Kit: No. 01617
Scale: 1/72
Price: $29.95
Manufacturer: Trumpeter, from Stevens International, 856-435-1555
Comments: Injection-molded, 146 parts, decals
Pros: Good detail; recessed panels and rivets; refueling probe and gun bay can be displayed open; separate flaps and ailerons
Cons: Small parts too large for scale; ejector-pin marks; some poorly fitting parts; inaccurate details; questionable ordnance load
I looked forward to Trumpeter's small-scale F-105 Thunderchief, mainly because the 20-year-old Revell single-seater kit is so darn hard to find. This new kit has recessed surface detail - a necessity for some modelers - but with it come overdone lines and rivets. The sprues show evidence of a two-seater to come; the clear parts include canopies for the F/G model Thunderchief.
Nifty features include separate, poseable flaps and ailerons. However, photos show when the trailing-edge flaps are down, so are the leading-edge flaps (which are not molded separately). You can also pose the four exhaust petals open (serving as speed brakes).
Ordnance includes three drop tanks, eight Mk.82 500-pound bombs ("slicks") with separate normal or extended fuses, and two AGR-12B Bullpup missiles.
Decals are given for three Thuds, one in overall aluminum lacquer and two in the familiar four-color camouflage.
This is a fairly easy kit to assemble, but some part breakdowns are frustrating. For example, a central section of the bottom of each flap is molded separately and fits loosely into the top. Sprue attachment points on the large parts intrude onto the mating surfaces, complicating cleanup. Some large ejector-pin marks are visible inside the cockpit and rear fuselage next to the exhaust.
Most of the cockpit details depend on instrument panel and console decals. The nose-gear strut shows good detail, but there is no detail on the inner faces of the nose- and main-gear doors. I had trouble installing the main gear: Two small elbows attached to the base of each strut were oversize; my references show they should be attached to the small outboard gear door.
Trumpeter's choice of ordnance is atypical. The kit provides two multiple ejector racks for the inner wing pylons, each holding four Mk.82 bombs, and outboard pylons holding early Bullpup missiles, but I couldn't find a single photo of wartime Thuds with this load. I could have used a centerline MER, but none is provided.
Overall fit is pretty good. Some of the tiny air-data sensors and antennas are molded separately, but in this scale they aren't tiny enough. The swept fins of the centerline tanks should be short, straight stubs.
I airbrushed the model using raised cardboard masks and Testors Model Master enamels. The color and markings guide lacks a top view to show the camouflage pattern, and it doesn't show the proper color demarcation line of the underside light gray (it should trace up to meet the undersurface of the wings). The decals went on perfectly, but I noted the proportions of the national insignias were wrong.
After about 35 hours, I finished the model. I decided not to add ordnance, and the model looks fine. I shaved off the raised anti-collision beacon on the spine, as photos show it was a postwar addition to the single-seat D models.
I was hoping Trumpeter could have captured the shape of the Thud's big radome, but like nearly all kits in all scales, it's a straight cone.
Trumpeter's Thud is a good kit with good detail. Beginners might struggle with some of the tiny parts, while experts may want to test their accurizing skills. - Paul Boyer