This is my Hasegawa 1/72 Starfighter, finished as an “S-model” of the Italian Air Force.
The kit is built mostly out of the box, but I did add a few details in the cockpit, a Pavla ejection seat, Aires afterburner can, Hasegawa missiles, and a Master pitot boom.
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I learned a lot about Italian Starfighters and got some great references and ideas from the ARC forums!
Accordingly, I modified a few of the kit parts and selected the weapons load out to more realistically reflect an earlier operational F-104S.
I painted the model with Tamiya acrylics, airbrushed with paper masks and Testors Dullcote for the final finish.
I then post-shaded the camouflage to give the jet a more worn look. Weathering was done with pastel chalk, washes, and oils.
After I dirtied up the belly of the jet, I sprayed the area with a light coat of future to represent the leaking fluids and such.
Finally I used a sharp pencil to deepen the panel lines and a silver pencil to add wear and tear around the jet.
The decals came from the kit and a massive Sky Decals sheet.
I used AIM-9B Sidewinders from the old Hasegawa weapons set, however I thinned down the fins and drilled out the rocket motor exhaust.
The Sparrow missiles are modified AIM-7Ms from Hasegawa’s newer weapons set.
To make them represent AIM-7Es, I sanded the radomes to more of a point, removed the forward portion of the -7Ms waveguide fairing, and added fairings to the sides of the missiles made from styrene.
Decals for the missiles came from the weapons sets and my spares. I hope you enjoy the photos!
Todd
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