Thunderjet comparative build
Decal design
Hobby Boss , started , easy to build and nice details , recessed panel lines
Just a little putty required , details in de UC bay
Heller , showing his age (1978) raised panel lines
I lost the canopy, so I will have to use the canopy of the Mistercraft kit
I lost the canopy, so I will have to use the canopy of the Mistercraft kit
Mistercraft, not a copy of Heller, very basic, but the fuselage has recessed panel lines. I might combine this with the Heller kit. The same sprues can be found in "Plastyk" kit , in the "Gomix" kit
Mistercraft wings : no panel lines at all. The instructions in the kit do not fit the parts list and appear to be partially and shamelessly copied from Tamiya
Tamiya : has the reputation to be the best kit
Tamiya wing sprues : nice details in the UC bay
Pilot seat : 4 parts in the Tamiya kit, more basic in the others.
Cockpit interior : similar differences
Fuselage : The Heller kit has raised panels, Minicraft has recessed panel lines. I will build a hybrid model, combining the Minicraft fuselage parts with the better parts of Heller
Undercarriage : Tamiya detailed, Hobby Boss is OK, Minicraft is for the bin, except that I will use the wheels as those of Heller are too small
The cockpit , Tamiya : detailed, HB : I enhanced the pilot seat with some bits to make look like the TM seat; MC/H : seat made of HB spare and Heller headrest, a few details added on the panels; The Tamiya has a decal for the safety belts, but it looks "flat". I will add PE belts later in the 3 kits
U/C construction: Heller wheels too small / MC main wheels mofied, spare box front wheel; Hobby Boss : just a small correction , Tamiya : from the kit. I added a "hydraulicline" on all 3 with some Alu wire .
weight added under cockpitfloor in Tamiya and Helleer/MC . Hobbyboss has a solid fuselage
No real issues in the assembly : Mcraft nose had to be squeezed to fit to Heller nose ring; a few details enhanced on the Heller/MC and Hobbyboss ( exhaust made finer):
just a little Vallejo putty at some joints on all 3 kits. Canopies temporarily fitted and protected by liquid mask. Ready for the primer.
just a little Vallejo putty at some joints on all 3 kits. Canopies temporarily fitted and protected by liquid mask. Ready for the primer.
3 ladies in black
Previous built Hobbyboss F84E : I will try an upgrade (e.g. replacing the old decals)
Previous built Heller F84F : to be upgraded too
I removed the paint and decals of these two older builds with AK 186 paint stripper
All 5 models got the same treatment: black primer (AK) a top coat of Tamiya flat aluminium (lighter shade) and a bottom coat of a mix of AK gloss alumnium with AK gun metal (darker shade. Next step : sealing with Klear and a Panel wash
top and bottom of Hobbyboss models after wash with Tamiya panel liner and clean up with a paper towel with a bit of whitesprit.
The canopies : the MC windscreen is horrible, but I found a replacement in my spare box
Tamiya has a piece for (hydraulic? ) equipment in the canopy , Heller and MC too, but Hobbyboss lacks this piece. I used the MC part in the Hobbyboss build, otherwise it could be scratchbuilt. There is also a HUD (3parts) in the Tamiya kit, the others will need a lookalike with transparent sheet, hardly visible with a closed canopy.
home made decals for BAF thunderjet florennes & bierset (here in B/W)
home made decals for BAF thunderjet kleine brogel (here in B/W)
thunderjet F84G 3 sqn Florennes
This is the Heller kit
F84E Thunderjet 1 sqn Florennes
This is the Hobbyboss kit
F84G Thunderjet n° 26 squadron Kleine Brogel
This is the combination of the Polish crap kit (fuselage) with the Heller wings
F84G Thunderjet 27 sqn Kleine Brogel
This is also the Hobbyboss kit
Opmerkingen
34 24 March 2023, 10:24
Jan PetersCool subject for a comparison build, will follow this 👀
I have the Tamiya kit in my stash, to build a Dutch version of course.
I had the Heller kit too, but felt it was too much work to bring it up to modern standards.
Looking forward to your progress Erik 👍🏻
24 March 2023, 10:39
Łukasz GlińskiJoining y'all here.
Erik, I think the Inplast/MrCrap is reverse-engineered copy actually. It appeared in the times when buying molds or production batches was too expensive for us down here. So they reverse-designed the new molds and use them since then (e g.my SR-53 and vacu Airacobra share identical origin)
29 March 2023, 21:46
Erik De SmetLukasz, The Heller kit is the original, with raised panel lines showing its age. Inplast made a "Polish" copy based on it with the same parts lay-out , but probably for a smaller injection machines. The recessed panel lines on the fuselage are good, all other parts are less than the original. I just bought one kit for a bargain price as I lost the canopy of my Heller kit. All other Polish and Czech versions of this kit appear to come from the same moulds with other decals .
30 March 2023, 15:02
Erik De SmetI had two older moldels (Heller and Hobbyboss) in my collection , and I stripped the decals and paint with AK paint stripper. I am quite impressed by the quality of this product : easy to apply with a brush, paint and decals get loose within minutes and can be wiped of with a paper towel and no agression of the plastic, even on the canopy.
6 April 2023, 13:01
CarloExcellent work on presenting the variability of kits, well done. You have convinced me to do my Thunder Streak/Jet/Flash kits(Testors/HobbyBoss/Sword) all at the same time when it's their turn.
6 April 2023, 15:07
Erik De SmetMy decal design shows some errors, mainly on the serial numbers and the KB tail colors, so I can only finish this with a reprint of the decals.
19 April 2023, 15:08
Album info
Building 3 thunderjets in Belgian Markings and upgrading 2 older models of the same plane
