F-104S "Veltro 1"

[Els]

I am going to do a quick build of this kit.

This is going to be an out of the box build. The only modification is that I am going to make it an in-flight kit. I have a couple of other builds that I am also working on that are stressing me out so this will be just for the fun of building. No research, everything painted in accordance with the instruction, kit decals for the cocpit, etc.

So far I have just started by prepainting some of the parts.

I am excited to shove the other kits off to the far corner of the bench and really get going on this.

Els

[Paolo Maglio]

Since you wrote "no research" I will follow your built silently and wish you to enjoy this kit. Just in the case you will change your mind I can tell you I deeply researched this subject and can give you 3-4 suggestions to correct it quickly.

[Els]

I probably will not use your tips for this kit but I have a few more F-104S's in my stash that I plan to take my time on so I would be grateful for any tips/suggestions that you have.

Thanks

Els

[Paolo Maglio]

Ok, here we go:

- first of all the type, it was not an F-104S but an ASA-M, GPS doom need to be added on the bak of the seat.

- then general mistakes of Hasegawa kits: what you have in the box is F-104G with two additional ventral fins, to make an S (or ASA and ASAM) you need to cut the central fin under the fuselage to a more acute angle and change the shape of the auxiliary air intakes on the side of the fuselage.

- finally mistakes peculiar to the decal sheet: Hasegawa made this box in a rush and missprinted both the serial number and the word on the tail. From the photo on the box you can easily see that the serial number (M.M.) was different. You can also see that the word on the tail is ORE (20.000 flight hours) while Hasegawa printed ONE! Veltro 1 was the callsight of this airframe since it was dedicated to the Squadron Commander, but the Special tail was painted to celebrate 20.000 flight hours. I can provide you a file (word or .pdf) to print your own decals and correct both the word ORE and the M.M. but you will need to download the fonts from the web to print it.

As a final note mind this Special tail was very short lived and never flew with fuel tanks so you can spare them for another project.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Paolo Maglio

[ChippyWho]

I love this one! Looking forward to watching your progress.

[Els]

Paolo,

Thank you for posting the information. Those pictures and your explanations are awesome. You made it very easy to understand the corrections. I will PM you my email so that you can email me the file with the proper wording info. Again, thanks.

Today I worked on the adding the styrene for the inflight display. I usually tend to over brace when I add the square piece. I do not want it to sag or break over time.

I began by cutting the aircraft and installing a longer piece than I will actually need (It makes a great handle when I am painting), I can cut it off flush with the aircraft later. I glued some sprue bits around it.

After that I put some fast curing epoxy around it.

It should be strong enough now

I also started base coating the pilot I will add. He was a little to tall so I had to chop off his feet. I will go in tomorrow and start shading and highlighting him.

Els