1. History

 

In Italy the Starfighter was to equip intially 4 interceptor squadrons and the same number of fighetbombers, starting with those still using Canadair CL. 13, Sabres and republic F-84F Thunderstreaks. The first interceptor unit to receive the F 104G was the XI Gruppo ( Squadron ) of the 4a Aerobrigata ( Air Brigade ) that started the transitino to the Aircraft on March 13th 1963 at the Grosseto base.

More information about the History: Aviolibri/special 10 - LOCKEED F/TF -  104 G Starfighter IBN Editore by Stefano Cosci.

 

 

2. The Kit 1/48 Hasegawa F-104 G Starfighter

 Hasegawa’s F-104G It is simply a great kit. The fit of all the major components is excellent with a very high level of detail throughout. I decided to use a set of Aires wheel bay’s which provide surprisingly good value for money. Excellent detail in both the main and nose gear well it is an excellent addition to the base kit, together with Eduard accessories, which you can read in the list below, the realistic pitot tube of the Master cannot be missing.

I have used the following accessories:

• Eduard F-104 C2 ejection seat 1/48 Cat.No.: 648286

• Eduard F-104 exaust nozzle early 1/48 – Cat.No.: 648174

• Aires F-104 wheel bay 1/48 – Cat.No.: 4103

• Aires F-104 Cockpit set 1/48 – Cat.No.: 4098

• Eduard F-104 undercarriage wheels late  1/48 Cat.No.: 648181

• Decals  Pronto Model Decal Art. N° 48/570 italian F 104 G old e new scheme  1/48 scale

• Eduard F-104 undercarriage wheels late  1/48 Cat.No.: 648181

• Lockheed F 104 Starfighter pitot tube by Master 1/48 – AM- 48-044

 

3. Cockpit and Seat

• I wanted to upgrade the cockpit area to include side wall detailing and replace the ejection seats with resin versions. For this,I have used resin - Aires F-104 Cockpit set 1/48 – Cat.No.: 4098 and Eduard F-104 C2 ejection seat 1/48 Cat.No.: 648286. After gluing the parts with superglue, I painted the entire cockpit in Gray Fs 36270 MR Hobby H306. All the buttons are painted in white and some in red. After these operations, we will do the weathering, for the line between the panels I used color OIL - MAIMERI PURO mixing with THINNER 5816604 - Petroleum essence (535 - Ivory Black ). Then I applied the dry brush technique to the Cockpit and ejection seat with metallic colors from Testor colors.

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4. Fuselage

The fuselage is accurate, with recessed panel lines and the plastic is easy to work. After assembling and painting the inner parts, you have to insert the Eduard F-104 exhaust nozzle early and glue them in place. The fit of the two fuselage halves is good, but you will have to rescribe some panel lines that are removed during sanding etc.

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5. Wing and Tailplane

The wing look good, so I just secured them to the fuselage. This operation proved straightforward, as the join was extremely good.

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6. Canopy

After assembling the model I installed the canopy. This was masked with paper, then painted. This painting included the frame of the internal armoured windscreen. When the canopy is finished it can be positioned and secured with cement.

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7. Painting

Here I will detail a couple of the techniques I employed. The first task is to smooth the surface of the kit using wet abrasive paper of different grades until you get to 800. After having prepared the surface the model is primed. I painted my model using Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black  thinned with Lacquet Thinner.

This is the sequence of the surfaces that I painted.

A. Clean the whole with alcohol

B. Paint with a Yellow Green Tamiya color acrylic XF-4

C. All the final surface with black Fs MR Hobby H2

D. All the final surface with AK aluminum metal

E. Final semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it - floor glass

 

 

8. Landing Gears and Wheels

• The undercarriage looks good, But I replaced the entire with Aires F-104 wheel bay 1/48 – Cat.No.: 4103The wheels are too are good too. I have also replaced the wheels with the Eduard F-104 undercarriage wheels late  1/48 Cat.No.: 648181

 

 

9. Decals

The decals are Decals  Pronto Model Decal Art. N° 48/570 italian F 104 G old e new scheme  1/48 scale . I have passed a layer of transparent acrylic paint of semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it.

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10. Weathering

The wear of the model can certainly not be carried out randomly, especially in the case of the italian F 104 G Italian Air Force , which must respond to a precise logic. Let's see how: first of all we need to highlight the paneling lines. There are different techniques for this purpose: Personally, I use dry brush strokes with aluminum-colored powders in various shades and acrylic and oil colors for soft effects.To complete the work it is necessary to pass a coat of semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it - floor glass  transparent on the whole model.

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11. References.

*  Aviolibri/special 10 - LOCKEED F/TF -  104 G Starfighter IBN Editore by Stefano Cosci.

 *  Monografie Aeronautiche italiane n.13 – Fiat Lockheed F 104 G

*  104 G Starfighter Illustrated by Lou Drendel – Aviation Art, Inc

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