1/32 Hasegawa F-104G  

by Thanos Mentzelopoulos

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Greece Independence Day 2007

 

Again, another favourite subject!  This is the old Hasegawa kit of the F-104G, once more in Greek colours.  The model represents the "Tiger" F-104G of the Hellenic Air Force.  The actual aircraft was painted in this pattern to commemorate the disbanding of the "Tiger" squadron some time in the early 90's.  The kit is really excellent: the fit was near perfect requiring almost no filler at all.  Unlike with the "Olympus" model I built, I decided to "break" the lines of the aircraft by opening the panels of the gun compartment, the radar cone etc. 

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The detail there is of the usual Hasegawa style.  The "Tiger" F-104G of the Hellenic Air Force is now on display at the Tatoi Aircraft Museum, Athens, Greece. That's why the weathering was kept comparatively low: No drybrushing, just a grey wash was applied to the model.  It was painted entirely with Humbrol gloss enamel paints.  The tiger heads come from a decal sheet made in Greece, also containing the ones for the "Olympus" model.

Aspects of the finished model. The black stripes were hand-painted.  The detail in the radar cone was improved with copper and solder wire. 

The cockpit detail is really excellent.  The only thing you'll have to replace - if you don't have the time for improvements and modifications - is the seat.  What you see here is the Hasegawa seat with harnesses made from aluminium foil.  Any other improvement in the cockpit was made with thin solder wire.  

Thanos

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Photos and text © by Thanos Mentzelopoulos