MONOGRAM 1:72 F-104C STARFIGHTER

Reviewer: Gavin Wauchope  (rec.scale.models)

In 1952 Lockheed's famous aircraft designer "Kelly" Johnson set out to produce a fighter superior to anything being flown by the Communists of Korea.  It had to be small in size, which he projected would permit a maximum speed about twice the speed of sound and great manoeuvrability on the power of only one engine to also cut down cost and complexity.  After sorting out some problems and possibilities with engine availability he chose to pursue a design to reach a flat out speed of Mach 2.2, investigating some 300 different shapes to find one that would provide the best compromise between speed, range, manoeuvrability, landing and take-off performance.  Since Germany discovered that swept back wings produced less drag than straight ones approaching the sound barrier, almost everyone had gone over to them. But later tests showed that swept back wings were actually "draggier" at Mach 2.  Therefore Johnson chose a tiny straight wing that is only 4 inches thick at the deepest part and a sharp enough leading edge to warrant a protective cover as to prevent injury to ground personnel.  The tailplane was set high to avoid "pitchup" - a common aerodynamic fault in aircraft when in tight turns and because of this, the aircraft was fitted controversially with a downward firing ejection seat.  The prototype finally took to the skies in March 1954 but shown there were many problems to overcome and the initial batch of 50 production F-104As were added to the testing programme. After four years of flight testing, far longer than any other aircraft to that point, clearance was given for the use of F-104's in squadrons but more problems occurred which lead to the grounding of aircraft a few months later. During 1958 the F-104 set up international speed and altitude records. But with all the problems the USAF was losing interest in the programme and were relegating some aircraft to Air National Guard duties. But the programme had also gained momentum and the USAF reluctantly accepted the much improved model to replace the F-104A, this of course being the F-104C, with remained in service with the Tactical Air Command until 1965.

I'm a keen Starfighter enthusiast like many aircraft modellers who were brought up around my era, and having made a number of versions in both 72nd and 48th scales, the only one I was missing was a C model.  I was particularly drawn to the Monogram kit because I picked it up incredibly cheaply and have generally had good success with this brand.

Opening the box reveals nice crisp and finely inscribed detailing but also reminding one just how small this aircraft is.  The razor thin leading edges and intakes are generally the first parts to undergo inspection as these are often out of proportion and inaccurately done on most model kits.  While Monogram has failed to produce a perfect scale, it is still thin enough that look fine but not thin enough as to easily crack or break.  Still, care will need to be observed when fitting wings.

The fuselage is cut into front and rear sections then split vertically and one could guess that this would indicate some fit problems caused by the engineering.  The cockpit detail is pretty basic and needs a bit of spicing up to look reasonable. To make it worse there are virtually no alignment grooves/rails, pins or other locating detail to assist you with exact positioning of the cockpit unit.  All I can suggest is to play the dry-fit game over and over until you get it right.

As suspected, the fuselage presented some fit problems and needed a bit of putty and sanding to get the joints right.  The wings also need a bit of attention but otherwise the fits are generally okay with nothing really having to be hassled over.   A bit of mold marks are evident on the gear struts and wheels that won't disappear very well under a coat of paint but it's nothing more than you would expect from kits of this (or even better) quality.  I generally attach the undercarriage after the rest of the model is completed and the instructions lean on you to do it near the end, but I still left mine off until the end and this presented no problems.

The kit replicates two Tactical Fighter Squadron examples, one being a camouflaged version from the 435th and the other being the 476th natural metal finish version.   Something not pointed out in the instructions is that the underwings and refuelling probe should be in a different grey - I suggest using FS 16473 to paint these.  There are no real worries with applying the decals, the only disappointment was that the blue markings on the 476th example did not match the painstaking natural metal finish I applied, and I should have gone for an aftermarket source on these. The blue is too dull and needs to be spiked up so it matches the metallic look of the aircraft.

Overall this is an excellent kit as far as value for money is concerned. You should get a good accurate F-104C representation without the hassle of frustrating work, in fact this is one of the better kits I have done on the great missile-like plane for some time, in spite of its low price.  Caution should be taken when constructing though, pay attention to what you're doing and make sure you run through the dry-fit procedure with just about all the parts and you should come out with a hassle-free great little bargain.

Related Reviews:  AMT (Esci) 1/72 F-104C/G Starfighter 

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