to break off. Above 15,000 ft the
F-84 could be flown faster but at
the expense of severe buffeting.
The top speed limitation proved
troublesome against the faster
Soviet MiG 15s in Korea. Slower
than the MiG, the F-84 was also
unable to turn as tightly, with a
maximum instantaneous-turn load
of only 3G, which if exceeded was
followed by rapid loss of airspeed.
The F-84 was a stable gun
platform and the up-to-date
computing gun sight aided in
accurate gunnery and bombing,
and pilots praised the aircraft for
Republic’s legendary ruggedness.
But on to the aircraft build...THE KIT
On opening the sturdy box, you’re
presented with 296 injection
moulded parts on seven sprues,
nine parts in white metal, somevery clear transparent parts,
and vinyl rubber tires. The
decal sheet is the only thing not
state-of-the-art; it looked a little
suspect on my example, with
patchy varnish in places. But I
had already decided I was going
to replace them with aftermarket
decals so this was not an issue.
Because I was so impressed
with the parts (which feature some
lovely fine, delicate moulding all
over), I decided to really go to town
on the aftermarket. That seems to
be the fun nowadays, researching
the aircraft and seeing what’s
available to add those all-important
(some would say) finishing touches.
My list gradually expanded
and I settled on the following:- Eduard Big Ed set: Completely
transforms the detail levels - well
worth it, but not cheap at £37! - Quickboost resin seat: Beautiful!
The resin detail has to be seen
to be believed and totally
transforms the cockpit. - Zotz decal set: Nice, but in the end
I decided to mask and spray the
markings, copied from a period
colour photograph. I did use
the stencil decals and national
insignia, which performed well. - Montex masks F-84 set:
I just used the USAF and
aircraft serial numbers.- Alclad metallic paints:
Various shades. - Lots (and lots) of Tamiya tape.
- Alclad metallic paints:
THE INTERIOR
The cockpit is lovely, large, and
very visible on this kit, so it’s
definitely worth taking
a bit of time on it. If
you get nothing
else in terms ofWWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • AUGUST 2018 • 15
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