Lockheed F-104N Starfighter (Hasegawa)
The first three Starfighters for NASA, used primarily as supersonic chase planes.
A few aftermarket goodies, but the decal sheet may present problems.
Excellent documentation from Rocketeer Decals.
Inside the jet pipe of an F-104G.
I used Gunze Mr. Metal Color Bronze for the interior of the exhaust.
CMK resin seat and photoetch instrument panel in the Hasegawa cockpit. I think the face curtain handles should not be on a C-2 seat.
The Hasegawa kit pretty much fell together.
Everything fit like a charm!
First, a nice glossy grey primer to check for bad seams, and to ensure a consistent smooth surface for the Alclad.
Testing an old bottle of Metalizer Fluorescent Orange - it took a week to dry.
Overall glossy white - the desired base coat for the aluminum, yellow, and fluorescent orange. No stickers, I'm going to paint it!
Mask off the areas that will remain white or be yellow and orange...
And the Alclad Aluminum goes on.
A little bit of micro-meshing removes any ridge where the colours meet.
A lot of masking tape and a little bit of airbrushing later, and I kinda like it!
The black stripes that outline the areas of colour will be done with decals. That's Alclad Magnesium around the rear fuselage.
Testors Fluorescent Red-Orange FS28913 sprayed well with their Universal Enamel Thinner.
All shined up and ready for some stickers!
Stickers!
All of the decals I used are from the Rocketeer sheet.
The decals were very thin, and reacted well to setting solutions.
I still have some tidying up to do. But she's almost done!
Comments
17 1 December 2017, 12:55
Bill GilmanHi mates! The next project is underway, this time it's the excellent 1:72 Hasegawa F-104G kit. I'll be using this to make the NASA F-104N as flown by Joe Walker, a civilian test pilot who was one of my heroes when I was young. Unfortunately, Joe lost his life in a mid-air collision with the XB-70 bomber during a photo shoot arranged by GE. The photo shoot was to highlight a variety of aircraft that all had GE engines, which they would use for marketing purposes. Prior to the flight, Joe was rumored to say "I do not support this mission - it has no scientific value." How tragically true.
I had planned on using the beautiful looking decal sheet from Rocketeer, but the fine print on the decal instructions states that the ink used for the fluorescent colours will not respond to decal solvents, and might crack if applied over a curved surface. They recommend using boiling water and/or steam to get the decals onto the model, even though they admit that the steam might deform the plastic (super-heated steam can be hotter than boiling water). I think I'll just paint it instead!
1 December 2017, 13:15
Hanno KleineckeHere we go, checkin' in ! I should have read the fine print before I started mine. This decal sheet is different from the one I got - mine contained the blue and white version as well.
1 December 2017, 14:02
Bill GilmanThanks guys! I think the worst of this build is behind me. I used a lot of Kabuki tape on that paint job! But I'm quite chuffed at how it came out.
28 December 2017, 20:26
Donald Dickson IIGreat job with the paint! I cant believe they suggested steaming the decals. Wow. The number of burns resulting from that idea...
29 December 2017, 01:27
Bill GilmanA few new photos have been added. I'm at the point where I'll start applying the stickers. There's really not much left to do, really. The windscreen and canopy, wheels and tyres, install the seat...oh, yeah, the nose probe. I'm liking this gal clean, and don't want to weather her a lot. I suspect these NASA chase planes didn't get heavily weathered anyway. Cheers, and Happy New Year!
31 December 2017, 00:25
Gordon SørensenThat colour scheme looks great, Bill! Looking forward to seeing it finished
31 December 2017, 13:02
Bill GilmanAll of the decals are on - I think she's looking pretty good. Even though I did not use the Rocketeer fluorescent orange markings, the rest of the decals were very thin and went on like a dream. I thought the NASA logos might be a problem on the intakes, due to the compound curves, but they snuggled down nicely.
I'm working on the windscreen and canopy now, and I plan on giving the model a semi-gloss clear finish. Once that is dry, I can finish the turtle deck, coaming, and anti-glare area on top of the nose - these should all be flat. Somewhere around here I have the ejection seat ready to go as well. Oh, yeah, and the Master turned metal nose probe. Now where is that bad boy? Hmm...well, I'll find it somewhere. Almost always in the last place I look. Happy New Year, mates!
1 January 2018, 18:52
Hanno KleineckeLooking great so far ! I'm glad that your decals did what they were told.....🙂
Happy new year to you as well !
1 January 2018, 21:25
Clifford KeeslerIt looks Excellent Bill, another stunner. Happy new year to you to.
2 January 2018, 21:07
Bill GilmanFinished! My usual assortment of photos have been added to this album. I've hope I've created a worthy tribute to Joe Walker, and for others who gave their lives in pursuit of the stars. Cheers, Bill
5 January 2018, 00:52
Donald Dickson IIBeyond a doubt, you did him and his plane justice! Absolutely gorgeous.
5 January 2018, 05:43
Hanno KleineckeBeautiful result, Bill ! The Hasegawa kit was the right choice, looks a lot better than the Italeri one.
6 January 2018, 09:26
Bill GilmanThanks, mates! It was a fun project, and I'm glad that you like it. Now on to the next one...
6 January 2018, 13:45
Bernd GrünExcelent build and paint job, Bill. I love the look of your Starfighter. Congratulation! 👌
25 November 2022, 07:29
Album info
Markings as flown by Joe Walker.
