Two very good sources for the modeler are Aerofax Minigraph #14 and the "Wings of Fame" # 13, with a lot of details, pictures and story.
Kits,
Pictures & Text by Peter Mojzisek
Lockheed
F-94A Starfire
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The
Starfire was the first all-jet Night fighter in service
with the U.S. Air Force, based on Lockheed's proven T-33
design. Although the codename "Starfire" came
for the first time with the F-94C, the A and B were also
named this way. But these early models were completely
different from the latter C-variant. Two very good sources for the modeler are Aerofax Minigraph #14 and the "Wings of Fame" # 13, with a lot of details, pictures and story. |
| The kit
comes in 1/48 scale from Hobbycraft, dated somewhere in
1989. The box no. is 1597. I choose decals from Bare-Metal #48-34 and scratch-built the wingtip tanks. The rest is "out of box". |
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This
aircraft was flown by LTC W.K. Thomas at Selfridge AFB,
Michigan in February, 1950. He was assigned to the 61st
FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron), 56th FIG (Fighter
Interceptor Group) within the ADC - U.S. Air Defense Command. You will find two good pictures and some history on this aircraft in Squadron's "56th Fighter Group". |
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The
cockpit comes *very* basic, and gives a lot of room for
real detailing. But I didn't go for this. From Bare-Metal Decals came the sharks mouth - very attractive! |
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| I airbrushed this kit with Model Master Metalizers, then polished some panels with a soft cloth. With some trying, I've got four different shades on the metallic surface. But when I sealed the work (with Model Master's own Sealer), all the polishing was equalized - and can now only be seen with certain light and with knowledge of the efforts. What a waste of time ... |  |
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I removed
(cut) all control surfaces from the kit and replaced them
with plastic sheet. This gives the kit a much more
"live" appearance. The plastic is soft enough
to make this job easy. The panel lines are recessed, but based on good drawings you can even improve these. If the lack of detail in the cockpit is overcome, this kit can be built into a very nice model. |
