1/48 Hasegawa TF-104G Starfighter

Gallery Article by Burt Gustafson on Mar 22 2011

 

TF-104G Starfighter Boelcke Special

 

For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my Hasegawa TF-104G Starfighter. The TF-104G was a two-seat training version of the F-104 Starfighter. It was generally similar to the single-seat F-104.  However, the nose landing gear bay was repositioned and the strut retracted rearwards.  The TF-104G was combat-capable with Sidewinder missiles and despite a slightly larger vertical fin and increased weight, had similar performance to the single-seat F-104.

Construction

Like most Hasegawa kits, this was a straight forward hassle free kit to build. The parts fit was excellent, requiring very little filling and sanding. Even the five piece canopy fit perfectly. It was an out of the box build all the way.

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Painting
Paints used for the aircraft model were airbrushed with Model Masters and Floquil enamel paints. The aircraft model here depicts the very attractive paint scheme used on TF-104G Starfighters of JBG31 in 1983 to commemorate the unit's 25th anniversary. Bright Blue for the overall aircraft, landing gears and wheel wells were painted with Floquil Bright Silver.

Decals
The kit provides decals to mark the model as a Starfighter of JBG31 "Boelcke". The decals were excellent, easily placed on the model and snuggled down pretty well with just a bit of silvering.

Comments

This kit was an easy build. The parts fit was excellent, the detail was excellent, and the decals were good. The overall quality of this kit is excellent, typical of a Hasegawa kit. I was pleased with the finished model.

 

Enjoy the photos.

Burt Gustafson

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Photos and text © by Burt Gustafson