1:48 Lockheed F-104DJ Starfighter

The real subject

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is unmistakable: a very slender fuselage, a short straight wing with sharp edges and tail surfaces arranged in a T. The version designated DJ is the two-seat trainer variant of the Japanese Starfighter; the second seat called for the cockpit to be lengthened, so the shape of the canopy and the inside of the cockpit area differ as well. For a modeler that means the two-seat version cannot be dealt with using parts from a single-seat machine.

What the set contains

Photo-etched parts in 1:48. Etching allows a thickness that cannot be reached with injection-molded plastic, which is why it is used to replace exactly the features that are inevitably oversized in plastic. Which particular parts of the aircraft the set covers and which kit it is built for are given in the instructions from the manufacturer.

Building and painting tips

Cut the parts out of the fret with a sharp blade on a hard surface; never break them out. Then sand the small stubs left by the tabs back with a fine-toothed file. Make the folds in a bending tool or between two blades, always in one movement and across the whole width of the part, otherwise the edge buckles. They are bonded with cyanoacrylate glue in a genuinely tiny amount, which you apply with a pin rather than straight from the bottle. Degrease the metal before painting and go over it with a primer, otherwise the layer rubs off during handling.

Who it is for

The set belongs in the hands of a modeler who already has experience of fine work and owns tweezers, a sharp blade and ideally a bending tool as well. The result is noticeably finer detail in places where plastic looks coarse. The kit, paints and glue are not included, unless stated otherwise.