My latest die cast model - in stunning 1024-o-Rama

[Paul K]

The Hobbymaster F-105D which, like my Corgi Spitfire and Valiant, comes courtesy of my daughter's generosity with the Model Zone gift vouchers. Bless them !

During the late autumn I re-read Thud Ridge by Colonel Jack Broughton, one of my all-time favourite aviation books, written by a man I have huge admiration for. This aircraft, 60-0504, is in the camouflage and markings it wore while with the 355th TFW at Takhli RTAB during Operation Rolling Thunder over North Vietnam; Colonel Broughton was the vice Wing Commander at the time.

Not a bad model I think, and the canopy closes quite precisely with virtually no gap at all. The visual distortion of the pilot's helmet makes him resemble a smurf however. Unfortunately, you can't mount it on its stand if you have the bombs fitted in the centre line bomb rack, so it had to be with the centre line fuel tank. Not sure what missiles they are...I thought Bullpups at first but they are the wrong shape.

[DaveB]

What scale is that Paul.. 1:72nd?

Not my cup of tea but a nice model nontheless. Panel lines are a bit heavy but no more than is usual and something model buyers the world over have to put up with

If your daughter has a bit more spare cash.. Larry's birthday is coming up the end of March and mine is the begining of April
ATB
DaveB

[Paul K]

What scale is that Paul.. 1:72nd?

Not my cup of tea but a nice model nontheless. Panel lines are a bit heavy but no more than is usual and something model buyers the world over have to put up with

Yep Dave, 1/72 scale and yes, the panel lines are a bit heavy, but not quite as severe as the my Corgi Spitfire of the same scale. I don't know why they bother with them.

I've always liked the Thud for some reason, and I'm going through a Vietnam 'phase' at the moment, what with reading books and watching a 12-part documentary series via my Lovefilm account. After reading Thud Ridge, I read Rolling Thunder, a very detailed analysis of the eponymous campaign by John T Smith. F-105 losses were staggering, with 283 D models and 37 F/G models lost in combat...that's not counting the rest lost in accidents. And in the end, the whole campaign was a failure.

If your daughter has a bit more spare cash.. Larry's birthday is coming up the end of March and mine is the begining of April

There's two of them, Lizzie and Katherine, so I'll see if I can get them to club together for you !

[Effoh]

Not sure what missiles they are...I thought Bullpups at first but they are the wrong shape.

I reckon you were right Paul - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AGM-12D.jpg - artistic licence?

Rgds,

Colin

[Paul K]

Colin, I bet you are right. Looking at some other photos of Bullpup variants, the models' ones are a bit more accurate than I first thought.