texgal45 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Yardbird78 threw down the gauntlet and it appears we will both be building RF-84s. I will do the Italeri 72nd and he will do the Heller 48th. A couple of pictures to start things off. The pieces fresh from the box The RF-84 has two .50 calibre machine guns in the underside of each wing root, but they are not depicted in any way on the Italeri model. I drilled holes in the model's wing to show this feature. Right wing done, left is not. Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 You certainly took up the challenge quickly enough. I still have to rummage through my stash and find my RF-84 and you have already gotten a good start on yours. I like the added detail of the machine gun openings. How's the cockpit on that little thing? Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Today's update: I finished what little there is to the cockpit, added a little bit of nose weight and glued the fuselage halves together. I also glued the top and bottom of both wing halves together and put some putty on the fuselage joints. I put two coats of Model Master Aluminum Plate metalizer on the wing tanks, gear doors and horizontal stabs. Grandma L Edited February 23, 2011 by texgal45 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hey there Texgal, slow down a little bit. You're leaving me in the dust. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LanceR21 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Where did you buy this kit? I NEED to have one! :o Btw, nice progress! Can't wait to see some paint on! Cheers, Nenad Edited February 23, 2011 by LanceR21 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 That kit was purchased on ebay several years ago. These kits are all rebox of the same plastic. They show up on ebay in one form or another fairly frequently. I think they are all out of production. Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theplasticsurgeon Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The RF-84 has two .50 calibre machine guns in the underside of each wing root, but they are not depicted in any way on the Italeri model. Never knew that and missed it with this one! Must revisit it. Same box as Texgal45 but I went a bit OOT with the red trim. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) This is what they look like on the real thing. Grandma L Edited February 24, 2011 by texgal45 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Progress report Feb 23 I got the major pieces all stuck together including the wings, stabs & fuselage as well as two coats of Model Master Aluminum Plate, buffing metalizer paint. The camera port windows from the kit had humongous sink holes in them and were unusable, so I just filled in the openings with Crystal Clear. The photo of the bottom of the plane shows the windows as white because the stuff hasn't had time to dry and turn clear. Grandma L Edited February 24, 2011 by texgal45 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Progress report, Feb 24: I spent most of my time today applying the decals. I got all of the big ones and about 1/2 of the small ones on board. I still have to finish the decals, hang the drop tanks, add nose gear doors and a couple of other small details. These markings are for the ROCAF or Republic of China Air Force. Grandma L Early this afternoon: This evening: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecnoman Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Looking good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shorty84 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I always thought that the RF-84F was the best-looking member of the F-84 family. Nice choice of markings, you don't see a ROCAF-bird that often. Can't wait to see it finished. Markus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 That looks excellent. I have one of these I must dig it out Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Well, she's all done and ready to go take pictures of mainland China. This was an interesting little airplane. The cockpit consisted of a slab for a seat, an odd shaped piece for the instrument panel and cover and a little blob behind the seat. I painted and installed the pilot just to fill up the empty hole. The parts all fit pretty well except for a little offset where the right nose section joined the right, main fuselage. The kit included main LG and one piece cover for those that may want to pose the bird in flight. It also had the separate gear and 3 piece doors. The kit decals were totally unuseable, so I used a sheet from Micro-Scale. The clear parts for the camera windows had hugh sink holes in them, so I just used Crystal Clear to make new ones. I used buffing Model Master Aluminum Plate for paint, but I really goofed and didn't seal the cockpit well enough. The overspray got onto the inside of those little windows behind the cockpit and now there is no way to get it off. Bottom line, not too bad for a four day construction time. The last photo shows a comparison of technology over about 14 years for 1946 to 1960. What a jump! Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 That is very impressive. Really fantastic craftsmanship and in such an incredibly short time. I love the comparison shot with the SR-71 and D-21. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tobiK Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 yeah, incredible! I think I can't do that in such a short time AND having such a good result! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 Thanks guys. I really appreciate the compliments, especially from modelers of such experience and quality as you are. Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Very nice Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I'm always playing catch-up with your builds texgal. Another fabulous build from your good self. Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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