1/48 Monogram F-106A Delta Dart

by Sean Langley

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There seems to have been a rash of F-106s on ARC lately.  Here’s my contribution to the infection.  It’s, yes, that Monogram 1/48 F-106A again, but this time in the colours of 49 FIS at Griffiss AFB, courtesy of those nice people at Superscale.  Much, much better than the kit’s decals, and it’s not that often you see green markings on modern aircraft. 

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The kit ... hmmm.  Detailing is no problem - wonderful, in fact, especially in the weapons bay and the undercarriage.  Little more than a wash of Tamiya Smoke needed to bring it to life.  But fit is best described as approximate for the most part; parts are roughly the same shape as each other, in the way that two triangles are both triangular, but not quite close enough when it comes to connecting them.  I’m half-convinced the upper fuselage is 1/49 while the lower is 1/48.  And I’m afraid it shows in places.  Try as I might, I couldn’t get certain seams to close properly.  At one point I had Milliput falling through the gap.  Send me an e-mail if you want the full story - I shan’t bore everyone with it here.  Still, a careful paint job (must try that some day) helps to disguise it. 

Apart from the decals the only enhancement here is that I’ve re-scribed the entire surface, bar a few hinges that ought to stay sticky-up.  That was fun - moving misplaced lines is one thing, but straightening them is quite another.  Paint is Xtracolor ADC Gray plus Humbrol for the details, no airbrush again; panel lines are pencil; and weathering is dark grey and brown pastel.  This is an airframe near the end of its life so I wanted to show a little bit of wear.  And perhaps distract the eye from the manifold flaws. 

 

I’ve given her the kit’s load of four AIM-4Fs, plus the bucket of instant sunshine (AIR-2A).  An all-radar load does seem unlikely; but by the end of its life the F-106 was probably using the old nails as ballast anyway and barely cared what type they were.  Point of detail: the kit’s AIM-4s are more accurate for size than the ones in Hasegawa’s weapons set, but unfortunately are wrong for the new J35 Draken.  So if you were hoping to rob an old F-106 ... try an F-102 instead! 

Thanks, as always, to all no ARC who helped me out with daft questions about painting and such. 

Sean

Photos and text © by Sean Langley