hooter

I should have said that I used David Weeks' drawings . . . they were a tad expensive ( After adding postage to the UK ) but they were definitely worth it, as there's so much detail missing from the Dragon Saturn V. :)

I built this kit a couple of years ago ( it was a Xmas gift ) and you're right, it IS big ! I ordered a set of drawings for it in order to add quite a lot of detail, but it will look just fine OOB. I would recommend a set of decals from the culttvman website : These are made by Space model Systems and are excellent, with LOADs of detail, and will really make your Saturn V stand out. I shall be following your build with great interest ! :)

According to the SAM publication "Camouflage And markings : the Battle Of Britain " the colour is roundel blue BS381C No. 110, and the closest FS 595 colour is 15056. The book states that this is the pre - war colour, which was carried over for some a/c ( Gloster built Hurricanes, for instance, during the B of B )

Very sacastic, Jennings . . . no wonder you were banned from Britmodeller.

Here we go again . . . Jumping to conclusions before the kit is even out !

I have a couple of photos of a 20th. TFW F-100D on static display at Wethersfield's open day in 1968 with the usual weapons display in front, and on the left is what they called a "500lb. practice bomb" but which I later identified as a B57 training shape, so the USAF did place these items in their static displays. HTH

I still prefer the Hasegawa kit : It's much easier to build, and has all the things that I said are missing from the Airfix kit. Granted the fabric effect is a little overdone, but with gentle sanding and a coat of paint it looks fine. The only thing I will say is that the mainwheels are a bit small, but not enough to spoil the kit in my view. Still, as they say it's just a matter of choice which kit one prefers. :)

I'd agree, apart from the "Clunky" panel fastener detail, missing upper fuselage ident light, rear view mirror, throttle controls and seat detail, plus fastener detail on the port wing leading edge and the "blanked off" cartridge ejection slots on the wing undersides, so yes, an excellent kit !

I have both Kagero books, and as far as I can tell after measuring the nacelles they look the same length ( At least on the A0 and A7 variants ) HTH.

That's an excellent model of my favourite airplane . . . Thanks for sharing.

You can never have too many F-104's, and that's a superb model you've made, spad.

Oh dear ! Looks like I'd better wait for the Tamiya kit, then :unsure:

And what news would that be, Jennings ?

Actually, the F-105's were natural metal until around 1961 - 62, when they started painting them in aluminium lacquer to help weatherproof the airplanes. You can usually see the difference in panel texture on natural metal F-105's, especially around the nose / cockpit area. HTH.

Very nice Thud you've got there, Pete. I well remember seeing this particular airplane at Wethersfield's open day on June 11, 1966. It was the first time I'd seen a F-105 up close, and I was impressed by the sheer size of the thing. I also remember them being rather loud ! :thumbsup:/>

Well now I'm confused ! I have the brand new Airfix Dornier Do. 17Z to build, and according to the instructions the interior is Humbrol 240, which is RLM Grau 02, I also have the Squadron Signal He. 111 walkround book, which states that the interior of the He. 111P preserved in Norway is RLM 66, so Which is correct ? :huh:/>

I remember several years ago visiting Lakenheath just as they did a maximum aircraft generation exercise, and one of their F-111F's had a dark, almost black olive drab colour instead of the normal FS 34079, which stood out like a sore thumb ! Now, if someone made a model depicting that scheme everyone would say "no, no, it's completely the wrong colour ! " but there it was, large as life. Pity I didn't make a note of it's serial number for future reference. I think that just shows that there are exceptions to the rule. HTH :cheers:/>

Actually, Heller DID release the Airfix kit as a GR1/3, and I know this to be true as I'm building one right now ! Sorry to be pedantic . . .I'll get me coat !

If it's any help I have the "On Target" B of B special, published by The Aviation Workshop, which has a starboard profile of a 602 Sqdn. Spitfire Mk. 1, and the codes read "LO - G" from the tail forwards, so the photo probably shows their standard lay-out for that squadron. By the way, the above mentioned book is a very good reference for the B of B period, as it has LOADS of profiles of British, German,French, Dutch, Belgian aircraft of that period, so it's worth getting if you can. HTH :cheers:/>

Regarding the red rectangle on the canopy the centre part was usually yellw, and many (Not all) F-100's had a yellow "Rescue" arrow behind the red marking, and very often the word"Push" in small black letters just forward of the rectangle. HTH

Most F-100's were initially natural metal, but from about 1960 they were painted an acrylic aluminium finish to provide some protection from the elements ( Especially in Europe) the aft end of the fuselage was unpainted, and showed varying degrees of heat discolouration. From late 1965 onwards, of course, the "Viet Nam" camouflage was introduced. HTH

I think I'll have to disagree with Jennings (Sorry!) because I have several photos of 20th. TFW F-100's from the period depicted in the decal sheet, and they all appear to be painted aluminium. I think the confusion arises because there is a well known pic of 53668 when it was the deputy wing commander's airplane, and it's clearly highly polished metal, but the decal is for when the aircraft was in standard unit markings, which would be painted aluminium. The other option on the sheet WAS natural metal, as this wing (366th. TFW) only operated the F-100 for a couple of years. . . .hope this he

I have just bought the Astra decals set for the F-104 in Luftwaffe/Bundesmarine service, and they are simply SUPERB! If you thinking of building a German F-104 [ As I am ] then you simply have to buy these. The sheets [5 ] allow you to build just about any German F-104 from any period of the F-104's service. Just look for the Daco decals website.

Danny is quite right. I was referring to the new decal sheet, which I would consider an essential purchase if anyone intends on building a German F-104. Quite simply, these decals are absolutely SUPERB! Regarding the update set according to Daco's website these will be available mid 2010 [ish!] sd we'll just have to be patient! :lol:

I have the new Daco Decals F-104 set, which shows the shape and positioning of the fins and fuel filler caps on the instructions. If you care to PM me I can send you a scan of the pics. Also, I contacted Hasegawa and purchased two sets of drop tanks from them, which I converted to the underwing type. Hope this helps.