Revell's 1/32 F-104

echolmberg · January 23, 2007, 9:16am

Hi everyone,

I know I’ve mentioned this kit before but there was one last question I forgot to ask. Does anyone know if this kit comes with a complete J79 engine? I know Hasegawa makes a 1/48 F-104. Does that one come with an engine? I guess what I’m getting at is that I’m looking for a model kit that comes with a complete J79.

Thank you,

Eric

brain44 · January 23, 2007, 10:10am

Eric,

I can’t speak to the Revellogram 1:32 kit or the Hase 1:48, but the Hase 1:32 kit has the complete J-79. It’s frequently available on eBay. Hope this is of help!

Brian [C):-)]

davros · January 23, 2007, 10:40am

Probably not judging by the photos of the fuselage in the sprue pictures over at Largescaleplanes.com. The Hasegawa F-104 is quite an old kit from the time when gimmicks like removable engines were very popular. The fuselage on the Hasegawa kit is split behind the airbrakes to enable the engine to be inserted and this feature is missing from the pictures I found here. (as are the detailled airbrakes)…

http://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/Kits/Jets/Revell/f104g/f104g.htm

echolmberg · January 23, 2007, 12:25pm

Thanks for everyone’s assistance. I’m really trying to kill two birds with one stone here. I’d get to build the model while I could give the engine to my brother-in-law who worked on F-4 Phantom J79s while he was in the Air Force.

I never knew Hasegawa made a 1/32 F-104. How does it compare to the RM version?

Again, everyone’s help is much appreciated!

Eric

SoD_Stitch · January 23, 2007, 3:38pm

I’ve got both the Revell (pre-Monogram buyout) F-104G, and the Hasegawa F-104C; the Hasegawa is by far the better kit. More detail and better-formed parts. The Hasegawa does come with a complete J-79; I’ll have to check on the Revell, but I believe it does, also. The Hasegawa kit even gives you a wire “stiffener” that goes inside the landing gear to make it stronger. The Hasegawa kit also gives you a complete M61 cannon that can be displayed with the access door open and, of course, the Revell kit does not. I’d recommend the Hasegawa kit, but I suppose it depends on how much you want to spend; I bought the Hasegawa kit about 5 years ago for around $40.00. The Revell kit was about 1/4 of that price, but that was twenty years ago; it’s probably at least double that now (okay, so now I’m confusing you, right?).

I believe there are AM parts available for the Hasegawa kit (resin cockpit?) , but not the RM kit, so that may be a factor, also.

echolmberg · January 23, 2007, 4:08pm

I’ve got both the Revell (pre-Monogram buyout) F-104G, and the Hasegawa F-104C; the Hasegawa is by far the better kit. More detail and better-formed parts. The Hasegawa does come with a complete J-79; I’ll have to check on the Revell, but I believe it does, also. The Hasegawa kit even gives you a wire “stiffener” that goes inside the landing gear to make it stronger. The Hasegawa kit also gives you a complete M61 cannon that can be displayed with the access door open and, of course, the Revell kit does not. I’d recommend the Hasegawa kit, but I suppose it depends on how much you want to spend; I bought the Hasegawa kit about 5 years ago for around $40.00. The Revell kit was about 1/4 of that price, but that was twenty years ago; it’s probably at least double that now (okay, so now I’m confusing you, right?).

I believe there are AM parts available for the Hasegawa kit (resin cockpit?) , but not the RM kit, so that may be a factor, also.

Thank you for the great info! I was starting to wonder if one was a reboxing of the other but it sounds like it’s not. I assume you were talking about the 1/32 offering. Is that correct? Also, as an FYI, the 1/32 Revell F-104 I was looking at was $35. Not too shabby but I wouldn’t get it if it didn’t come with the engine. My brother-in-law is willing to buy the kit but I don’t want him to shell out the cash if it didn’t have the engine.

