Hobbyboss F-105 Thunderchief, Vietnam, 1973
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So on to the glamour shots, so I guess we're done.
This one took a while, mainly due to lots of contemplation followed by short bursts of furious activity.
It's funny. These (often long) periods of not working on a model are actually quite important to my process. While, to the untrained eye it might seem like I'm not actually modelling during these times, there is a lot of processing how to approach a particular problem I've come up against. After a while I'll find myself at the bench, usually smashing through an issue that always seemed much bigger in contemplation than it turns out to be in practice. After enough of these stops and starts, I find myself looking at a finished kit, wondering what to tackle next.
This is my first serious post war jet. By way of inspiration I'm reading "When Thunder Rolled", by Ed Rasimus, a Thud Pilot, and I have to say, to do what these guys did, especially on Wild Weasel missions where they were tasked with actually hunting down the SAM sites that were targeting them must have taken massive cojones. Reading about the subject I'm working on really does help bring character to a build.
There are issues with the kit, for sure, but then, you can say that about every kit. The undercarriage is a gentle breath away from collapse, even with a comical amount of CA glue holding it in place. The finished kit will forever be handled like a Fabergé Egg, or preferably not handled at all. It's am imperfect finish, but then, I'm an imperfect modeller. I did fill some seams, but there are plenty that I got to the painting stage with and thought "...meh. I can live with it".
The canopy isn't quite right, but again, I just wanted to get a result so have let it slide.
The load out seems OK from my references and the reading I've done for a classic Wild Weasel mission. Long range fuel tanks to get Downtown, and Shrikes to do the job when they get there. To those who know more (and there are many of you, I say with genuine humility and respect), my apologies if I've got it wrong. Hopefully you'll allow some artistic licence from a jet-age novice.
In the end, I've actually really enjoyed this build. Once the paint and decals were on, final weathering was done pretty much in a day. The kit was painted exclusively with Vallejo and Mig acrylics, and weathered with Abtielung oils and art shop pastels.
I dedicate this build to the pilots and operators that flew them, and the men and women on the ground who defied them. You all deserve your peace today.
As always, thoughts and comments are most welcome. I'll clear the bench and consider the stash for the next build.
Peace Out, and Happy Modelling🙂
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