For your viewing
pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/48 scale Republic F-84G Thunderjet. The
F-84G was not much as a dogfighter, but it was an excellent strike aircraft
during the Korean War. However, Thunderjets takeoff performance left much to be
desired. In hot Korean summers, Thunderjets, with a full combat load, required
10,000 feet of runway for takeoff, even with the help of RATO bottles. Pilots
had some interesting names for the the Thunderjet, such as, "The Lead
Sled", "The Hog", and "The Worlds Fastest Tricycle".
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images below to see larger images
Despite its drawbacks, the
Thunderjet had some notable achievements. The F-84G was the first aircraft
flown by the USAF Thunderbirds, and the first fighter with built-in air
refueling capability. It was also the first single seat fighter capable of
carrying a nuclear bomb.
About the kit: Like
most Tamiya models, this was a pretty easy build. The parts fit was excellent
with lots of detail. Back in the day of the Korean War, many USAF aircraft were
quite colorful. For the most part they had a bare metal finish with lots of
fancy bright markings. For this model I wanted a really shiny finish. To get
that shiny finish, I used Alclad II Polished Aluminum paint.
After airbrushing
the olive drab band down the center of the fuselage, I primed the rest of the
model with MM Gloss Black and let it cure for 48 hours. I then airbrushed Alclad
II Polished Aluminum over the Gloss Black, and "WOW" what a bright
shiny finish. Alclad II Polished Aluminum paint covers well and dries in a
hurry, and you don't have to worry about paint chipping or peeling off.
After painting, I
applied a coat of Future and let it dry for 72 hours in preparation for decals.
Tamiya provided decals for three aircraft; I chose the markings for the 454 FS
"Four Queens". The decals were good, easily placed and snuggled down
fairly well, except in a few places that required some encouragement from
Solvaset decal solution. I finished off the model with MM Gloss Clear Lacquer
Finish.
All in all I was
quite pleased with the finished model, and as you can see, is it ever bright.
Burt Gustafson
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images below to see larger images
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