USS Reasoner in tiny scale

Just completed an AFV Knox Class Frigate.  I’ve had this around for years and it is a bit special as I completed my 3rd class Midshipman cruise on her in the summer of 1974.

The kit uses the Flagship model PE set.  It worked pretty well but I had a lot of trouble learning how to attach the railings.  I even purchased the “How To” CD from Flagship – it didn’t really help despite being touted as “everything you ever wanted to know about photo-etch”.  It told me a lot about how to make photo-etch and how to bend but nothing on helping me with glues and how to attach complicated parts.  Not recommended.

I needed to scratch build the BPMDS (Sea Sparrow) launch on the aft deck in place of the CWIS gun and cut up the decals to represent 1063 as I knew her.

The kit had a few area on the hull that needed attention due to sink holes.  But generally the fit was good and the kit and photo-etch structures went together well.

Here’s the final result.  A final learning is that I used pastels to gently weather the kit like I do on aircraft kits but found on haze gray that the colors get darker with a coat of Dullcoat.

Double (double) Century series

After completing the CF-104 (last summer – many moons have passed) I was inspired to add yet another couple of two seat century series; an F-100F and F-105G, both in Wild Weasel configurations.  Both of these kits gave me the chance to use some old Floquil ‘Nam camouflage paints I have been storing for just this moment.  I’ve had them for 15 plus years!

The Trumpeter F-100F is a wonderful kit, the first Trumpeter kit I have built.

I used the Aires F-100F set for the cockpit and was pretty pleased with the result.  This set wasn’t quite a fiddly as the Backbox F-105G and contained some nice photo etch.  As you can see the pit looks pretty good inside the fuselage shell.

      

Next up was the venerable Monogram F-105G.  I left the panel lines raised on this one, different from the F-105D I had built earlier in which I rescribed the panels.  The cockpit set was very nicely detailed but was a bit fiddly to add all of the parts.  No photo etch with this set.

  

Both aircraft were painted with the ‘Nam colors previously described –  freehand.  I am surprised I waited so long to do a ‘Nam camo as these were a staple in my earlier modeling years.  The FLoquil paints were fabulous.  I sure am sorry Testors pulled the plug on them.

F-100F armament comes from two of the Hasegawa sets, and the Monogram kit had it’s own.

A nice couple of 1/48 two seat Century Series to add to my collection.  I now have single-seat F-100 through F-106 and two-seat F-100F, CF-104D, F-105G, and F-110 (Phantom) with an F-106B waiting in the on-deck circle!