1/48 Hasegawa NASA F-104N

Gallery Article by Gene A. "Gene-o" DiGennaro Jr. on June 26 2014

 

In the early 1960s, NASA ordered 3 F-104 Starfighters to serve as high speed chase and test aircraft. These were built to the F-104N standard, meaning they were built as F-104G's without the NASARR fire control radar. Ejection seats were F-104C standard C-2 models. Vehicles 011, 012, and 013 were initially painted in this flashy dayglo orange and yellow paint scheme with high polished natural aluminum elsewhere. Tragically F-104N 013 was destroyed in a horrific mid air collision with XB-70 #2. The 1966 accident took the life of X-15 pilot Joe Walker and B-70 crewman Carl Cross.

 

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The model is the 1/48 Hasegawa F-104N with kit decals. Construction was out of the box except for the addition of a Monogram F-106 pilot figure in the front office. The model went together easily and needed little filler. The one beef I have with Hasegawa's 104 are all the tiny countersunk holes used to represent rivets. I'm noticing this is a continuing trend in today's aircraft kits and it needs to stop.

This was my first try at an Alclad finish. I first primed the fuselage with Krylon automotive primer to tone down those pesky rivet holes. This was wet sanded and polished to a glossy sheen. Next a layer of Krylon gloss black was shot onto the bird. This too was polished to a high sheen. Finally a coat of future was applied over the gloss black. The nose was painted grey and an OD anti glare panel was hand painted onto the nose. I then airbrushed a steel colored acrylic onto the aft fuselage. Next, Gunze orange was airbrushed onto the tail.

A panel on the dorsal spine was painted cream as shown in pictures. All those surfaces were masked and Alclad Polished Aluminum was laid down on the fuselage. It looked great but too uniform in appearance, so I got out my trusty Bare Metal Foil and began adding foil to different panels for contrast. I was pleased with the appearance. The stand was made from scrap aluminum and plexiglass from work. I drilled holes in the aluminum arm to give it an "aerospace" look. I think she looks zoomy. How about you?

Gene-o

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Photos and text © by Gene A. "Gene-o" DiGennaro Jr.