1/48 Hasegawa CF-104

by Dan McWilliams

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This is the third installment in a series of CF-104s that I am building in honour of my late father.  He loved the 104, which he flew for 5 years in Germany with 439 Tiger Squadron.  This particular version is the overall green camouflaged one that he is pictured standing in - the hero shot was taken when he arrived at Baden-Soellingen in 1972.  The Hasegawa kit is excellent.  To make a Canadian version, make sure you get the C2 ejection seat (the 104J and "Starfighters" demo team versions have them); don't use the 104G with the other seat (the one with the yellow ejection handles on the headrest).  Also, it is necessary to chop off the bulge on the front of the windscreen.  I used Leading Edge decals for this one. 

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One thing I experimented with was the Leading Edge red strip for the pitot boom.  I had a tough time getting it to stick all the way around, and to get the lines nicely parallel.  Next time, I will go back to using a red permanent marker freehand to make these red lines - I find it easier to get them parallel that way.  Another thing I did this time was not use the transparent light parts (4 on rear fuselage, 1 on top grey patch behind cockpit, and one each side between wings and intakes, others on tip tanks).  I instead painted silver backgrounds on the spots, then used coloured markers for the lights.  Next time, I will use this same method; the results are not bad.  Using the clear parts involves more work to drill out all the holes, and it is hard to get just the right size (easy to end up with gaps around the clear part).  More patient modelers than me, though, will probably like the more realistic look when those clear parts are installed right.

This jet now sits proudly with its brothers (a natural metal early 3 Wing single, and a variegated single, plus its big 1:32 scale overall green clone) on the 104 shelf in my office.  Still to come are a tiger striped version of this tail number from 1976, and a silver Cold Lake dual.

Dan

Photos and text © by Dan McWilliams