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MONOGRAM 1:48 F-104G STARFIGHTER |
Reviewer:
Michael Johnson (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:
23 July 2003
The F-104 originated in 1952 to fulfil a USAF requirement for a superiority fighter and after investigating a number of new ideas, Lockheed produced a dramatic and startling design. It bore little resemblance to existing aircraft, having a tiny wing only 2.28m (7’6”) long with such sharp edges that ground personnel had to be protected from injury by covers. The wings have leading edge and trailing edge flaps, and a boundary layer control system which is used in conjunction with the trailing edge flaps to reduce landing speeds.
A drag chute is installed to reduce the landing roll and an arresting hook is available for bringing the aircraft to an emergency stop. Internal fuel cells and external fuel tanks may be serviced through a single-point pressure refuelling system.
This remarkable machine first flew in February 1954 and was in operational service as an interceptor in January 1958. In 1959 the Luftwaffe placed a development contract for a modified version – the F-104G which was to have fighter, bomber and reconnaissance capability. The trainer version is known as the TF-104G.
The F-104G was an improved version of the C model built in the US under the Military Assistance Program (MAP) and internationally by Consortium. The USAF never bought any G models; however, the aircraft was operated by the USAF for training of non-USAF pilots primarily from Germany.
The photo-reconnaissance version of the F-104G has three cameras installed in area of the shell case stowage compartment and is referred to as the RF-104G.
© Michael Johnson 2003
Yet another “Mike” kit, this arrived along with a wonderful Cutting Edge F-104S decal sheet as part of Mike’s regular boxes of goodies. I must admit that I was not much of a Starfighter fan prior to building this kit but as the kit progressed and took shape, I found myself more drawn to the F-104 and before too long had a small but growing selection of them tucked away in my “stash”.
Comes in a typical Monogram top opening box, which reveals two sprues of lurid yellow plastic and one clear sprue. All parts are flash free with many parts marred by ejector pin marks, nothing that filler could not solve in the most part, but some pin marks marred detail which would take some effort to remove. A basic set of instructions and thick glossy decals depicting a bright yellow and black Luftwaffe Jagdbombergeschwader 33 F-104G complete the box.
I wish that kit manufacturers would bag canopies separately to prevent scratches and scuffing! The kit supplied canopy is thin and clear, with nicely defined framing.
All those who had read my reviews before know that I love Monogram jet kits. To me they are fantastic kits for those who are prepared to do a little work (or a lot, oft times) and with the addition of an aftermarket set or a new set of decals can be turned into a finished product rivalling more modern releases.
For all those modellers out there who think raised panel lines are old hat, please think again as you are missing out on some great kits that are a whole lot of fun to build with a little effort!
Assembly started with the cockpit, which is a gem. I sprayed the cockpit walls and tub Aeromaster Neutral Grey, followed with some dry brushing with a lighter shade to bring out detail and impart service wear. A nicely detailed ejector seat is provided, which after suitable painting and dry brushing looks very much the part. Side consoles and the instrument panel were painted flat black and dry brushed with light grey.
The fuselage consists of an upper and lower split forward half, along with a simplistic General Electric J79-GE-11A jet engine. A separate tail section split into two sides covers the engine, “clipping” to the forward fuselage. I decided right at the start that acquiring a detailed power plant for this rocket was not going to happen and I certainly was not interested in super detailing, so every thing was closed up along with the side mounted airbrakes and all gaps filled with filler…lots of filler!
As I was modelling an Italian Air Force F-104S, I went through my reference material and the internet to ascertain any external differences between the G model and the S model. All I could find was that the ventral strake leading edge was at a different angle to the fuselage. A couple of cuts with a scalpel soon rectified the difference.
The wingtip fuel tanks assembled with ease but needed sanding to remove seam lines; they were then offered up to the wingtips and cemented into place. Some time was needed to achieve the correct placement and “stance”, in this I was aided by some excellent 3 way views in the F-104 Starfighter in Action book by Squadron/Signal. After the cement had set, some filler was used to smooth over any seams.
© Michael Johnson 2003
I added a fishing sinker to the inside of the separate nosecone and added that to the forward fuselage along with filling and sanding to eradicate a slight step at the join.
