Lockheed F-104N Starfighter (Hasegawa)

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December 1, 2017
The first three Starfighters for NASA, used primarily as supersonic chase planes.
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December 1, 2017
A few aftermarket goodies, but the decal sheet may present problems.
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December 1, 2017
Excellent documentation from Rocketeer Decals.
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December 1, 2017
Inside the jet pipe of an F-104G.
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December 1, 2017
I used Gunze Mr. Metal Color Bronze for the interior of the exhaust.
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December 1, 2017
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.
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December 1, 2017
The Hasegawa kit pretty much fell together.
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December 1, 2017
Everything fit like a charm!
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December 28, 2017
First, a nice glossy grey primer to check for bad seams, and to ensure a consistent smooth surface for the Alclad.
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December 28, 2017
Testing an old bottle of Metalizer Fluorescent Orange - it took a week to dry.
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December 28, 2017
Overall glossy white - the desired base coat for the aluminum, yellow, and fluorescent orange. No stickers, I'm going to paint it!
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December 28, 2017
Mask off the areas that will remain white or be yellow and orange...
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December 28, 2017
And the Alclad Aluminum goes on.
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December 28, 2017
A little bit of micro-meshing removes any ridge where the colours meet.
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December 28, 2017
A lot of masking tape and a little bit of airbrushing later, and I kinda like it!
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December 28, 2017
The black stripes that outline the areas of colour will be done with decals. That's Alclad Magnesium around the rear fuselage.
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December 28, 2017
Testors Fluorescent Red-Orange FS28913 sprayed well with their Universal Enamel Thinner.
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December 31, 2017
All shined up and ready for some stickers!
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December 31, 2017
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December 31, 2017
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December 31, 2017
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January 1, 2018
Stickers!
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January 1, 2018
All of the decals I used are from the Rocketeer sheet.
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January 1, 2018
The decals were very thin, and reacted well to setting solutions.
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January 1, 2018
I still have some tidying up to do. But she's almost done!
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January 5, 2018
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Comments

17 1 December 2017, 12:55

Bill Gilman
Hi 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

David Thor
Taking a seat. This is a beautiful machine and a good start!

1 December 2017, 13:24

Oleg Bogolei
very interesting!

1 December 2017, 13:24

Hanno Kleinecke
Here 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

Martin Oostrom
Seat please

1 December 2017, 18:54

Lost_Erik
Cool plan. I'd like a ticket/seat too.

2 December 2017, 02:42

Clifford Keesler
I'm in.

2 December 2017, 06:10

Eugen P.
Nice project. Will be in.

2 December 2017, 08:59

Ekki
Watching too.

2 December 2017, 12:25

John Thomas
Nice start

2 December 2017, 13:14

Oleg Smilyk
Starfighter in my wishlist, l am in!

2 December 2017, 17:33

Kees Kleijwegt
Great progress of an unusual scheme! 👍

28 December 2017, 20:19

Eugen P.
Pretty good painting.

28 December 2017, 20:20

Bill Gilman
Thanks 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

David Thor
Nice paintjob! Keep it up!

28 December 2017, 20:56

Hanno Kleinecke
Beautiful ! What a paintjob, no decals could look better !

28 December 2017, 21:05

Lost_Erik
Sweet.

28 December 2017, 21:11

Wilfried Bogaerts
Striking ! 👍

28 December 2017, 21:39

Donald Dickson II
Great 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

Augie
wow that is some pain bill 😄

29 December 2017, 01:41

Clifford Keesler
Looking good.

29 December 2017, 15:46

Erik Leijdens
Great work on your 104 Bill!

29 December 2017, 17:06

Konrad -
Indeed very nice 👍

29 December 2017, 17:09

Bill Gilman
A 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 Sørensen
That colour scheme looks great, Bill! Looking forward to seeing it finished

31 December 2017, 13:02

Bill Gilman
All 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 Kleinecke
Looking 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

Mike Daniels
Looks great. Very 1960's space age.

1 January 2018, 23:15

Clifford Keesler
It looks Excellent Bill, another stunner. Happy new year to you to.

2 January 2018, 21:07

Bill Gilman
Finished! 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 II
Beyond a doubt, you did him and his plane justice! Absolutely gorgeous.

5 January 2018, 05:43