F-104 Details .... All 16 Pages Worth

Detailing the Zipper with rub on nomenclature that has been sent for the F-104 ..... All 16 pages! I will be at it for a long time.

Dustin Buescher's Skymster F 104

Here's a great preview of the "Zipper" in action.

Zipper Wings

It is now time to paint the huge wings. J. The RCAF Zippers of this era had white top surfaces and a grey/green colour bottom surface. It is the same colour used on the nose cone and a couple of other places on the plane.

I put a little piece of Flight Metal on the inner part of the leading and training edge flap to make it a bit more realistic looking. The same is done on the aileron.

Canopy Access

Since the canopy on the full size aircraft was not hydraulically operated I have decided to use a simple piano wire to hold it down for flight. For static and to gain access to the electronics bay the nose cone slides off and then the wire is pulled back releasing the canopy.

Once the canopy is released it can be rotated to the side but some resistance is needed to hold it up and to give it the proper feel when rotating so I have just used a spare air cylinder to add resistance. It is not connected to any air supply just friction holds the canopy in place.

Canopy Installation

While I am waiting for the nomenclature to arrive I have decided to start on the modifications to the canopy to make it functional and scale as well. First I needed to cut the forward part off the aft part. A fine Zona saw does this nicely if you take your time. I have masked the Plexiglas to protect it from me! LOL

The real canopy used a type of, for lack of better word, piano hinge. This is easy as far as  hinging goes and I happen to have a nice little piano hinge to do this.

I have decided to use a simple piano wire (in keeping with the piano theme) to lock the canopy in place. Instead of being pneumatically operated it will just be manual like the real F-104.

Since the full scale canopy was not hydraulically operated but operated by a strong arm, I will do likewise. OK, maybe not a strong arm in my case but strong fingers. :-)

Satisfied with the operation of the hinge I needed to cut off the extra material on the flange or return lip that is on the canopy and frame from ½ “ inch to about ¼ “and the same around the forward wind screen lip. To support the canopy I needed to make a canopy frame that is the same as the full size one used.

I will try to copy it as close as possible by using brass tubes soldiered together and bonded to the canopy. Once I have installed this I will mask the Plexiglas and paint the whole thing flat black.

Here's a picture of the instrument panel that I am going to install. More details added to this F-104 but it will be worth it in the long run. Check out the video below too!

Flight Metal 99% Done!!

Flight metal applied finally. I started in October and last weekend I completed the application of the flight metal except for a small piece around the canopy. I am going to cut the canopy to make it open as per the

real plane so I will complete the flight metal after. I still have weathering and nomenclature to do. I have one of the wings on just to show it more like a plane but the wing needs to be painted yet. Also have paint masks to put on the wings and fuse to put on the roundel and the main lettering. Sorry for the messy shop!

It is hard to take a good picture of an 11 foot lawn dart with an iPhone. What do you think?

If you recall earlier I had mentioned not liking the way the cones looked with the rivets instead of proper bolts. I have completed putting in the 70 or so screws to simulate the bolts into each of the cones. 

Before

After

Time Consuming Little Details

Similar to the ventral fin IFF radio there is are two radio systems on the top of the plane just behind the canopy. This area is fiberglass and is not painted. Again to simulate this I have laid up a layer of fiberglass cloth and with the resin it gives it a bit of a tan or beige colour. I will air brush it a bit to make it a little darker.

In the top of this area there is a strobe light. I have cut out the fiberglass in this area and made a mold for the lens of the strobe. The lens as you see it is just out of the mold and not polished yet so it does not look very clear. The little ring around the opening on the fuse will be flight metal once the area is painted.

OK, I know this is going to seem a bit anal but the two suppression cones just do not look right without proper screws as you can see in this picture. The bottom one is how they look from Sky Master but the top one I have experimented with putting some scale screws in place of the rivet like depressions. I will repaint the cones before I add all the screws and then I may put a witness line on each screw as I have seen in photos. I must check with Steve at the Canadian Starfighter Museum first to see if the RCAF maintenance guys did that or not.

Here is another area that just is not right. There are somewhere around 75 louvers or vents in the belly of the 104 near the nose gear door. These are not cut through from the mold and for that reason just do not look real so I decided to cut each one out. I will not flight metal this area but instead will air brush it aluminum in colour. This area was not highly polished on the full scale either apparently and it would not come out very good with the flight metal I feel.