As I did not want to display the gun bay open, I cemented the cannon bay door closed and needed to fill the unsightly gaps that resulted. The jet intakes needed significant amounts of filler to remove the seam and achieve a smooth fit. It was the removal of seams and filler work that took up most of the time constructing this kit. I always use a disposable filter mask whilst sanding and after looking at the outside of the mask, I am glad I do!
The remainder of assembly proceeded smoothly and rather quickly, with only small amounts of filler required to smooth out remaining ill fitting joints. As this was going to be sprayed natural metal, seam line removal and silky smooth plastic are mandatory so the whole airframe was polished with Tamiya Polishing Compound and buffed with a soft lint free cloth. In the end though I decided to use primer!
While all this filler and plastic was curing, I tidied up and pre-painted the undercarriage legs, undercarriage bay doors and wheels.
Next, I cleaned up, polished and masked the canopy. The canopy was offered up to the fuselage and cemented into place with clear parts cement, reinforced with a careful application of liquid cement. Some filler work with white glue was needed to remove any gaps, with excess wiped away with a moistened mk1 fingertip.
© Michael Johnson 2003
Now that construction was finished I could settle down to masking fun and painting. I started with Tamiya primer, to cover that horrid yellow plastic and grey filler. Initially I was not going to apply any primer and had prepared accordingly, but decided that it would be best to prime, giving a homogenous base for the natural metal coat. The Italian Air Force F-104S that was the subject of the Cutting Edge decal sheet was painted in Aluminium paint and not left natural metal. For the aluminium paint I used Tamiya AS-12 Natural Metal straight from a spray can.
When the Tamiya AS12 had dried I masked the airframe in preparation for the gloss dark blue areas . Matching this colour proved somewhat difficult to find until I found an appropriate shade from Gunze Sango’s range. Most Gunze paints are semi gloss in finish and this colour was no exception. No gloss coat needed here! The Gunze Dark Blue sprayed on beautifully through my Aztek airbrush. Bottle instructions informed me to thin in distilled water, which I did, nicking some of my Lady Wife’s ironing water supply while she was busy painting up her latest 25mm fantasy miniature!
Whilst all that paint was drying, I spent some time cleaning and then painting the burner can. Painting burner cans is straight forward, spray a base of flat black and dry brush Model Master metallic paints to give the burner can a weathered, and heat stressed appearance. The Model Master metallics are very thin and dry brush really nicely.
© Michael Johnson 2003
At this stage of my hobby, I had not discovered the joys of using decal strip to represent bands and stripes and thus did not finish the nose pitot in “candy stripe” as masking this feature with masking tape was just too hard to achieve neatly. One day I might go back and do the “candy striping”.
The Cutting Edge Decal sheet provides markings for two Italian Air Force F-104S Starfighters;
The Tigermeet decals depict a tiger clawing its way through the fuselage and the 75th anniversary scheme has a witch riding a broomstick on the tail, with plenty of stars along the fuselage.
© Michael Johnson 2003
I had never used Cutting Edge decals before and was eager to try them out as they looked thin and opaque on the sheet.
The decals were applied with no difficulties at all and reacted well to Aeromaster Sol II solvent. I have other subject sheets from Cutting Edge in my decal stash and am looking forward to trying those out as well. Recommended!
I decided to clear coat the airframe to blend everything together. I used Aeromaster Semi-Gloss for this task as the aluminium finish was paint not bare metal. Once on, the semi-gloss gives the finished model a nice homogenous scale gloss finish.
© Michael Johnson 2003
All that needed to be added was the undercarriage, undercarriage doors and the un-masking of the canopy.
Care must be taken when attaching the main gear doors, as whilst parked, hydraulic pressure bleeds away and the doors “sag” open slightly. Check your references!
© Michael Johnson 2003
When this kit was built, Monogram produced the best 1:48 F-104 in town. However the release of the superb Hasegawa kit, shifted the balance and the Monogram F-104 was relegated to second choice. With recessed panel lines, near perfect fit and fine details, the new kid on the block is certainly the kit of choice for those who want to build “The rocket with a man in it” .
However, for all the filling and sanding, I enjoyed building this kit and I particularly enjoy the feeling of satisfaction of turning an old kit into something rather nice. Now I need to go to Bunnings Hardware to buy some more filter masks!
Good fun!
© Michael Johnson 2003
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