Ben Brown

Small scale sockets? “Dang it! Where the heck did that 1/43 10 mm go?!?” Ben

It's hard to tell, but it looks to me like a variation of the original Hill Grey with FS 36375 Light Ghost Grey undersides, with FS 36270 Neutral Grey and FS 36118 Gunship Grey topsides. The giveaways being the light grey gear doors, slat actuator fairings, and the lighter grey compared to the 36118 inboard pylon sway braces. The tops of the wings would be FS 36118 with 36270 outboard panels like the later and more common pattern. I can't really see any variation between the light grey of the visible lower areas and the light grey of the upper parts, so it might have just been a two-tone version with FS 36270. Thierry's photo does look like the dark grey extended under the intakes a little, almost to the white position lights, but you can see the break between the greys just under the leading edge inboard of the TISEO. It looks like it's picked up a dark grey trailing edge flap at some point (might be a shadow) and a dark grey avionics(?) package in the portside forward missile bay. Link to large photo Link to another large photo Ben

That’s some amazing work there! Beautiful! Ben

These are some great films! The F-100s in the film are painted silver. As it weathered, it took on a dull tone that could look grey in some lighting. They started camouflaging them around 1965. I was impressed by the amount of runway the F-100s used to get off the ground. It looked like one didn’t lift off until ~1000 ft from the end of the runway. Heavy bomb load and high heat and humidity must’ve made for some interesting takeoffs! Ben

I got to tour one at Dulles in the mid 80s. Concorde was a flying work of art. A few years later, also at Dulles, I got to follow G-BOAG to the runway. I was in a Beech Baron and had my front seat passenger pop the door open so we could get the full effect when it took off. Loud doesn’t even begin to describe it! It was glorious! Ben

Sadly, Don Schmenk passed away last year. Ben

Hi All, Sorry for the zombie thread. I was going through some files and found a station diagram for the F-100F. I thought I'd drop it in this thread, in case someone searches for info on the kit. I don't have a Trumpeter kit in any scale to measure, but someone on another forum has said the fuselage scales out to ~21 scale inches too long. Just throwing this out there for those who might care. If you have the kit and compare it to the diagram, please post your results here, as I'd love to see what you come up with. Ben

I still have some of those in 1/48. 1992? It doesn’t seem that long ago! Ben

Caution, do not go searching through that website unless you have several hours to kill. There are tons of interesting files to browse. It’s aviation nerd paradise! Ben

If you’re going to have decals or masks made for the tail codes, F-100s used 18” tail codes instead of 24” as found on F-4s and F-105s. The dimensions and placement for the tail codes and serial numbers can be found on page D-85 of T.O. 1-1-4 HERE. Ben

The Misty jets were borrowed from several squadrons, so they could have had HE, HS, SS, or possibly other tail codes. Pilots weren’t assigned a specific jet, so unless you have access to McPeak’s log book, or perhaps Misty mission logs, there’s really no way to know which of those jets he flew. In 1/32, you’ll have to piece together the decals. Caracal has released sheets in 1/48 and 1/72 that include a Misty jet or two. As far as I’ve been able to learn, all of the F-100Fs they flew had RHAWS installed, with the wider tail fairing, teardrop-shaped antenna fairing under the intake, and azimuth display in place of the two drop tank fuel quantity gauges on the front glare shield. If you use the Trumpeter 1/32 kit or AMT 1/72 kit, you’ll have to do a little modifying to the tail. The Monogram F-100D has the RHAWS tail, if you plan to convert that kit. Sadly, the resin conversion I used in the build @eoyguy linked to is out of production. I think the 7-shot rocket pods are available in all three scales. Reskit has recently released some very nice 335-gal drop tanks, or you can convert the 275s included in just about all of the available F-100 kits. The book “Misty” is a great read and has a few photos. The F-100F at the National Museum of the USAF was a Misty jet and was restored to how it looked at the time. Here is a link to a great walk around of it via Bill Spidle and Prime Portal: LINK. There’s also a Misty web site with some history. Ben

I think the only container the British have made that doesn’t leak is the pint beer glass. At least they have their priorities straight! And, since Lucas has been brought up, here’s an illuminated Lucas sign for auction on Bring-A-Trailer. The comments are hilarious: Lucas Illuminated Sign Ben

Sorry to hear that, Harold. I must have a pound or two of your F-100 parts in my display case and in my stash. Take care and enjoy your retirement! Ben

Discussion of the wing reinforcements for various kits: Link Ben

It just occurred to me that you could also use a 1/48 ICM or 1/32 Roden O-2A kit as a 3D reference for a lot of the details. If you’re planning a full cockpit, you could scale up the interior parts. Ben

Many, many years ago (1990s), I contacted Cessna for info on the T-37. They sent me a “modeler’s drawing” that included multiple views and cross sections for the fuselage and wings. You might be able to get similar for the O-2/337. The O-2’s main gear was a similar design to their single engine retractables and was surprisingly simple. You can probably find some maintenance drawings from those types. I haven’t seen too many photos of the radio stack, but there are a few online. Tracking down the owners of the several flyable O-2s might yield some good info, too. Ben

Similar discussion recently on another forum mentioned using a Zero-Stat gun, but they’re in the $100 US range. LINK I’m kicking myself for losing my old DiscWasher one! Ben

I finally got to check mine. The round bit that fits into the receptacle hits the top before it is completely in the hole. Less than 1 mm, though. The rectangular bit doesn’t go all they way up to the rectangular opening, so the model pivots easily on the stand. The fit is about the same on my T-65 X-Wing and Y-Wing. Loose, so the stand doesn’t come up with the model when you pick up the model. Ben

I don’t recall having any problems with mine. I’ll take a look next time I’m in my office and see if there’s anything different compared to your photos. Ben

How many NASCAR drivers does it take to destroy a track drying rig? Just takes Juan. I’ll see myself out. Ben

Hi @iaf-man, I don't have any experience with Renaissance's other 1/32 F-100 parts. All they had when I built mine years ago were the wheels. I do have some resin wheels and rubber tires from their auto side of the company, and they're pretty good. The resin casting isn't quite up to what you'd get from Aires or Eduard, but they're still much better than a lot of resin I've used. I wouldn't hesitate to buy their products (except the F-100 wheels ). Their intake lip and seat look good in the photos and their 200-gal drop tanks are the only ones I've seen in 1/32. Ben

I wish Renaissance was producing that cockpit back when I was building my F-100! Renaissance looks to be a bit more accurate than the Aires pit, in that it doesn't have that odd spacer plate behind the seat like the Aires pit has. I've seen the plate in a cockpit trainer that had started life as a C pit but was converted to a D, so that must have been what Aires used as a reference. I think the plate was added to the sim to allow the installation of a D seat. Neither set fixes the kit's too-tall instrument panel. It should end about where the tops of the lower row of instruments is. I found Renaissance's main gear tires to be the same diameter as the kit tires, which are too tall. Go with Reskit's or AMS's. If you can find one, AMS Resin's F-100D seat is outstanding. Harold also made some nice drop tank noses to convert the kit 275-gal tanks to 335-gal ones for Vietnam-era jets. The Master Details parts are great! Ben

One of my favorite books. Happy holidays, everyone! Be

Beautiful! Brilliant masking job, too! Ben

Thanks for posting these great photos! I really need to get back there. Ben