Building the Hobby Boss F-105D Thunderchief

Manufacture: Hobby Boss
Scale: 1/48th
Kit: # 80332
Build Series: The F-105D Thunderchief (Completed) 

Background

The Thundercheif and I have always had a rough relationship, a sordid history of failures and regrets. In fact, up until this Hobby Boss kit, I had tried on two separate occasions to build a F-105, but each time something would happen and the kit would either end up in the spares box or "crashed" in the backyard.

My first attempt was the venerable 1/48th scale Monogram, F-105D. That one failed. I then tried the Monogram F-105G Wild Weasel in the same scale. I got the kit into a basic airplane shape, but it didn't make it out of my backyard combat zone.

Despite my initial failures, the F-105 has the distinction of not only being one of my favorite aircraft from the Vietnam era, but it was also my very first jet model kit that I ever attempted! Still, a completed 105 eluded me, until now.

The Kit

Upon opening the box, we are reminded of just how big this kit really is. This thing is monstrous, which is awesome for anyone who likes a large plastic canvas. The surface details are nice and crisp with some beautiful rivet work and numerous, fully detailed areas. We have a fully detailed engine, radar, refueling probe, nosecone and Gatling gun bay, which can all be posed open or closed. Of course these areas could all be doctored up with even more details, P.E. parts and scratch building, but they get the job done.

The cockpit isn't anything to get that excited about, but it builds up well enough out-of-the-box. I really think a resin cockpit set would be a great investment, especially if you intend on having the canopy open, but like I said, it isn't too bad for out-of-the-box. If nothing else, a new seat would add a nice level of detail.

Construction was fairly straightforward. Nothing really jumped out at me during the initial construction phase and the fit was very nice. Areas such as the mid-air refueling probe doors and the radar dish nose cone were geared to be displayed open, but since I decided to close them up, I had some minor issues getting them all aligned and installed.

I also had some small gaps that showed around the wing joints and a slight step at the rear tail cone/fuselage joint. They weren't too bad and after a few swipes with my sanding sticks and some putty, they basically disappeared.

Like I mentioned before, this kit had a lot of detailed sections that would get completely covered and lost within the fuselage. I didn't want to waste much time on those sections, so I just closed up areas and left out a lot of the unneeded parts. Instead, I used the open spaces in the nose and gun bay for ballast. I figured that this kit might be a tail sitter, so I took ever opportunity to add weight, forward of the nose wheel.

With regards to the ordinance, I didn't really like the assortment of weapons that came with this kit. I wanted to see a really bomb laden F-105, like you do in a lot of the Vietnam era photos. Unfortunately, the kit came with some rarer load outs, so I opted to purchase a weapons pack from Hasegawa. I wanted that iconic cluster of 750lbs. bombs that you always see on period photos! I did have to scratch build the center pylon, but that wasn't too bad and the weapons pack took care of the center ejector rack. I think that the finished product turned out looking the part and I am happy.

I finished the kit in a mixture of Vallejo and Tamiya acrylic paints, with a Future gloss coat and a Gunze rattle-can flat coat. Decals were kit supplied and Micro Set and Micro Sol were used to get the decals to settle down. They all preformed perfectly and I didn't have any issues with tearing.

Seeing as I have never been very adept at weathering, I kept this finish rather clean. I tried my hand at a dot filter, but I didn't have much luck with that. I also preshaded panel lines and tried to keep the top colors thin so the preshade would show through. I need a lot more practice. Despite my best efforts, I didn't achieve the exact results that I was trying for. If I had been a bit more comfortable with painting, I would have loved to so some additional sun bleaching, chips and color variations. Maybe next time!

Conclusion

Overall this kit was a really fun build. I have always loved the F-105 and I think that this one turned out far better then I had expected. I think that it looks great on my shelf and since I had such a blast with this version, I have even considered picking up the Wild Weasel version!

Yes, the kit was a bit over engineered, but the fit was excellent and I think that any detail fanatic would have a field day with this setup. Well done Hobby Boss!

One of the biggest areas of concern for this kit, were the landing gears. They are very delicate and flimsy, so I would recommend that you invest in a set of white metal replacements. I think that they would hold up better under the kits heavier weight.

Feel free to checkout my complete F-105 build over on YouTube!

Until next time, stay safe and happy modeling.