blackbetty Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 (edited) Next one up i wont use a lot of aftermarket, i just have the Aires exhaust (for the Hasegawa kit, i hope it fits) and some videoaviation 750s the kit decals are printed by catograf, so i will use them bought some AIM 9Bs from Reskit, only to find out they never used the under fuselage tray operationaly Edited March 7 by blackbetty MikeMaben, LSP_Kevin, scvrobeson and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldbaldguy Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 This should be interesting to watch. I’ve always liked the look of an F-104 but have never built one and don’t think I’ve ever seen a camoed build. A flying friend at my airport flew them his entire career, including a tour in Vietnam. He had a bushel of war stories but was such a talented liar that I never believed a word he said. easixpedro, MikeC, KiwiZac and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 there is a nice site with lots of info: https://www.i-f-s.nl/ Antonio Argudo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonio Argudo Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 oh nice! will follow this one were all the Starfighters used in Vietnam in camo colors? were exceptions? cheers blackbetty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonio Argudo Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 seems like the nose art was pink, are the kit's decals in white or pink? cheers cmayer, F`s are my favs and geedubelyer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 there were natural metal ones at Danang cmayer and Antonio Argudo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 the cat is pink on thee decal sheet, but the lettering is also pink, but should be white according to the pic above.... cmayer and Antonio Argudo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Very cool Karl, looking forward to this one! I need to get back on my zipper at some point blackbetty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmayer Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Looking at the color shot of the pink panther as the "Pussycat," above: I just noticed for the first time that the "barber pole" on the pitot tube was changed to the 435 TFS squadron-color blue/white (instead of the standard red/white); and there is also a blue stencil just below the aft canopy glazing...my guess is that is a crew chief/ass't crew chief stencil [edit: just looked at the Eduard/Kinetic decal sheet for their release of this aircraft --in the "wrong" scale-- and it is the stencil for the assigned pilot/crew chief names]. These guys really went all-in on the squadron color tradition: many of their pilots dyed their sage-gray/green K-2B flight suits to "435th Blue" toward the end of their deployment to Udorn. Because they were a "geographically separated unit" (GSU) from their assigned wing headquarters (the famed 8 TFW Wolfpack, during Robin Olds's tenure as commander at Ubon), the squadron was characterized as a bit of a flying club, and they called themselves the "Thai Air National Guard," or "TANG" for short. But, these guys took some serious losses to SA-2s in 1966, and they were grounded from flights over North Vietnam and specifically the Hanoi area, until their jets were fitted with the APR-25 RHAW system, which was completed by the end of December '66; and you can see the forward antenna for that system just under the Pussycat artwork (looks like a black "wedge" sticking out of the sleek nose cone). Not many people realize that Olds and JB Stone assigned their geo-separated fighter squadron the duty to fly defensive counter-air (DCA) during Operation Bolo on 2 January 1967, to protect the tankers supporting the Phantoms that did the offensive fighter sweep across the MiG-21 bases around Hanoi. In August '67, the 435th pilots, in their dyed blue flight suits, ferried these F-104s from Udorn, Thailand to Puerto Rico, where the Puerto Rico ANG took over operating these camouflaged zippers; and the 435 TFS designation went to Ubon to stand-up the second F-4D squadron in the 8 TFW Wolfpack, just prior to Olds relinquishing the wing in September that year. Just a really cool stretch of history wrapped up in those camouflaged F-104s, and I'm really looking forward to some Black Betty magic on this kit(!). BiggTim, MikeC, scvrobeson and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 uh oh, blackbetty magic no pressure eh? cmayer and MikeC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmayer Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 No pressure at all! I've enjoyed all your builds, all the way back to your massive MiG-29 update...I'm going to have just as much fun learning from you on this one! Best, Chris Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 thanx chris, really nice of you cmayer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 3 hours ago, cmayer said: No pressure at all! I've enjoyed all your builds, all the way back to your massive MiG-29 update..... That was a good one in-it! cmayer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 Looks like a fun one Karl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O.W Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 It's a lovelly kit to build, with it's share of challenges. Ready to build my 7th Starfighter. What I really like about the Starfighters is the variety in liveries and sceams MikeC and blackbetty 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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