1/72 Trumpeter F-105D

[CamDavis]

In 1951 Republic Aviation began a project to develop a supersonic tactical fighter-bomber to replace the F-84F. The prototype Yf-105A first flew in October 1955, but the first F-105D did not fly until June 1959. A total of 833 Thunderchiefs of all types were built.

The U.S. Air Force sent F-105s to Southeast Asia shortly after the Tonkin Gulf incident in the summer of 1964. The USAF operated the F-105D extensively in the air campaign against North Vietnam called Rolling Thunder. Although designed as a nuclear strike aircraft, the F-105 could carry a total of over 12,000 pounds of conventional ordnance -- a heavier bomb load than a World War II B-17! The F-4 Phantom gradually replaced the F-105, and the USAF withdrew the last F-105D from service in July 1980. Eventually 382 of the total 833 F105’s were lost. The astoundingly terrible rate at which they were lost earned the aircraft the nickname “Thud”. Thud being the sound that was made when the plane hit the ground. In addition to the aforementioned "Thud", nicknames included the "Squat Bomber", "Lead Sled", and the "Hyper Hog" and/or "Ultra Hog". The aircraft's offensive capabilities were sarcastically referred to as a "Triple Threat" — it could bomb you, strafe you, or fall on you.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Armament: One M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon and more than 12,000 lbs. of ordnance
Engine: One Pratt & Whitney J75-P-19W of 24,500 lbs thrust
Maximum speed: 1,390 mph
Cruising speed: 778 mph
Range: 2,206 miles
Ceiling: 51,000 ft.
Span: 34 ft. 11 in.
Length: 64 ft. 5 in.
Height: 19 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 52,838 lbs. maximum

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/a ... 5D/00.shtm

The Kit:
The kit is a trumpeter 1/72 scale F105d tooled in 2007. The kit comes in a very sturdy box, which contains 6 sprues, a nicely printed instruction sheet and a color decal and paint guide. After reading reviews online the biggest complaint was the oversized recessed rivet detail. If you really care about those types of things this model will likely bother you but I believe the vast majority will not be bothered and I actually kind of like the exaggerated details. My biggest disappointment is the decals for the instrument panel, which at that scale is not a huge deal but I have opted for the Eduard zoom cockpit set. Overall everything looks to be very finely molded with no visible flash and I expect this to be a fun build.

The Box is very sturdy thick cardboard



I am impressed by the size of this, it is not small even for 1/72
Fuselage on top of 1 inch scale







Clear parts are very clear with little to no distortion




Instructions very nicely printed









I know I am getting a late start due to waiting on photo etch to arrive but my schedule really opens once classes end so I am fairly certain I can get this finished. I am fairly new to serious modeling so I hope to make this a group effort and hope you guys can provide lots of suggestions and tips along the way. I started earlier today so I should have an update by tomorrow. Thanks for the read, remember to chime in tomorrow to get this thing started!

[SyntaxModels]

Can't wait mate, looks like you came in a bit late . If you can manage it I'll congratulate you personally! These Trumpeter kits look really good and I'll have to give one a go myself someday.
Waiting to see how it turns out

[CamDavis]

Here is the progress so far. I have never worked with photo etch before and I tried something I have never done one the seat so we will see how it turns out.


I painted everything in a blue gray color and started working on the seat.

I wanted to somehow model the texture of the seat cushion. I saw a tutorial online a few weeks ago about making seat cushions with some sort of paper. I searched but couldn't find the same tutorial so I decided to try anyways.


The seat extends out where the pilots legs would be as seen in this picture.


The kit seat was flush across the front so I added two small pieces of .51mm brass wire. Also in front of the seat you can see the small piece of toilet paper that I painted in an olive drab color. I crumpled the paper up several times to try and get some texture into it. I'm sure somebody has used a technique similar to this, could anyone give me some tips to make it look a little better next time?


I glued on the photo etch, it was my first attempt at photo etch and it didn't go particularly well but the whole thing is so small that my mistakes aren't easy to see. I realized I should have used larger brass wire as I don't think the seat extends far enough but it still looks decent




I painted the tub the same blue gray color ( 50/50 tamiya xf-82 and xf-23)
and I started sticking photo etch parts on. This was much easier than the seat as all the part were self adhesive.




Some test shots with the seat in the cockpit




It isn't the cleanest cockpit but I think it looks nice based on my abilities. I will add some wires here and there for a few more details and then try to figure out a way to weather it a little before moving on

Until next time,

Cam

[SyntaxModels]

Looks good mate, can't wait to see more.

