The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was developed to meet a United States Air Force (USAF) need for a fighter bomber capable of both replacing the F-84 Thunderjet and carrying nuclear weapons.  The Thunderchief, eventually to be referred to most commonly as the “Thud”, was the largest single engine jet fighter ever developed for the USAF. 

The single seat F-105D was a radical upgrade to the F-105B and was the first aircraft to employ the concept of fully integrated avionics.  Significant changes to the avionics and cockpit instrumentation allowed the F-105 to be an all-weather fighter.  This version was heavier as well as having a longer fuselage in order to accommodate the additional radar equipment.  Production began in 1959 and the F-105D became the most numerous aircraft variant with 610 aircraft built.

The F-105D became the USAF’s primary fighter-bomber during the Vietnam Conflict, conducting its first missions in 1965 and continuing throughout the war.  The F-105 was well suited for the role due to its maneuverability and stability during high-speed, low-level flight.  The F-105D was later augmented by the two-seat F-105F, which was used in the “Wild Weasel’ surface-to-air (SAM) suppression role over North Vietnam . ‘Thud’ pilots flew over 20,000 missions in Vietnam and accounted for over 75 percent of all the bombing missions flown during the war.  Of the 750 F-105s use during the war, 397 were lost in combat or in accidents, literally depleting the F-105 fleet of its operational capability by 1974.  F-105s accounted for 27.5 MiG kills and the destruction of many North Vietnamese SAM sites during the war.          

This is my Revell 1/48 F-105D Thunderchief.  It represents F-105D-5-RE, 59-1743, the “Arkansas Traveler”, flown by Colonel Paul P. Douglas, Jr., Commander of the 388^th Tactical Fighter Wing, Korat , Thailand , in 1968-69.  Colonel Douglas became an ace during World War II flying a P-47 Thunderbolt, and his F-105D carried his kill markings from that conflict.  Today, the “Arkansas Traveler” is proudly displayed at the Hill Aerospace Museum located on the grounds of Hill Air Force Base, Utah .  (http://www.hill.af.mil/museum/)

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The Kit

Typical of Revell/Monogram kits, this model had some engineering issues, although, in the end, it builds into a very nice model of an F-105D.  These engineering issues included lack of tabs for proper alignment of the nose gear well, no pre-drilled holes for the centerline multiple ejection rack (MER), the MER tabs for the bombs being too thick, the rear portion of the nose gear being too thick to fit into the wheel well, the main gear retraction jacks having no slot to be glued into in the wheel wells, the nose gear doors fitting poorly, the underside fuselage antenna, fuel dump, and “Y” vent having no respective slots or locating pins,  and the locating tabs and corresponding slots for the main gear struts being a complete circle, as opposed to a half circle, thus making it harder to ensure proper alignment of the landing gear.  On the plus side, the cockpit, ordinance, landing gear, wheel wells, afterburner assembly, exhaust nozzle/brake petals and overall detail are all very well done.  I especially liked the arrangement of the rear wing spar being fitted through the fuselage to form the rear part of the wheel well, thus ensuring a good wing-to-fuselage fit and proper dihedral.  In addition, the dimensions look very accurate, really bringing home the size of the brute. 

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Construction

The model was built pretty much straight out of the box, with the only exception being the resin ejection seat, which is made by Seamless Suckers (I love that name!), which was a nice improvement over the kit-supplied seat.  Also, the molded on brake lines were filed and sanded off the landing gear struts and replaced with beading wire and brass wire, giving them a more realistic look.  To secure a good fit of the underside fuselage antenna, fuel dump, and “Y” vent, I drilled a small hole in the rear of each piece, and glued a piece of brass rod in each hole to make a locating pin.  I then made a small indentation in the fuselage with the exposed end of the pin, and drilled a small hole for each piece, with the result being a strong, secure fit.  To keep the model on its nose, I inserted weights in front of the nose gear wheel well and in the tips of the underwing fuel tanks, as this model is a real “tail-sitter”. 

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Painting

I used Model Master Enamels for the standard SEA camouflage pattern of Dark Green (FS# 34079), Medium Green (FS# 34102) and Tan (FS# 30219) over Light Gray (FS# 36622).  The cockpit was painted Interior Gray (FS# 36231).  The model was airbrushed freehand using a Badger 200 single-action airbrush.  After each exterior base color was airbrushed on, I went over it with the same color mixed with white, to represent fading from the hot, humid climate of Southeast Asia .  I airbrushed starting with the light gray, followed by the tan, medium green, and dark green, respectively.  This helps to prevent the darker colors bleeding through the lighter ones.  Touching up the overspray was achieved by airbrushing and drybrushing.  By drybrushing, I was able to subtly eliminate most of the overspray while at the same time maintaining the feathered edge of the colors.  

Weathering & Final Assembly

For the landing gear, ordinance, brake petals, engine, wheel wells, and interior of the inboard gear doors, I used an acrylic wash of PollyScale Night Black, followed by a drybrushing using the respective base colors mixed with white.  A few coats of Future was brushed on to the fuselage, wings, MER, pylons, exterior of landing gear doors, and wing fuel tanks in preparation for the decals and to seal the enamel and decals against the effects of the oil wash.  I used Ivory Black mixed with Turpenoid for the oil wash, applying it to a section at a time; then wiping it off with a dry cotton rag.  The oil wash does a nice job of giving a plane that subtle, grimy look.  I used the kit decals, which were applied using Micro Set Solution.  Paint chipping was done by using a silver artist pencil.  Testors’ dullcote was sprayed on the entire model, which really helped to tone down the weathering.  Finally, the windscreen and canopy were painted with a brush, dipped in Future and allowed to dry overnight.  The glass for the gunsight and the canopy were glued on using super glue, and the windscreen was glued on using Elmer’s glue.

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Special thanks to modelers Ivan Rich and Jeff Brundt who provided me with advice on the oil wash and using a Lego block as a guide for painting those tricky yellow stripes on the curved part of the fuselage bombs.

Happy Modeling!

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