1/32 Hasegawa F-104-S Starfighter

Gallery Article by Angelo M Picardo on Mar 5 2012

 

 

The F104-S was the final variant of the Starfighter and was flown mainly by the Italian Air Forces, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana.  (Turkey did also fly some.)  Apart from a bigger engine, they fitted the J79-GE-19, the Starfighter was configured to fire the AIM 7 Sparrow.  This change required the removal of the M-61 internal gun to make room for the electronics required for the Sparrow.  The radar was also upgraded for the role, and two extra hard points were added to the fuselage.  All this increased the weight of the aircraft so larger main wheels were also needed.

The F104-S was licensed built by FIAT.  Hasegawa re-released their F104-G Starfighter as the "S" variant some years back.  They included new resin main wheels and doors to represent the enlarged wheels of the "S" variant, but that was it as far as the changes went.  They did not provide the two ventral fins, the blocked off cannon port, or make any attempt to reshape the suction relief doors on the side of the intakes. Also, the cockpit was the wrong type for an "S", especially the ejector seat.

None of these changes are major problems to change.  The fins were made from plastic card, the cannon port was covered over using Milliput, and, as the panel lines are raised, so I engraved them, and changed the outline of the suction doors at the same time.  The cockpit was replaced with an after market resin item and the seat was also a resin upgrade.  Another feature was the extra drop tanks fitted to the wings, these were provided by an after market company too.  The final touch was a resin jet pipe which was more detailed than the kit one.

 

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The build was straight forward, once all the extra parts were obtained.  The main thing was engraving the panel lines, but as the plastic was soft, this was fairly straight forward.  Another feature I added was to drop the flaps, this is noticeable on parked Starfighters.  I also cut open the drogue chute housing to pose it in the open position.  The model had various "Remove Before Flight" flags and covers added.  

The model was painted with Humbrol enamels and given a faded look as Italy's weather does fade the paint work of their aircraft, and cars!  

The decals were from the kit.

I wanted to display the model on a base.  This was made from a picture frame.  The figures are from Verlinden. The three ground crew had their heads replaced and had ear defenders added. They were painted in enamels.  The compressor starter cart was scratch built. The basic body was built around a core of Lego. Wheels and fittings came from the spares box.  The entry ladder was scratch built also, as were the fire extinguisher, FOD guards, and exhaust covers.  The hose from the compressor to the airplane is made from fuse wire, coiled around thick solder, then wrapped in masking tape.

Angelo M Picardo

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Photos and text © by Angelo M Picardo