1/48 HobbyBoss F-105G Thunderchief

Gallery Article by Burt Gustafson on Mar 17 2014

 

 

For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/48 scale HobbyBoss F-105G Thunderchief. The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was a Mach 2 supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. The F-105D conducted the majority of the bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War. However, it was the only U.S. aircraft to have been removed from combat due to high loss rates.

By 1973, eighty six F-105F Wild Weasel aircraft were produced. Sixty one of these were converted into F-105Gs, with the sole purpose of destroying or suppressing North Vietnamese Fan Song surface-to-air missile radars. Weaseling was, and still is, a very dangerous mission. By 1973, the F-105G proved itself as the best aircraft for the job of playing ‘here, kitty kitty’ with Vietnamese SAM operators.

The F-105G incorporated a considerable amount of new SEAD-specific avionics, including an upgraded Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW) system, this required a redesign of the wingtips. To free outboard hardpoints for additional weapons, the Westinghouse AN/ALQ-105 electronic countermeasures were permanently installed in two long blisters on the underside of the fuselage.

Thirty aircraft were fitted with pylons to carry the AGM-78 Standard anti-radiation missile. On a typical mission, the F-105G carried two AGM-45 Shrike missiles on outboard pylons, a single AGM-78 Standard on an inboard pylon balanced by a 450 US gal (1,700 L) fuel tank on the other side, and a 650 US gal (2,500 L) centerline fuel tank.

 

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Construction
Building the HobbyBoss F-105G was a lengthy project for a couple reasons. First the F-105G is a large model with lots of parts, especially to build up the wings, all flying surfaces are separate pieces. Secondly, the overall fit was less than precise. Every mating surface required filling and sanding to fit, except for the cockpit area. The cockpit went together nicely with no fit problems. The ejection seats have molded seat belts which is a nice touch. The kit provides decals for the instrument panels. However, all the panels have raised detail and I chose to hand paint the panels.

HobbyBoss like Trumpeter provides an engine. I just partially build the engine so the exhaust nozzle and aft engine compartment fit the fuselage correctly. The kit gives you the option of having the gun port open or closed. It also gives you the option of having the nose cone open so you can see the radar antenna. I chose to have both the gun port and nose cone closed. You need to be cautious when building these to areas because there are a lot of fiddly little parts. The illustrations in the instruction guide are quite good so you don't have spend a lot of time figuring out where the parts go.

Painting
All paints used for this model were Model Master and Floquil enamel paints. The camouflage paint scheme is the SEA scheme, typical of USAF Vietnam era aircraft. The underside of the model was airbrushed with Light Ghost Gray. Upper surfaces were airbrushed with: Dark Tan (FS30219), Medium Green (FS34102), and Dark Green (FS34079). Missiles were painted with Floquil Reefer White. Wheel wells and the insides of landing gear doors were painted with Model Masters Interior Green. The landing gears were hand painted with Floquil Bright Silver to simulate bare metal.

Decals
The decals HobbyBoss provides are good; they are well printed and lay down over detail nicely. However they have a tendency for silvering. A touch of Solvaset on each decal pretty much eliminates the silvering.

Comments
Evan with all the fit problems this kit has, the finished model is well detailed and sleek looking as all F-105 aircraft are. I was pleased with the finished model. This was not a shake and bake build and recommend it for only experienced modelers.

Burt Gustafson

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Photos and text © by Burt Gustafson