Background
Despite being a very potent aircraft, the F-84F Thunderstreak was destined to forever play second fiddle to the legendary F-86 Sabre. It was born out of the supposedly simple plan to upgrade the earlier F-84 Thunderjet by fitting it with swept wings, and the resulting prototype demonstrated a clear boost in performance. Then it was decided to go a step further and install a larger and more powerful engine, but that entailed redesigning the fuselage and many other changes, all of which delayed the Thunderstreak's introduction to service until 1954. This was some five years later than the Sabre and, worse still, it now faced imminent obsolescence with the arrival of the first generation of supersonic fighters such as the F-100 Super Sabre.
So, the Thunderstreak only served with the USAF in a frontline role for a few years before being assigned to secondary roles, but it enjoyed a longer career with other NATO air forces. These included the re-established Luftwaffe, which adopted the F-84F as its first fighter and operated the type until the mid 1960s.
The Kit
Special Hobby's Hi-Tech Luftwaffe Thunderstreak arrives in a very classy top-opening box with the main parts and accessories bagged separately for protection in transit. The kit comprises:
85 x grey styrene parts (plus another 22 not needed)
8 x clear styrene parts
6 x 3D-printed parts
A sheet of die-cut washi tape masks
Decals for 4 x colour schemes
The basic kit is produced using Special Hobby's latest mainstream technology and is beautifully moulded with no signs of flash or other issues. The exterior finish comprises crisply engraved panel lines and a few embossed fasteners and perforations on the speed-brakes. Strictly speaking, the panel lines are arguably a tad overdone for this scale - but I've seen far heavier on other kits, and these should look fine under a coat of paint and work very well for pin washes.
Test Fit
The construction of the fuselage is slightly unusual, with a choice of separate fins and a drop in spine behind the cockpit. Thanks to the crisp moulding, the fit is excellent and you shouldn't need any filler if you're careful.
The wings are designed with underwing panels that follow the hinge lines of the ailerons and flaps, ensuring nice sharp trailing edges, and the fit at the roots is very good. The locating tabs don't support their weight, though, so you'll need to prop them up while the cement dries - and don't forget that the Thunderstreak's wings had 3° 30′ of anhedral.
The stabilaters have very small locating pins which, again, won't carry their weight. They fit precisely, but the parts will need supporting while they dry to ensure everything's square and true.
A Few Standard Details
The cockpit is nicely fitted out for this scale. The ejection seat is constructed from 4 pieces - a bit fiddly in this scale. Surprisingly, considering this is a Hi Tech boxing, Special Hobby haven't added an etched harness. Elsewhere in the "office" the instrument panel is crisply moulded and has a decal to overlay.
The undercarriage nicely handled with a deep nosewheel well and boxed-in wing wells. The mainwheels have crisply moulded hubs and the nosewheel should look great with a light wash to pick out the detail.
The jet pipe has a nicely detailed burner to prevent a see-through look.
The ordnance comprises a pair of large drop tanks and six underwing racks, each carrying a pair of what appear to be 5" HVAR rockets.
The transparencies are beautifully moulded - thin and crystal clear- and there's a choice of canopies to allow it to be posed open or closed. Special Hobby have included a sheet of die-cut painting masks for the clear parts and the wheels.
3D-Printed Parts
The star of the show in this Hi Tech boxing is a set of 3D-printed parts for an open nose gun-bay. The parts arrive in a printed "cage" and, once this is removed, you can see the detail is quite exceptional. The bay comprises a one-piece section that includes the guns themselves, plus separate ammunition boxes and a hinged section that's printed with its tiny hinged catches open. I initially thought the exterior of the cover seemed slightly ribbed, but a quick polish showed it was actually smooth, so I think it was just the thinness of the part showing the detail from the inside.
The parts are printed with very fine attachments and can be removed quickly and safely with a scalpel. Once that's done, clean-up is minimal. but I did find the ammo boxes are a very tight fit, so it could be worth sanding them slightly rather than try to force them into place.
Fitting the gun-bay will need a bit of surgery to remove the top of the kit's nose and the front of the windscreen, plus thinning the inside of the separate intake ring. This should be straightforward, so long as you take your time and work carefully. The completed gun-bay should look stunning with careful painting and highlighting.
Instructions & Decals
Special Hobby have printed the instructions in colour as a 15-page booklet. The construction sequence looks pretty logical, but I'd leave installing the canopy (if you're building it open) and the nose-bay cover until later to avoid damaging them. Colour matches for Gunze Sangyo are provided throughout.
The kit includes decals for a quartet of Luftwaffe Thunderstreaks, 2 x n/m and 2 x camouflaged:
A. F-84F s/n 53-7172/DB-113, 1. Staffel/JaBoG 32, Luftwaffe, 1961
B. F-84F s/n 51-9517/DB-107, JaBoG 34, Luftwaffe, 1959
C. F-84F s/n 53-7103/DC-246, 2. Staffel/JaBoG 33, Luftwaffe, 1961
D.F-84F s/n DF-376, 2. Staffel/JaBoG 36, Luftwaffe, 1963
The decals look to be very good quality - thin and glossy, and printed in precise register. Viewed through a magnifier, some of the colours are formed of ultra-fine dots, but this isn't visible to the naked eye at normal viewing distances. There's a fair amount of carrier film around the designs, but I've found this snuggles down and disappears nicely with Special Hobby's recent decals when I've used them - just take care not to let the thin items fold over themselves.
Conclusion
Special Hobby's Luftwaffe Thunderstreak is very neat indeed. The basic kit is well up to the latest mainstream standards and the 3D-printed details are superb. They're not too complex either, so this would make a good kit to go for if you want to try your hand at doing some simple modifications and installing 3D-printed parts.
Kit #SH72510 is available now from Special Hobby - Price: 28.70 Euros
Many thanks to Special Hobby for the review sample.
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