The next one up is the F-105D. Monogram did the F-105 in 1/48 first, and then scaled down those kits to 1/72. Still raised panel lines but a lot of detail. Also very thin wing moldings, the right side unfortunately had a terrible warp and would not straighten. I have a number of the kits so I borrowed a wing from one of the others and proceeded on. Much of the build order is illogical to my point of view, and the aft cooling intakes are not mentioned at all, but they are in the parts. Monogram did the wings with the reinforcing plates which were not installed until after the Viet Nam war, so I removed them so I could use the kit decals for Memphis Belle. Hope the decals are good. I painted the instrument panel and side consoles black and dry brushed them with aluminum powder, adequate for the scale I think, and certainly for my purposes.
Oofda, as we say around here. I like turning these old kits into good results in theory but every time I try to do it I end up abandoning the project somewhere around “panel rescribing time.”
I’ll be watching for tips and tricks – I’m sure it’s gonna come out great, as your builds always do, @jeaton01.
Tom, I don’t rescribe lines on kits if they are fine enough, and they are very fine on this one. If I were doing it in nmf I might choose otherwise, but since F-105’s were in almost every case either silver lacquer or SEA camouflage I’m fine with raised lines.
Well, I have to say that the silver lacquer scheme would be easier. Some weenie in the puzzle palace had too much time on his hands when he designed the SEA scheme for this one. All Model Master, Camouflage Grey, Dark Tan, Medium Green, and Dark Green. Once again many trees died to provide the masks for this one. Even in 1/72.
I hear ya on the masking procedure on some of these camo schemes John but your hard work is definitely paying off. I will say that I just got through purchasing a fine detail airbrush and it works PERFECT for free handing camo lines. All this time I’ve spent masking between camo borders is now a thing of the past.
I freehanded the camo lines on my Ta-152 as shown here: .
Your Ta-152 looks great, Joe, it will be a masterpiece. I can work pretty small lines with my airbrushes but the limiting factor for me is shaky hands, they don’t allow for enough precision to do things like the 172 F-105 freehand, There were times when my brain hurt anyway just trying to figure out how all the parts of that scheme fit together and paper templates for small details helped with that.
Sounds like you found a way past your dilemma John and I hear you on fitting the scheme together. I get brain “lockup” when trying to figure out stuff like that too.
Yeah, I got past the camouflage Joe and then the old decals blew up! New ones on the way, I was too lazy to make them up myself. Have a 1/72 RF-101C and and a 1/72 F-100D underway now to round out the Century Series in this scale, all older kits, 60’s Hasegawa and ESCI.
Finished this one, Model Master paints and Kits World decals. I was disappointed in the instructions and the lack of completeness from Kits World but the decals worked fine.
Hello John! Congratulations on a very cool looking build! You even showed the lower engine flap hanging down, like there’s no hydraulic pressure - attention to detail! Thanks for sharing and have a nice day
Paweł
Looks great! The F-105 is a favorite of mine, and I like the old 1/72 monogram kits. It was great to see one built, and built so well.
And lack of decent instructions seems to be a characteristic of Kits World products. I purchased their “3d” British phantom mb mk7 and there were no instructions. They were horrible decals too, and I wish I’d gone with resin seats. But maybe it was me? Anyways, great Thud.
