[page 3]
F-104 model in 1/32 scale
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A special feature of the reconnaisance RF-104G was the special Royal Netherlands AF recon pod, called the Orpheus pod. I had no drawings at that time but some good pictures. The pod is 375 cm long, has a diameter of 47 cm and weighs 350 kg. So in 1/32 about 116 mm long with a circular cross section diameter of 15 mm.
A pod was made using a spare pod from the F-15 of Revell in 1/32 with lots of putty. (SEE UPDATE BELOW...)
The Orpheus
recce pod being shaped...
side
lower view
with cooling intake
pod with special
pylon, the gap still to be filled with white glue and to be painted. Aft
of the center is an intake in the lower area, behind it is the internal
cooler unit. The small pylon is tapered in shape.
The various camera windows were suggested
by cutting in clear tape with a scalpel the openings and applying the tape
to the pod. The strips were of plastic to get the attachment points and
the central cooling intake in the lower area opened. The pod was sprayed
in the lighter grey.
The F-104G Starfighter variants have thicker wheels and these are not in either kit. The G is capable of secondary bombing tasks to take -off with a higher weight. The main doors therefor also have the bulges in them. The wheels otherwise would not fit when retracted. NOTE: the newest later Hasegawa kit has "resin" parts for the wheels and doors.
Wheel doors
to be shaped...
...
doors and main
wheels
airbrake
note removed
section of tip....
Orpheus reccon
pod with markings and stencilling
The canopy
was made "detachable". In the cockpit side two small holes were drilled,
on the canopy two small metal pins (from paperclip) were made to fit.
This way you
can remove the canopy and make them thoroughly clean once in a while.
The same was also done for the rear avionics hatch.
I decided to add a circular piece
of card, 2 mm thick between the wheel halves to get the thicker wheels.
Also, the forward main undercarriage doors were made from thick card. The
card was disformed to get the bulge by heating the plastic in an oven and
to press a shape into it. Be carefull with the heat, 5 minutes warming
at 150 degrees Celsius should do it. Make some spare parts and use the
best ones.
The end result on the undercarriage
can be seen here, note the bulge in the main door. I finally detailed the
undercarriage with some painting and weathering with very much thinned
dark paint.
The Starfighters are all now being finished with final assembly of main parts such as the main doors and speed brakes. These were added as supplied in the Hasegawa kit.
The speed brakes have retracting sliding attachments that go into the forward part of the brake bay. I opened these to get a much improved look.
The fitting of the assembled tip tanks was a problem on the 1/32 Revell kit. The wing is too large in span! I had to remove 4 mm at each tip end! Although it was discovered very late by me and although I could correct it be carefully sawing off the tips, I strongly recommend of course to remove the end of the tips before assembly.
The Hasegawa tiptanks fit fine. I
only added fuel dumps on the inner areas of the tanks just aft of the inner
wing ailerons.
The smaller markings I did not have so I obtained them from spare sheets, such as 1/32 Micro scale sets for the F-15. In order to simulate the markings, some were cut and applied. They merely suggest a text with a marking but the result is OK
nose u.c. bay RF
Also, I checked the model panellines
and grills. Very fine thinned paint (black and brown) was applied in the
recessed panels but very lightly! F-104 aircraft are not like a tank but
well maintained by its crews!
The very finely toched up areas were
completed with added rivets in some areas by adding paint, slightly darker
than the under base colour, with a tooth pick.
The models now
have to carefully cleaned up and given their final semi-matt varnish paint
with the airbrush.
The last step
was fitting the transparant canopies. That completed the models.
