Manufacturer: ProModeler from Revell-Monogram, 8601 Waukegan Rd., Morton Grove, IL 60053-2295, 847-966-3500.
Kit: No. 5951
Scale: 1/48
Price: $20.75
Comments: Injection molded, 110 parts (23 photoetched), decals.
Pros: Excellent detail, excellent fit, positionable flaps, speed brake, and canopy.
Cons: Poor decals, photoetched boarding ladder difficult to assemble, canopy appears too low in profile.
More G-model Thunderjets were built than any other variant - 3,025 rolled off the assembly line. The G had several new features, including a "suck-in" auxiliary air door on each side of the nose, refueling receptacle on the wing and probes on the tip tanks, and the capability of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
ProModeler has recognized all of these details and has provided them as separate parts - an F-84E will be released from Revell-Monogram in the future. Other nifty features are the photoetched fret that includes seat harness hardware, a perforated speed brake, and a boarding ladder. The two-piece clear canopy features the reinforced design found on late-model Thunderjets. Underwing stores include a tactical nuke, a pair of 250-pound bombs, and four 5" rockets. You can pose the flaps up or down, and a standing pilot figure is included. Decals provide markings for one colorful Korean-War machine and one SAC bird.
The 20-page instruction booklet has a history of the Thunderjet and 14 assembly steps that include several photos of preserved F-84s.
The model builds straight from the box with few problems. The fit is excellent, and I used no filler. I was pleased with how well the nose panels (that include the suck-in doors) and the wing insert (with the refueling receptacle) fit.
The assembly and installation of the seat harness using the photoetched buckles was problem-free once I realized that the openings in the buckles for the paper straps were not all the same size. You can avoid using the clear tail prop if you add an ounce of weight above the airflow divider in the nose.
Since I modeled the Korean-War airplane, I added the bombs and rockets and removed the tip-tank refueling probes. Take care to align the rockets to keep their tubes parallel. If you choose to drop the flaps, install them after painting and assembly, as they are easy to break off and the inner edges may interfere with the wing fillet during assembly.
The down-lock cylinder of the nose-gear drag link (part No. 38) should face up (towards the bottom of the fuselage). ProModeler gives you navigation lights for both tip tanks in addition to those on the wing tips - nice touch!
If you're like me and haven't had much experience with photoetched parts, you may have a devil of a time building the boarding ladder. I couldn't keep all the rungs straight and bent mine so badly that I just threw it out.
I painted my model with a combination of unbuffed SnJ Spray Metal and Testor Metalizers. The only serious flaw in the kit is the decal sheet. Color photos of Col. Charles Jordan's "Night Take Off" show bright red in the tail, nose, and tip-tank designs. ProModeler gives you a deep blood red. The woman on the right side of the airplane is poorly done; the flesh areas were printed as red dots over white - yikes, the measles! The tip-tank designs are too small and don't reach the top and bottom seam fairings. All the decals were glossy, so I toned them down with a little clear flat. Despite the printing problems, the decals went on fine.
There are a lot of stencil decals, and the decaling process took me 12 hours. I found that brushing a little Micro Sol where the decal should go, blotting carefully, and waiting for each decal to dry thoroughly before applying Solvaset gave decent results with the ProModeler decals. Some of the instructions for stencil placement are confusing, and you end up with leftover stencils.
The finished model looks good, but the canopy looks low in profile. If you pose it open you probably won't notice it.
Even with all my nit-picking, I really enjoyed the 25 hours I spent on this model. It is one of the best-engineered kits I have built, and it looks great sitting next to Sabres and MiG-15s. Thanks to Karen Foti for researching and painting the pilot figure.