Kit: No. 1605
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Trumpeter, distributed by Stevens International, P.O. Box 126, Magnolia, NJ 08049, 856-435-1555
Price: $16.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 63 parts, decals
Pros: Interesting subject, fine recessed panel lines, good fit
Cons: Some outline problems, leading-edge slats molded shut, cockpit detail is sparse, paint and markings guide incomplete
The sleek F-107, with its radical dorsal intake, was one of the "losers" of the jet production race of the late 1950s. A development of the F-100 Super Sabre, the 107 was beaten by Republic's F-105 Thunderchief in a competition to develop a supersonic strike aircraft.
Only three F-107s were built; two survive, one at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona, and the other in the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The third was used as a fire trainer and destroyed.
I never dreamed an injection-molded, full-production kit of the F-107 would be produced, especially more than 40 years after its last flight, but Trumpeter has made it so. The kit is a cooperative effort with a Japanese outfit called Monochrome. The moldings have fine recessed panel lines and tight-fitting parts. Features include a three-piece canopy (but there is no lifting mechanism to pose it open), semi-recessed belly tank, and separate trailing-edge flaps. The decal sheet provides markings for all three F-107As, including the NASA band used on the third jet late in its career.
I was surprised at how well the parts fit. The belly molding, which includes the main landing gear wells and the recess for the centerline store, traps the wing snug against the fuselage. The three pieces of the afterburner unit fit so tightly that I had to use quite a bit of pressure to snap them in.
The five-piece ejection seat is too squat. Only a collection of rings is molded on the instrument panel, otherwise there is no panel or console detail. Watch out when installing the windscreen and backlight sections of the canopy; they fit so closely to the underlying coamings that a touch of liquid cement instantly runs inside, ruining the clear plastic. I had to peel off the windscreen, and after the plastic had hardened, I sanded and polished it smooth. I gave up on the backlights, and painted them gloss black on the outside.
The dorsal intake required some sanding for a clean fit. The auxiliary intake grille on top required some adjustment, too. While acceptably thin, the small horizontal stabilizers were molded in upper and lower halves.
The wings feature separate trailing-edge flaps, but the leading-edge slats (which were "automatic" - the slipstream pushed them up and closed) are molded shut. There is no detail in the landing gear bays, and the wheel covers for the main and nose bays are molded separately. These doors remained closed except for gear cycling and service.
The paint scheme for the three prototypes was similar: natural metal and insignia red. The Monochrome version of the kit was issued with a second decal sheet containing all the red trim. Not so with Trumpeter's issue, so I had to mask and paint the extensive trim. I used SnJ Spray Metal overall, and Testor Guards Red, which looks just right over the SnJ. Masking, painting, and unmasking took a good 10 hours - I wish I'd had decals.
The small decal sheet was well printed, and the white and yellow inks were opaque. The small markings diagrams show only the second and third aircraft, not mentioning the first (55118), but the markings for its large "F-107A" and tail numbers are on the sheet. No mention of the provided NASA band is made, either.
I broke off the wingtip-mounted instrument booms, then painted them and the lo-o-o-ong nose boom white, chucked each in a motor tool, spun it slowly and touched it with a brush to create even red bands.
The finished model looks great, but there are some shape problems. The intake doesn't have enough height, and the canopy is slightly too deep. This is noticeable when positioning the nose and intake decals and comparing them with photos in William J. Simone's North American F-107A, Air Force Legends No. 203 (Ginter). I found out too late that the No. 1 F-107A that I modeled had the gun ports faired over. Also, the recess for the centerline fuel tank is not deep enough to position the tank properly.
I spent nearly 40 hours on my F-107, much of that prepping and painting the complex scheme. Detail freaks will want to improve the cockpit, deepen the intake, and fix the belly store. Then, there's always the "what-if" approach. Hmm. Let's see - a Southeast Asia tactical scheme would look great!
Paul Boyer