1/48 Hasegawa F-104C Starfighter

Gallery Article by Burt Gustafson on Nov 25 2009

 

For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/48 scale Hasegawa F104C Starfighter. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was a single engine, high performance supersonic interceptor that served with the U.S.A.F. from 1958 to 1967; it was one of the Century Series aircraft. 

The F-104 featured a new radical wing design to minimize drag. Wing span was only 21 feet and the wing was extremely thin, only two inches thick at the ends. The wing's leading edges were so thin and sharp they presented a hazard to ground crews. Protective guards had to be installed during ground operations. The F-104C, as depicted here, was designed as a tactical fighter, equipped with a refueling probe on the forward left side of the fuselage.

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F-104s were commonly called the "missile with a man in it". American pilots called it the "Zipper" or "Zip-104" because of its tremendous speed. It also had some less charitable names such as "Widowmaker" and "Flying Coffin".

About the kit: This was a nice kit to build. Assembly was straight forward out of the box and relatively easy. The parts fit was quite good. Cockpit and external details was also quite good. Note that the F-104C was equipped with a refueling probe, the kit provided a refueling probe bit I chose not to install it. 

After airbrushing the top of the wings with MM Flat White, I primed the rest of the model with MM Gloss Black and let it cure for 48 hours. I then airbrushed Alclad II Polished Aluminum over the Gloss Black. Wow! what a bright shiny finish. 

After painting, I applied a coat of Future and let it set for 72 hours in preparation for decals. Hasegawa provided decals for two aircraft. I chose the markings for the 479th TWF, USAF George AFB, California, 1963. Decals were excellent, good resolution, easily placed, and snuggled down well. I finished off the model with a coat of MM Gloss Clear Lacquer finish. 

I was pleased with the finished model, and as you can see, is it ever bright.

Burt Gustafson

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Photos and text © by Burt Gustafson