OEM
12-23-2007, 01:57 AM
This started as a second buildup of my F-107A kit while I worked out the master for production-molds (the first is a single-seater -A in Thunderbird markings that hasn't been finished yet), and developed some additional parts for several variants. The basis was the painting and 3-view of the TF-107 trainer in William Simone's F-107A book. I re-sectioned two of my single-seat noxe-section castings, plus canopy plugs, and joined these to form a two-seat cockpit. At this time I saw an Aero Modeler magazine F-107 article with variant profiles, some using the radome/avionics from an A-5 Vigilante.
Although I was nearly done with the construction as first intended, I cut off the nose forward of the canopy-break and scratchbuilt the additional sections, plus the larger radome, built up from styrene to form the wider nose-extension and radome, then decided to go with an interceptor-variant. The only other alteration I made was to add a Vulcan cannon-muzzle to the fuselage; the installation is seen in Simone's book, but never contemplated seriously as a replacement for the M-39 cannons, but I built it on anyway, fairing over the other gun-ports on the opposite side. (By this point I had stripped/repainted the model several times because of the extra construction and changeovers, including the addition of a taller tailfin, Vigilante-style wing-strakes, and an enclosed afterburner extension, all of which I'm adding to the kit when it's released.) The fuselage was otherwise assembled from my stock resin castings, with vacform main landing-gear doors, wings, tailplane, and fin.
A fourth paint-scheme was started when I decided to make it a mid-seventies version; the overall color was Krylon Bahama Blue, which seems a good match for the weathered ADC colors of F-106s at the time.
The missile pylons were rebuilt parts from a Fujimi F-4, with added strips for the rails; the Falcons from a Monogram F-106, and the Sidewinders from the spares box. The center-tank is a pre-production resin casting; the wing-tanks are from a Monogram F-100 that were already finished in camo, but I decided to leave the paint as is, and only changed the pylon color to match the overall scheme (have seen photos of similar mix-and-match variations).
The tailfin and center-tank markings were from an aftermarket 1/72 scale F-106 decal sheet, the other markings were from the spares box, with the "Diana"/WW eagle-crest noseart handpainted. The formation strips were strips of yellow Goldberg trim-sheet with pen-markings. Much of the original engraved detailing had been removed or painted over to the point it was simply gone, so using some spare castings as guides, I just laid all the panel-lines with pen, and weathered it with charcoal pencils. The remainder of the painted detail was hand-brushed with acrylics or Pentel brush-pens. The PETG vacform canopy was done with the usual 3-step Future dip-and drip. Finish coats were Krylon Satin Clear and Matte.
Although I was nearly done with the construction as first intended, I cut off the nose forward of the canopy-break and scratchbuilt the additional sections, plus the larger radome, built up from styrene to form the wider nose-extension and radome, then decided to go with an interceptor-variant. The only other alteration I made was to add a Vulcan cannon-muzzle to the fuselage; the installation is seen in Simone's book, but never contemplated seriously as a replacement for the M-39 cannons, but I built it on anyway, fairing over the other gun-ports on the opposite side. (By this point I had stripped/repainted the model several times because of the extra construction and changeovers, including the addition of a taller tailfin, Vigilante-style wing-strakes, and an enclosed afterburner extension, all of which I'm adding to the kit when it's released.) The fuselage was otherwise assembled from my stock resin castings, with vacform main landing-gear doors, wings, tailplane, and fin.
A fourth paint-scheme was started when I decided to make it a mid-seventies version; the overall color was Krylon Bahama Blue, which seems a good match for the weathered ADC colors of F-106s at the time.
The missile pylons were rebuilt parts from a Fujimi F-4, with added strips for the rails; the Falcons from a Monogram F-106, and the Sidewinders from the spares box. The center-tank is a pre-production resin casting; the wing-tanks are from a Monogram F-100 that were already finished in camo, but I decided to leave the paint as is, and only changed the pylon color to match the overall scheme (have seen photos of similar mix-and-match variations).
The tailfin and center-tank markings were from an aftermarket 1/72 scale F-106 decal sheet, the other markings were from the spares box, with the "Diana"/WW eagle-crest noseart handpainted. The formation strips were strips of yellow Goldberg trim-sheet with pen-markings. Much of the original engraved detailing had been removed or painted over to the point it was simply gone, so using some spare castings as guides, I just laid all the panel-lines with pen, and weathered it with charcoal pencils. The remainder of the painted detail was hand-brushed with acrylics or Pentel brush-pens. The PETG vacform canopy was done with the usual 3-step Future dip-and drip. Finish coats were Krylon Satin Clear and Matte.