[Jamesday1998]

awesome work on the cockpit!
the seat looks awesome!
kutgw

[Twokidsnosleep]

That is some sweet modelling skill on the cockpit detail
Will be watching this for sure

[CamDavis]

I apologize for not posting in a few days. here is whats been going on

Finished cockpit, not much changed but a few tiny details added.




Before I could glue the fuselage together I also had to make the nose gear well. I made a wash with some black chalk and feel like I over weathered it but it isn't easy to see and I wanted to cover the poorly painted wires inside.



With that done I moved on to making this actually look like a plane. The first problem was the gaps between the fuselage and the cockpit. These were caused by the photo etch on the sides adding to the size. I had to sand down the inside of the fuselage and clamp it together with glue. Ultimately it didn't work very well but it is less noticeable than it would have been before.



Fuselage halves together and I still can't believe how big this thing is for a single seat fighter. Here is the fuselage next to a spitfire for size.



I went back in the instructions to do a step that I skipped before putting the halves together. Unfortunately I didn't realize I needed the fuselage apart for this step.



I did some surgery on the front of the plane to try to fit the part in.



the part goes in the top hole there, I thought the step was just putting the doors on top of the gun detail and refueling boom detail.



With that disaster all sorted I moved on to the wings and horizontal stabilizers.




Glueing filling and sanding is by far my worst skill as far as modeling goes. While there were no gaps I attempted to fill the seam lines with squadron green and mr surfacer. I think I mostly hid to seam lines but I also sanded away a decent amount of detail in the process. My attempts to describe the detail was poor at best so I decided to just leave it away. I guess that will improve with time and experience.
Anyways, till next time and thanks for looking. Throw any suggestions or ideas you think I could try out there and I'll give them a shot.

[CamDavis]

Question of the day, how do you suggest I mask/paint the fine yellow line around the edge of the canopy as seen here?

[TheWeasel]

That's a very thin line there... my suggestion would be to mask off the canopy normally. And then spray yellow as the first color to go on the clear parts - even before any primer. After that paint everything normally and in the end, the yellow should be visible only as a little more than a shimmer when you look at the clear part from the clear side towards the painted side (forward, backwards, downwards).

Not completely sure if it works, but that's what i'd try

[planemaker]

Looking great so far!

[Yevgeny]

Great work, interior looks fantastic!

[UKguyInUSA]

Cracking job on that tub mate!

[CamDavis]

I'm back,been a busy few weeks over here. I guess now its time for you guys to see the disaster I have made this model.

So canopy glued on I went on to probably my second worst skill, the airbrushing.

I painted all the panel lines in gloss black first



Then the bottom of the plane got a coat of white with a little grey mixed in


I then realized the paint guide has no pictures of the top down view of the plane so I found a picture online and printed it



I started with the tan. I didn't like how the color turned out so I resprayed it. There goes my panel lines.



Used tape and cut out patterns for camo and painted the greens.





And then I pulled off the tape to find this.



I don't really know what to do at this point. I went lighter on the first one to try and get a more faded look. Then I guess I forgot about that or I don't know what got to me but it turned out like this. I'll probably just leave it and say this pilot felt extra minty if nobody has any ideas for an easy fix. Preferably I would like to lighten the dark green but if somebody has an idea to darken the Light green I would be just as happy with that. I would prefer not to remask. For that amount of effort I would probably just let it be at this point.

Thanks for the view

,till next time.

[SyntaxModels]

Hey, it doesn't look too bad to this eye!
Just push through and do what you like mate!

[Twokidsnosleep]

I absolutely agree with the above fine lad
There were so many camo variations in Vietnam, the planes were heavily used in rough conditions and showed tons of weathering and sortie wear.
It is a bird of war, not a show car so a difference in the green won't matter a hoot
Keep going, it will look fine

[CamDavis]

Future coat over the paint


While that dried I painted and assembled the landing gear




Applied the decals which I forgot to take pictures of and then another coat of future. Then added a chalk pastel wash. I realize I put the wrong markings on the wings. But decided to just let it stay due to my impatience and the difficulty of the decals.



Cleaned it up, stuck the landing gear on and called it a day.




I must admit that I lost motivation on this plane very quickly and as a result finished it very quickly and not the best I probably could have. With that being said, I think it turned out alright and will fit well in the rest of the collection.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looks good!
And you are done

[SyntaxModels]

Looks swell mate, it turned out alright for something that you didn't like! It seems all good to me!