1/72 Airfix F-84F

Model by Bill Retoff

Photos by Don Rosser

--------------------

 

       This is my second submission to the ARC galleries.  It's the Airfix F-84F in 72nd scale.  I got this kit last November at the Butch O'Hare IPMS contest in Darien, Illinois for one dollar!  Like I said to the vendor--at that price, even if I screwed it up, I couldn't go much wrong!

       The kit went together pretty well.  The one challenging area was the canopy-to-fuselage join, as the canopy is a bit narrow for the cockpit opening.  Some plastic strips fixed this.  The only other non-OOB tasks I did was to fill the outer pylon slots, build up the "undershot" shelf behind the seat, rig a seat harness out of masking tape, plus add the kit's "famous" missing control column.

       My Thunderstreak is finished in the Virginia Air National Guard livery, with Vietnam-era camouflage typical of the late-1960s.  All painting was done with Testors MM enamels and acrylics, except for the glass behind the seat, which was painted with Tamiya Smoke acrylic.

       The only way you can tell it's a Virginia ANG F-84F is by the tiny VA near the top of the fin.  This designator and the serials were created on clear decal paper via my aging HP computer and laser jet printer.  The other markings came from old Microscale sheets and the Airfix kit decals.

       All-in-all, it was a danged fun build.  Didn't someone once say it?...Good Old Airfix! 

Bill

Photos and text © by Bill Retoff and Don Rosser