SoD_Stitch · January 23, 2007, 4:17pm

I’ve got both the Revell (pre-Monogram buyout) F-104G, and the Hasegawa F-104C; the Hasegawa is by far the better kit. More detail and better-formed parts. The Hasegawa does come with a complete J-79; I’ll have to check on the Revell, but I believe it does, also. The Hasegawa kit even gives you a wire “stiffener” that goes inside the landing gear to make it stronger. The Hasegawa kit also gives you a complete M61 cannon that can be displayed with the access door open and, of course, the Revell kit does not. I’d recommend the Hasegawa kit, but I suppose it depends on how much you want to spend; I bought the Hasegawa kit about 5 years ago for around $40.00. The Revell kit was about 1/4 of that price, but that was twenty years ago; it’s probably at least double that now (okay, so now I’m confusing you, right?).

I believe there are AM parts available for the Hasegawa kit (resin cockpit?) , but not the RM kit, so that may be a factor, also.

Thank you for the great info! I was starting to wonder if one was a reboxing of the other but it sounds like it’s not. I assume you were talking about the 1/32 offering. Is that correct? Also, as an FYI, the 1/32 Revell F-104 I was looking at was $35. Not too shabby but I wouldn’t get it if it didn’t come with the engine. My brother-in-law is willing to buy the kit but I don’t want him to shell out the cash if it didn’t have the engine.

Oops! Guess I forgot to mention that; yes, they are both 1/32nd. I vaguely remember paying about $12-$15 for my Revell F-104G in '85, and I thought that was a pretty good deal back then. Lemme double-check on the engine for you; I’m at work right now, I’ll get back to you 9:00 AM PST tomorrow (Wednesday). Also, lemme know if you have any interest in the original decal sheet for the “G”, I’m probably going to use AM decals.

SoD_Stitch · January 26, 2007, 4:56pm

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you . . .

I was incorrect: the Revell F-104G does not come with a J-79 engine, only the Hasegawa does. All you get with the Revell -104 is the afterburner can.

berny13 · February 1, 2007, 8:30am

The J-79 that comes with the 1/32 scale Hasagawa F-104 is not the type used in the F-4. You would have to scratch build several items to make it look like a -15 or -17 engine. The CSD/generator housing is not shaped correctly. It doesn’t have the oil cooler struts so you will have to scratch build them. The oil pump accessory housing (OPAH) and engine driven gear box (EDGB) are the wrong type. You would have to add the primary and utility hydraulic pumps, as well as associated hoses to the EDGB. It doesn’t have the 16th stage bleed air ducts used for the boundry layer control (BLC) system. The AB exhaust nozzels are too short but AM parts are available for them.

I had planned on using that engine for a F-4 display but gave up on it. I later gave the F-104 kit to a friend, who kept begging me for it. He later sold it to someone else.

SoD_Stitch · February 2, 2007, 2:01pm

The J-79 that comes with the 1/32 scale Hasagawa F-104 is not the type used in the F-4. You would have to scratch build several items to make it look like a -15 or -17 engine. The CSD/generator housing is not shaped correctly. It doesn’t have the oil cooler struts so you will have to scratch build them. The oil pump accessory housing (OPAH) and engine driven gear box (EDGB) are the wrong type. You would have to add the primary and utility hydraulic pumps, as well as associated hoses to the EDGB. It doesn’t have the 16th stage bleed air ducts used for the boundry layer control (BLC) system. The AB exhaust nozzels are too short but AM parts are available for them.

I had planned on using that engine for a F-4 display but gave up on it. I later gave the F-104 kit to a friend, who kept begging me for it. He later sold it to someone else.

If I’m not mistaken, the power output on the two different models were different, also; the -11 engine used in the -104 was a “first-generation” J-79, and had a maximum thrust (w/AB) of 15,600 lbs., whereas the “second-generation” -17 variant in the F-4 put out a maximum thrust of 17,845 lbs.