So you find yourself at a quandary you have a very nice F-4 in 48th scale, spent some effort and some cash on a nice cockpit and your attention now turns towards the thrust end of your model. Gee, it would be nice to do something about those, they’re ok, but I spent the effort and time to do the cockpit up, it sure looks like SOMETHING could be done about those WITHOUT blowing another twenty to thirty bucks again!  Well, now there is. Enter 3rd Wire.

With their entry into the scene a really nice set of exhausts can be had for fewer than ten bucks!  Is this possible? How can this be? ALL resin is expensive isn’t it? If it’s cheap, it looks cheap, right? Well, the boys at 3^rd wire don’t think so. 3rd Wire is a group of modelers for modelers. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Everyone at 3^rd Wire is a modeler, and knows the pitfalls of modeling. They understand what it takes to make a model look really nice. Their two new sets are just an example if this philosophy. 

No model company yet has really made a nice J-79 exhaust can, or for that matter the exhaust trunking and aft turbine out of the box. The effort for these just hasn’t been there. It’s a real shame, because when people look at models, they always take a gander at the rear of the model. What they have seen in the past is somewhat crude and not a true representation of what makes the thing go. In the defense of the model companies, making a mold for this with the injection process would be very expensive and labor intensive. So in an effort to curb kit costs, they usually offer a multi-piece affair, which is difficult to make the assembly seams disappear. 

3^rd Wire offers their solution in 3 cast pieces. These pieces are the can (this is the part that is externally visible), the trunking (this is the part the exhaust travels through to get out) and the aft turbine facing complete with flame holder (this is part of the turbine that is visible when looking through the other to assemblies). Each part is cast in white resin and is neatly cast. Some traces of RTV from the mold left in some for the finer crevices, but nothing that couldn’t be removed with a sharp toothpick. 

The can piece is the most complex of the three, for it contains the actuated “feathers” of the exhaust. These are the parts of the exhaust that actually expand or contract depending on engine setting. Because of their nature they are tough to represent. 3^rd Wire, in my opinion, “nailed it” in both sets. Both early (J-79-8) and later (J-79-10) parts have the correct representation equaling that what you would get from previously using photo-etch parts to duplicate. The late set also has the double set of feathers internally (particular to that version of turbine). All lines are straight and no miscasting is present. The casting block on these must be removed very carefully as this the most visible part of the whole set.

The trunking is about an inch long and will represent the true space between the can and the end of the turbine itself in scale rather nicely. It has the baffle plates cast well within the inside as necessary. If you have ever seen a J-79, you will notice that in this section there is what could be described as corrugations or ripples in the baffles. The 3rd Wire set captures these in their set very well. One end of this assembly has a casting block the other is free. Care must be taken to remove this from the block to ensure that it mates up with the corresponding piece without gaps.

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The aft turbine section completes the set. It comes complete with turbine detail and molded in flame holder. It has a small section of the baffles on it that will line up with the trunking piece. The inclusion of the flame holder is a nice touch, as it is aligned with the turbine alleviating the need to align this manually as in other sets.

Below you can see with the three major kits on the market (Revell \ Monogram, Hasegawa, and ESCI \ Italeri) how the set looks when placed in each kit. I didn’t have a Testor kit available, hence it is not shown. 

Revell \ Monogram fitting.   

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	Once installed:

You will notice in the above picture there are some gaps to deal with on the Revell \ Mono. It can be done but it will take some work to achieve a good look. 

Hasegawa fitting: 

The cut in the fuse halves also has to be done on the Hasegawa kit. The cut is the same for the Revell \ Monogram pictured above, hence no picture was taken of this. It may seem that this may be excessive, but the time to make the cut is about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, if you don’t make this modification, the set will not align correctly. As you can see the fit is MUCH better with this kit.

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Once fitted here’s what you get	Another view from the rear.  In this picture you can see all the detail put into these sets. It is truly a GREAT enhancement to the kit.

Finally, the ESCI fitting. 

The ESCI is rather old, but is still popular today. Incidentally, the newer Italeri F-4 molds are the same as the ESCI kit, hence their inclusion on this review.

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This and the Hasegawa offer the best fit of the sets.	Another view from the rear:

In all, you have a very attractive set for the J-79 dilemma, that the average modeler and assemble in about twenty minutes or so. The Revell installation will take more finesse to make look good, but it is still a great improvement to what the kit gives you to work with,

The Hasegawa and ESCI kits take the set with little modifications. The fit one on these is much better. It’s important to note something at this time; even the best set of resin does take a little work to get it right. The issues with the fit of this set can be overcome in the case of the Revell kit.  I would still use this set in that kit, given the choice. 

As far as assembly of the set goes, it is really pretty easy. Most of my time was spent squaring up the pieces with the blocked ends. Your time may vary depending on you sanding technique. The sets would be good for a number of aircraft, basically anything with a J-79 attached.  In the instance of an F-104, you would have a spare (if you mess one up, or for another kit). 

 I personally can vouch for the customer service from 3^rd Wire, as in writing this review, I sanded a little too much on one of the early cans, my fault totally. One phone call to their staff, and a new set was at my door in 3 days for free. These guys are all about what they sell, and stand behind their product very well.  

To get you hands on a set; contact 3^rd Wire direct @ WWW.3RDWIREMODELS.COM or through their distributor North American Hobbies @ WWW.NAHOBBIES@AOL.COM . 

The guys at 3^rd Wire get a much deserved “atta-boy” from this reviewer, and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND them to all in search of an “affordable” option to the “J-79 blues”. 

My thanks to 3rd Wire Models for the review samples!

For additional information, visit the 3rd Wire website at http://3rdwiremodels.com.

Jarrod

Photos and text © by Jarrod Cunningham