgium KIT magasine n°123 - april 2001in an article
"Short or long tail or all You wanted to know about the F-84F
tails". By the way, Fonderie Miniatures ( french model manufacturer) has
recently announced a 1/48 model of the Thunderstreak and Thunderflash , due for
this summer. Hopefully , those errors will have been corrected.
For the rest , the
model is OOB , completely rescribed .The cockpit doesn't need any aftermarkets
stuff. It is very good and correct. The model ejection seat is the later version
(006 jpg). Earlier "F" used a seat almost similar to the one in the
Thunderjet. So look at your references when buildind a Streak. Interior cockpit
color is dark gull grey as on all Belgian Streaks I saw. Many articles mention
Interior Green but as far as BAF aircraft are concerned, this seems never to
have been the case. Colors of the wheel wells and u/c legs vary. On Nato
camouflaged airplanes , WW were interior green and legs and covers in PRU blue
but I noticed variants on pictures with some in natural metal .So again ,check
your reference picture.
The Thunderstreak
depicted here belongs to the 27 Squadron based in Kleine-Brogel in 1959.
It wears the blue squadron colors bands on nose and tail and the unit "
Black Panther" and wing " Lion" badge near the cockpit. The model
was painted in the so-called NATO camouflage of PRU blue, dark green and sea
grey. I used Xtracolor paints. DACO range provided with all markings and
stencils, but I did use the provided bands as template only. Please note that
these 1/48 sheets are almost sold out and it would be safer to get your set now
!
Last but not least,
if You are in need for inspiration or suffer an AMS attack during the building
of this model, may I recommend You the reading of Richard BACH novel,
"Stranger to the ground" , the thoughts of a Thunderstreak pilot
during a stormy night flight above Europe.
I hope you enjoyed
it
Glidingbob
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Drawing above is copyrighted
by Bob "Glidingbob" Verhegghen
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Ejection
seat detail
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