1:144 F-104G Starfighter wheels, w/ optional nose wheels, weighted

Wheels for the F-104G Starfighter 1:144 from Armory

This item is not a kit of an aircraft, but an accessory set cast in resin which replaces the wheels of the landing gear on a plastic model of the Starfighter in 1:144 scale. The tires are executed as so-called weighted, that is with a realistic flattening in the contact patch, such as a machine standing on a surface under its own weight has. According to the name the set also contains optional nose wheels, so a modeler can choose the execution corresponding to the subject.

The real subject

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine supersonic aircraft with a characteristically slender fuselage and a very thin trapezoidal wing of small span. It was powered by a General Electric J79 jet engine. The F-104G version was a multipurpose export variant and at the same time the most numerously produced one; it was operated by a number of European and overseas air forces and part of the machines arose in license production outside the United States. The landing gear is of the nose gear type with retracting legs; it is precisely the wheels and the tires that belong among the details clearly visible on a model, because the machine is most often built in a standing form.

Building and painting tips

First wash the resin parts in lukewarm soapy water — mold release agent from the mold stays on them, and paint holds badly over it. Cut the casting blocks off with a saw or a knife; never break them out. Sand the remains over and protect your airways when sanding resin, because the dust that arises is fine. It is glued with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue); ordinary cement for plastic does not work on resin. Apply a primer before painting, set the wheel rims and the tires apart with masking or paint them separately, and glue them together only at the end.

Who the set is for

• Modelers who want to raise the credibility of the landing gear in the small 1:144 scale
• Builders bothered by the mold seam and the soft relief of the plastic wheels from the box
• Collectors of supersonic aircraft of the Cold War in a small scale
• More experienced modelers who have already worked with resin and cyanoacrylate glue

This is an accessory set for modelers, not a model of an aircraft. The base kit, paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.