1/48 Hasegawa F-104C Starfighter

Gallery Article by Blair Stewart on June 10 2021

 

      

This is Hasegawa’s F-104C Starfighter. It builds into a nice replica with little to no complications/problems. I used the kit decals but decided to model a Starfighter with Sidewinder missiles on the wingtips rather than use the kit’s wingtip tanks. The missile rails came from the spares box (and may not be completely accurate for the Starfighter’s era) while the missiles came from Hasegawa’s 1/48 scale Aircraft Weapons Set C. The only other modification is a pitot tube cut from a steel guitar string. 

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Paints used were Floquil Bright Silver for the main airframe and wheel wells and Testors Gloss White for the wings. I masked off portions of the engine and sprayed these with Model Masters Titanium, then buffed them with ground-up pencil lead for that “burned” look seen on Starfighters. 

I enjoyed this build, but I believe the old Monogram F-104, while requiring some filling and sanding, still holds up pretty well, given the price differential when it was first released!

Blair Stewart

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Photos and text © by Blair Stewart