This is the first GB I’ve tried to start. The subject for this group build is any aircraft purpose-built for, or adapted to, an interceptor role, such as the F-106 or F-14. This also includes any aircraft adapted later for multi-role use, like the F-4, as long as the original air-to-air capability remained intact.
There’s a lot of different possibilities here, from a modern-day Tomcat or Tornado, to classics like the F-89 or F-102, or even back into WWII with the Me-163 and the like. You should be able to find something interesting in any time period.
The timeline:
June 1st - November 30th (should be plenty of time, but this is not necessarily fixed)
The rules:
The first rule is that there are no rules.
Any scale or kit is okay.
PE, resin, all aftermarket stuff is just fine.
Enter as many models as you want, as long as they fit the Interceptor criteria.
Count me in. I know I faded out of my last GB… sorry, RadMax, I thought you had a cool idea but real life intervened. Anyhow, I think (hope) I can squeeze in another build before school starts.
I’ll go with the ProModeler F-86D in 1/48. I had intended to build the RM F-16ADF. Went to LHS to see if he could order the PE set, since the cockpit is blank plastic (support the locals and all that)… long story short, he couldn’t but I ended up buying the Dog Sabre kit I’d been eyeing for a year. It looks like a very good kit for $26, I’m looking forward to building it.
I’m a big fan of interceptors. My first completed build after I got back into the hobby a year ago was the RM F-101. Now if only someone would make an injection-molded MiG-31 in 1/48…
Awesome. Glad to see someone’s interested. Gotta love that F-86.
Personally, I’m going to be finishing my Revellogram F-106. It was the first 1/48 kit I started since I got back into modelling, and it turned into a putty nightmare. Giant gaps and seams, and since I didn’t have the experience to fix it right, I ended up doing a real poor job and pretty much sanding all the exterior detail off before deciding I couldn’t stomach any more, throwing a coat of ADC grey on, and putting it on a shelf for two years.
I think I’m not going to try to do any more real work with it, since it’s already more or less assembled and painted, but I do want to get it finished even if it’s not up to my current standards, since it’s a big plane and taking up valuable workbench space. I think I’d still rather finish it than throw it in the garbage, even if it is a 10$ kit. I’m not going to bother rescribing it since you couldn’t see the panel lines on the real thing, anyway. They kept them pretty much spotless.
Since most of the work is already done I am going to be building another kit from the beginning, an F-14D Tomcat. It’s the Revell/Monogram kit (again) and the fit is terrible and the fuselage warped, but I think that where I am now I can tackle it and get a presentable result.
I would love to join but unfortunatly I am basically Calander Full GB wise for the year BTW Madroc the monogram F-86 D builds up BEAUTIFULLY I did not have to fill a single seam on the entire kit just a few passes with a polishing set cleaned the seams you could see for a great bare metal finish and it has a really good cockpit OOB I hope you enjoy it[:D] good luck with the GB Des If I can sneak in the time for another GB I’ll let ya know TTFN
Sure, if you find time to squeeze another project into your calendar, feel free to jump in. The timeline (June to November) is hardly fixed at this point, and not that important in the long run.
If anyone’s wondering, this isn’t limited to just jets. I’m keeping my definition of “interceptor” deliberately loose; I’d also count a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain or a FW-190 based in France, for example, as long as it’s a plane from a squadron tasked primarily with defending friendly territory from enemy bombers or what have you. I already said that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a purpose-built Interceptor, although I suppose that would be preferred. Anyone should be able to find something that they’d like to build and also in keeping with the spirit of the GB.
Examples of more modern interceptors would be planes like the F-106 (in fact, a lot of the other century series jets too), the F-4 or the F-14 (both were originially designed as fleet defense interceptors, with multi-role capability tacked on later), the Tornado ADV or the Mig-25.
Count me in. That gives me the excuse the do the F-102A from the 32nd FIS, the one I was Crew Chief on from '62-'65. I have the Monogram 1/48 F-102A case X wing and decals from Fox One.
Outstanding. The F-102 and the -106 both carried some very cool markings, I’m not familiar with the 32nd FIS though or its color schemes.
That reminds me of a bizarre story I heard about the F-102 during the Vietnam war. Apparently, they had a couple squadrons moved to southeast asia, I think Thailand, to protect our airspace. Then, someone got the bright idea to use them for ground attack. They were ordered to fly, nap-of-the-earth along the Ho Chi Minh trail in the middle of the night, and look for Vietcong campfires with their infrared gear designed to detect Soviet bombers. Once they found a target, they were to shoot at it with their air-to-air rockets and return to base.
Apparently this hilariously ludicrous misapplication of technology lost most of its humor when they started losing pilots left and right from flying into the sides of mountains in the dark. So, fortunately, they stopped doing it.
Kind of makes you wonder what the heck they were smoking over there.
Though, I do think the Delta Dagger looks pretty good in SEA camo.
I see another one that fell victim to inaccurate fiction reports from “Un named sources”. The F-102 was sent to Vietnam and Thailand and performed the alert duty roll and limited B-52 escort. They never were used for ground attack at any time during the Vietnam war. Some one that wanted to glorify the roll the F-102 played in Nam probably started that story and now it is assumed as true.
The 32nd FIS had red, white and blue fan stripes painted on the vertical stab.
Really? I know I read that somewhere from an otherwise decently reputable source, might’ve been one of the Janes’ air combat books, I don’t know. It does seem farfetched but stranger things have definitely happened. I’m sure you’d know more about it than the rest of us do.
I think I might start working on the 106 early just to free up workbench space so I’ll have room to work on the F-14.
How is that F-102 kit in terms of fit? I thought about getting one but the F-106 was such a pain in the rear that I kind of shied away from it. Not that I don’t like a challenge (I don’t build many Tamigawa “shake and bake” kits, and for more reasons besides cost), but I have my limits.
The Monogram F-102 was released in the late 80’s and does have some fit problems. With dry fitting and sanding you shouldn’t have to much problems. The weapons bay doors fit very bad and will require careful work to get them to fit properly. There is a large gap where the lower wing and upper wing join, which will require some filling and sanding. I have built several and it is a fun kit to build.
The F-106 has the same problem with the lower and upper wing, and unfortunately when I put the kit together I didn’t have the skill to fix it properly, but I’m not going to go back and fix it now. The F-14, on the other hand, I want to do that one right.
I’ve seen a few Monogram F-102s in person at contests, and they can build up real nice. Looking forward to seeing how you guys’ kits turn out.
I may as well jump on board this GB as well. [:D] I will be doing two 1/48 ICM Spitfire Mk VII interceptors decked out as 453 SQN RAAF in WWII using Red Roo Decals.
My 2 Mk VII Spitfires are starting to come to shape now. The wings are together and the internals are ready for weathering, at this rate hopefully they should be together in the not too distant future.
One more day. I’m really looking forward to starting my Sabre Dawg. My first NMF (minicraft 727) didn’t turn out super-duper but I learned some lessons and I can practice another one on the F-107 I started for the Ohio GB. I’m going straight OOB with the Wright-Pat decals.
