Hobby Boss 1/48th F-105D Thunderchief
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History
Legendary designer Alexander Kartveli of Republic Aviation created one
of the most famous of the century-series jet fighters, the F-105 Thunderchief.
Although the F-105 was designed to carry a nuclear weapon in its internal
weapons bay at high speed and low altitude, the aircraft is best known
for the conventional bombing role. The F-105B was produced in small numbers
and was soon superseded by the major variant, the F-105D, which entered
service with the USAF in 1961. The F-105D had a higher thrust engine and
more sophisticated avionics than its predecessor.
A two-seat trainer version, the F-105F, was also manufactured by Republic.
Many of these were converted to the F-105G Wild Weasel, a specialist electronic
warfare aircraft tasked with countering enemy surface-to-air missile sites
and their associated radars.
F-105Ds flew the majority of the USAF's bombing missions over North
Vietnam in the early years of the Vietnam War. After the war, surviving
aircraft continued to serve, although they were soon relegated to Air
National Guard and Air Force Reserve squadrons. The last operator, a Hill
AFB reserve unit, retired its Thunderchiefs in 1984.
THE KIT
In recent years Trumpeter has produced the F-105D in both 1/32 and 1/72
scales and now Hobby Boss (HB) has released this subject in 1/48 scale.
I have inspected the big Trumpeter 1/32 kit and compared it side-by-side
with the HB kit. The two kits are almost the same in the way that the
parts are engineered and produced, including the surface detailing. The
HB kit is essentially a simplified version of the Trumpeter 1/32 kit.
Compared to its bigger brother, the HB kit lacks the bomb bay assembly,
the ammo drum, the vinyl tires and ammo belts, the metal rod/PE pieces
for attaching the wing control surfaces, and the elaborate three-piece
instrument panel with film. The HB kit also does not have the large menu
of external stores.
So what does the HB kit have? There are plenty of features, including
separate wing control surfaces, separate rudder, separate exhaust petals,
radar unit, refueling probe & compartment, cannon & gun bay, two
piece canopy, positionable horizontal stabilizers, and a detailed engine.
The engine can be mounted in place in the main fuselage and the rear fuselage
left off to display it. The external stores include eight Mk 82 bombs
with racks, two Bullpup missiles, and three drop tanks.
The part trees are well-packaged in five bags with an additional small
bag for the clear tree. Quality of the parts is good with no sink marks
or flash. There are some ejector pin marks that will need filling on the
landing gear legs, the gear doors and the gun bay door(if it is in the
open position). The clear parts are nicely molded with the exception of
a tiny but noticeable gouge on the inner surface of the main canopy piece.
The cockpit is comprehensive with a multi-part ejection seat and molded-in
fuselage side panels. Separate pieces with raised detail are included
for the console tops. The instrument panel also has raised detail.
Lastly, the surface detailing. Trumpeter's mad riveter is at it again
(this time wearing the HB hat) with lots of tiny holes to represent the
flush fasteners on the real airplane. Recessed lines are present to represent
the panel lines. Actually, all this is done delicately enough so that
it looks OK in 1/48th scale. My overall impression of the surface detailing
is positive, although I would prefer not to see all those holes.
I have neither glued nor dry-fitted any of the parts, so I cannot comment
on the fit.
INSTRUCTIONS
The Instructions are typical exploded views, but not organized into
numbered steps. Still, they are easy to follow. There is a separate colors
and markings guide with color illustrations. Color call-outs are very
helpful because they list Mr. Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya, and
Humbrol paints.
DECALS
The decal sheet has markings for two aircraft: F-105D 62-4364 of the
354th TFW during the Vietnam War(without tail code) and F-105D 60-0521
of the AF Reserve's 457th TFS (with tail code TH). For the first option,
there is a fully nude female figure designed to be placed near the refueling
receptacle on top of the forward fuselage.
Many of the decals are useable, but the national insignia is a bit off
in proportions, while others like the rescue arrows are printed out of
register. The decals for the instrument panel and consoles don't look
very realistic.
CONCLUSION
This new release from HB is a welcome addition to the line-up of modern
Thunderchief kits, because modelers now have a choice from among all three
of the popular scales. There will probably be some products forthcoming
from the aftermarket elves to upgrade this kit.
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