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AIRFIX
1:72 REPUBLIC F-105G THUNDERCHIEF |
Reviewer:
Carlos Giani (carlos_giani2002@yahoo.de)
Kit Review submitted:
2 June 2008
Kit Details:
Airfix 1/72nd scale Republic F-105G Thunderchief (Kit N° 05024 ). Produced in France
Aircraft History:
When the F-84F Thunderstreak entered service in 1954, Republic immediately went into a development program concerning a high performance fighter-bomber which should eventually succeed the F-84. After proposing it to the USAF (project AP-63), they got a contract for two YF-105A prototypes, the first of which flew for the first time on 22nd October 1956, propulsed by a Pratt & Whitney J75-P-25 developing 6600 Kg thrust. This output, almost twice the Thunderstreak´s one, was needed due to the big dimensions and the overall new concept of „fighter“ present in the F-105A, capable of carrying up to 5440 kg of assorted weapons (it even had a bomb bay!).
There was no series production of the F-105A, since the new P&W YJ75-P-3 capable of 7484 kg thrust soon was available. This, combined with some design modifications in the fuselage and the air intakes, led to the YB-105B. Some 70 F-105Bs were built, beginning to serve on August 1958. The main series version was the F-105D, from which some 600 were built. They had a P&W J75-P-19W developing 7800 kg thrust, all-weather avionics and some further minor changes.
The last series version was the F-105F (143 exemplars), which had an elongated fuselage to accommodate two pilots. Initially projected as an advanced trainer, they saw a lot of operational service, due to the demands of the Vietnam war. Some 60 exemplars, known as EF-105F, were extensive updated with state-of-the-art electronics, and were used on very specialized ground-missile detection missions. They were later redesignated F-105G.
The Kit:
Please switch to the inbox review of this kit I wrote a couple of years ago. There are some interesting comments about the origin of this model.
Instructions:
One very long sheet of paper folded 7 times. The “front” side of the sheet brings the aircraft description/technical data in nine languages, some general recommendations in the same speeches, symbols explanations and 4-view painting/decaling instructions for two versions. The camouflage pattern is given in grey hatched areas, and it is very well printed and easy to follow (Italeri please take note).
Construction:
I started with the cockpit, as usual, which is a very good offering considering that this is an early-80´s kit. I painted the office mid grey and all details were dry-brushed black/silver/gun metal. The seats are a bit simplistic, but acceptable, and I painted them olive drab. The cockpit was then trapped between the two fuselage halves, which were glued at this stage; everything fitted well. Lots of weight were placed inside the (spacious) nose area, to avoid tail sitting. Some sanding was needed at the join line, with the inevitable loss of some raised detail.
Inside the wings, I blanked the area behind the air intakes off, near to the wheel wells, to avoid a see-thru´ effect. Each wing is two-halves, and their attachment to the fuselage was hassle-free, only requiring minimal filling/sanding at the wing roots. The tailplanes also went on at this stage. The nozzle is a separate part, and its fit to the fuselage was poor, requiring heavy filing/filling/sanding. Eight little plastic bits (actuators?) find their way onto the nozzle, in a circumferential arrangement (aprox. 8 x 45° separation). Some antennae/air inlets/assorted bits complete the fuselage, and I also added now the pylons, which fitted rather well, only requiring minimal trimming.
The landing gear is well detailed, but care must be taken with the main legs, and I recommend to use superglue here, since they are relatively long/thin for a model of this size. I also tried to get some additional “gluing reinforcement points”, intentionally misaligning the wells doors to get some contact among them. Nevertheless, the whole thing still seems to be a bit “weakly”. Aeroclub offers a landing gear set for the Hasegawa kit, and I don’t know if they also would apply to the Airfix offering. For the wheels up community: I made some dry fit tests, and it seems that the doors will only require minimal trimming to get on well. There are “steps” in the lower wing holes were the doors can rest -> no butt join!
The next step was to take care of the weaponry. Since I’m by no means literate in this area, I can only guess. You get tow missiles for the outer pylons, a big “rocket” (a missile?) and what seems to be some kind of flying bomb for the inner pylons, and an additional fuel tank for the ventral pylon. I can say nothing about accuracy, but for me they look O.K. Finally I glued and masked the canopies, and got ready for painting (colors please see below). After painting was done, I sprayed a coat of Klear, placed the decals and sealed everything with a coat of Humbrol H135. Although some decals silvered a bit, I’m very please with the end result.
© Carlos Giani 2008
Colour Schemes:
35th TFW, George AFB, California, July 1978
“Thor´s Hammer”, 17th Wild Weasel SQN, 388th TFW, USAF Korat, Thailand, January 1973.
© Carlos Giani 2008
Decals:
The decals sheet is acceptable comprehensive, presenting one area with common insignia/stencil for both versions, and separate areas for each version. Color density is good, the surface is satin and the decals applied very well. On the other side, the sheet is of the “bluish”, decomposing kind (I hate them) and the decals are reluctant to release from the paper, so care muss be taken here.
Overall:
I think this is the only F-105G in the injection field (there are F-105Ds from Hasegawa and Trumpeter) (Monogram has a F-105G - Ed) and, although not state of the art (raised panel lines), it still works out into a very good representation of this big, impressive brute. Recommended.
References:
Nil
© Carlos Giani 2008
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