F-100D Super Sabre Thunderbirds Trumpeter 1/48

This time, I would like to make a Trumpeter kit with decals for Thunderbirds, the acrobatic team of Super Sabre.

I decided to put two fishing weights in the gap of the nose just in case. Nothing is written on the assembly manual, but is it okay not to put it in?

I usually carve the parting line after assembling almost finished when I needed it, but this time I tried carving the large parts before assembling.

I’m sorry to be talking about animation. I watched the first episode of season 2 in a natural flow from Kemono Friends season 1. I was not interested in this animation, but because the many recommended videos always say, “The Kemono Friends 2 flared up,” I watched this series. Season 1 was as wonderful as everyone said. Director Tatsuki and the staff are amazing!
In the first episode of season 2 when the director was replaced, the main characters suddenly abandoned the spot-billed duck and left on the monorail station, but I didn’t know what had happened, so I returned the DVD and watched it twice. I wonder if some viewers thought it was strange when it was broadcast. I was so worried and sad. Serval’s memory loss is, of course, unfortunate. I just started watching Season 2, so I can’t say for sure, but I’m looking forward to it…
(2020/06/15)

This Trumpeter F-100D kit is not very kind in terms of painting instructions. The inside of the cockpit is flat black.

The included decal was attached to the cockpit panel. It depends on your preference, but leaving the decal will shine a lot, so I had a matt coating. Maybe we don’t know if I see it over the canopy.

I am adhering to the left and right sides of the aircraft. Put it in a clamp and leave it for a while.

What is this mysterious object over Sendai Tohoku in Japan today? It looks like some weather observation or intelligence equipment. The Japan Self-Defense Forces said they don’t know the object, but I can’t help but feel that they are deceiving it. They’re just trying to hide something from the public. Or did a future person like John Titer come all the way?
(2020/06/17)

I glued the main wings on each side. It may not be strong enough, so I used instant glue to make it hard.

There was a hole in the pylon connection at the bottom of the fuselage from the beginning. I won’t install bombs and missiles this time, so I’ll cover it with a light-curing putty.

The canopy was masked. It seems to be able to paint smoothly.

I sprayed black on the panel line before blowing silver.

The jet engine part, if I think about it, the back 1/3 of this aircraft is iron colored. I blew it with a bit of clear orange-like, unevenly baked color.

Continuing from the above story, I watched the 6th episode of Kemono Friends 2. Overall, there are a lot of arguments in anime. But it may not bother you if you don’t watch the Kemono Friends 1. The good memories of Kaban-chan and Serval are gone, which were mentioned in episode 6, and Kaban-chan and Dr. Owl are in a master-servant relationship… Perhaps the best part of season 1 was overwritten. I wonder if it was because of the anger of director Tatsuki’s fans.
(2020/06/22)

Gaia’s silver color was blown after masking the burned iron-painted part.

There are many large decals. I don’t want to put a large decal on. It’s hard to handle…

The large-sized decal was tough. Some parts are not attached so well, but there is no end, so if it is okay to look at the whole thing, I have passed the details.

The part with a gap and the inside of the nose air intake has been modified by applying a thin cut and pasting the remaining large decals. Also, Vermillion’s model color in Vallejo was the same as the Thunderbird’s red decal. Useful for minor modifications.

I watched the 9th episode of Kemono Friends 2. I enjoy watching it without looking at reviews. It’s instead a sad story. The first time I saw Ieinu-chan (a domestic dog), I thought she was cute. I was shocked she was so messy at the end of this story. I don’t want to watch this lousy story anymore, but I’m almost there, so I’ll watch it till the last episode, 12.
(2020/06/24)

I have finally completed the Thunderbirds F-100D. I once made a double-seated trainer called F-100F, so I knew a little about it. I used more large decals this time.

The F-100 is the world’s first practical supersonic fighter developed by North Americans. It was developed as a successor to F-86 Sabre. Initially, it was developed as an air superiority fighter, but it was often used as a fighter bomber. In the Vietnam War, it was used for the North Bomb and the close air support in South Vietnam. About 1300 F-100D Super Savers were produced. It is possible to mount a nuclear bomb, a sidewinder, and a regular bomb. No missiles or bombs this time. Because it is the marking of the acrobat team.

Thunderbirds’ coloring is unique. It is based on white, blue, and red and has a giant eagle mark. The Thunderbirds are the U.S. Air Force’s acrobatic team, officially called The United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron. There is a famous Blue Angels in the American Navy’s acrobatic team.

I attached a red decal on the inside of the air intake. I used the same red color for the inside, around 5mm.

The first Thunderbirds airplane is F-84, and F-100 is the next airplane. To be precise, the use time differs between C and D types. After the F-100, the F-4 Phantom, also familiar to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, was used.

The paint instructions state that the markings were for Captain Merrill A. McPeak at the 1967 Air Show. He has made hundreds of sorties in the Vietnam War. He was eventually named Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That’s the highest rank in the U.S. Air Force.

I think the white of the decal is a little thin. However, it was impossible to paint this with an airbrush because it required complicated painting. More than that, sticking the decal without breaking is hard, and I could not care about the details.

The uneven part of the tail wing and the decal were worn out, so I retouched it with paint. Not so good.

The landing gear compartment is Tamiya acrylic XF-4 yellow-green. This time, I made it by closing various parts as much as possible so the inside of the landing gear compartment was not that big.

The eagle marks on the underside of the fuselage are also attached to several large decals. I wanted to finish it with paint if there were any special masking tape.

It was a kit with a sizeable working weight for applying decals. I felt the most important work was done after the primary silver paint was finished, and there was still a long way to go during the assembly. All in all, it looks pretty cool. It was a fun kit.

Well, I watched Kemono Friends 2 until the end. There are only 12 episodes, so it takes about 4 hours. In a survey by Niko-Niko, famous in Japan, 97% of the viewers gave a bad rating … Which is fantastic. Regrettably, the current production team was forced to take the production opportunity from the director Tatsuki and destroy it in the second season. Tatsuki made the first season with a low budget, and many viewers were relaxed about the heartwarming world. Season 2 was so unpopular that it broke the record in the history of animation. In addition, Kemo-Fure2 intentionally competed with Tatsuki’s “Kemurikusa” broadcasting time, and Kemo-Fre2 was utterly defeated. The producer side trolling is terrible. In that sense, the content was exciting. In the view of Mr. Tosho Okada, it was very fitting to me that there must have been a significant difference of opinion within the company regarding the future Kemono Friends business development. I also read an article about one producer’s jealousy as the cause of this disturbance. I am just a fan, but if there is a parallel world, I would like to see the world line where director Tatsuki made “Kemono Friends 2”.
(2020/06/26)