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USAF F-100D FINISHED!


ericg

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I have a few projects on the go at the moment, but I needed to get started on a decent large scale jet as I have felt a little rushed come Model Expo in June for the last few years when I have been caught napping and haven't got my act  together and almost not had an entry ready for the Large scale jets category. This will be a long term project so there wont be any rushing here and it will fit in nicely with the other stuff currently on my bench.

 

I have wanted to do an F-100D for a long time and have felt that it would be a great addition to my collection, considering that I am well on my way to completing my collection  of the Forward Air Control trifecta of the O-1, O-2 and the OV-10A as flown by RAAF pilots during Vietnam. It would be important to be able to display the aircraft that they called upon to deliver the ordnance and give some context to the mostly unarmed aircraft that were the FAC's.

 

During my build of Mac Cottrells O-1, he supplied me with a combat report written by two F-100 pilots that he called upon to provide a strike assisting troops in contact. They recommended him for a Distinguished Flying Cross for which he was awarded. Here is the Combat report that Mac supplied me with. I decided to see if I could find either of the two pilots mentioned.

 

DFC%20Documents-page-001_zpskgvpikfl-X2.

 

With a bit of persistence, I was able to track down Ronald Swanson (Blade 02) via a photo of him that I found on facebook. He has agreed to be my subject pilot for this build and we have been having conversations over the last week via email and social media (we are on opposite sides of the earth after all). I am very happy to be able to make a model with such a unique connection to another in my collection and thank Ron for being the inspiration to do so.

 

Ron flew 268 combat missions during the Vietnam war, between April 1968 and April 1969. He flew for the 615th Tactical Fighter Squadron, part of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Phan Rang Air Base. This picture is Ron immediately after his final mission in Vietnam.

 

IMG_8356-X3.jpg

 

This picture is of Ron's Squadron, with Ron being the 5th from the left in the back row. Major Davidson, the flight leader mentioned in the combat report is  second from the right in the front row.

 

IMG_8357-4K.jpg

 

Ron will have access to much more information in October, so please stay tuned!

 

The build.

 

I am using the Trumpeter F-100D, with as much aftermarket as I could find for it.

 

I started in the cockpit. The Aires resin pit is quite nice and looks to be reasonably accurate. I painted it all over black

 

IMG_8222-X5.jpg

 

I then painted it MRP FS36231 grey. From there I masked the side consoles and painted them with an extremely dark grey custom mix of SMS Camo black and white.

 

IMG_8239-X5.jpg

 

I followed the same paint process as above with the instrument panel. I then hand painted each instrument bezel with Vallejo black, and used the excellent Airscale Allied Jets decals for the instruments. I used a few 1/48 scale decals for the smaller instruments. Each instrument has a drop of clear glue to simulate the glass.

 

IMG_8399-X4.jpg  

 

The cockpit sides and rudder pedals painted using the above process. The kit pedals have been used with the Aires photo etch North American logo on the top of each pedal applied. For some of the harder to paint parts, I attach a piece of masking tape to a pop stick to enable me to stick parts to it.

 

IMG_8240-X5.jpg

 

Part way through the cockpit. I have painted some of the button labels with white paint and started picking out some of the details with other various colours. I have applied a wash to build up a level of grime and have chipped the floor in front of the rudder pedals to simulate a well worn machine. There was almost a mini disaster here when I went and got a coffee inside and returned to the shed to a strong smell of Mr Levelling thinner. My son (almost 8) was looking a little suspect and quickly caved in under questioning and owned up to accidentally tipping over the bottle, filling up the tub with thinner! luckily, it dried OK with no harm. Visible here is a new undercarriage lever which I have fabricated from brass and plastic card. 

 

IMG_8394-X5.jpg

 

IMG_8400-4K.jpg

 

The silver chipping in front of the rudder pedals is visible here. I have painted the outline of the worn areas with a thin line of zinc chromate primer to simulate the various layers of paint down to the bare metal.

 

IMG_8402-X5.jpg

 

Whilst stuff was drying in the cockpit I dry fitted the fuselage halves together and sawed off the really inaccurate intake from the kit. this will allow me to fit the Zactomodels correct intake, an essential upgrade to the kit.

 

IMG_8406-X5.jpg

 

Once the intake duct was together, I fitted the Aires front wheel bay. This took a bit of work to get right but it is also another important upgrade.

 

IMG_8407-X5.jpg

 

 

 

 

Edited by ericg
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Very good start to say the least.

Knowing your quality standards and seing that you have the Aires bays, may i suggest you to consider the Eduard set that provides details for the main landing gear doors ? This is a real good ref that provides boxed doors. Maybe one tbe best Eduard sets i've used ( we all know that some can also be crappy ).

 

Another info i was given when i built my QF-100D: the number of fences on the rudder is not correct. Dumb, but once you know it...you want that easy mod to be done !!!

 

 

I'll follow that thread with pleasure !

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Thanks very much guys. Ron is reading my updates on here and he assured me that he is proud to be part of the project. 

 

On 7/12/2019 at 6:42 AM, Fancherello said:

Very good start to say the least.

Knowing your quality standards and seing that you have the Aires bays, may i suggest you to consider the Eduard set that provides details for the main landing gear doors ? This is a real good ref that provides boxed doors. Maybe one tbe best Eduard sets i've used ( we all know that some can also be crappy ).

 

Another info i was given when i built my QF-100D: the number of fences on the rudder is not correct. Dumb, but once you know it...you want that easy mod to be done !!!

 

 

I'll follow that thread with pleasure !

 

G’day Fancherello, can you elaborate on the issue with the rudder please?

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Eric, great looking pit.

 

When I built mine a few years back I seriously questioned the strength of the wing joint. The fit is tight but there isn't much plastic in this area. I decided to add a metal support that ran from one wing to the other. Perhaps I over-engineered the whole thing but you might want to look at the area before closing up the fuselage.

 

Dan

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