1:48 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Collection Part 2

A decal sheet for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, 1:48 scale

The second part of the collector's decal series Xtradecal has devoted to the supersonic Starfighter. These are printed markings for a model in 1:48 scale, so the contents of the package are a sheet, not plastic parts. The series has further parts whose contents do not overlap.

A rocket with wings

The F-104 was created as an answer to the experience of the Korean War, where pilots called for a simple and extremely fast aircraft. Lockheed gave them a slim fuselage with a General Electric J79 engine, an exceptionally thin trapezoidal wing of short span and a horizontal tail set on top of the vertical tail. The leading edge of the wing was so sharp that it was covered with a guard on the ground. The machine exceeded twice the speed of sound and the US Air Force at first saw it as a day fighter. Its real career, however, came in Europe and in other parts of the world, where in strike and reconnaissance form it became the standard equipment of many air arms for decades.

Advice on working with the sheet

• The Starfighter was often built in a natural metal finish, where every edge of the carrier film shows.
• The wing is thin and short, so place the markings on it with the sharp edges in mind.
• Markings across the pointed nose and the wingtip tanks need more decal softener.
• Leave the smaller stencils until last, as they are then easier to line up against the larger items.

The set will please modelers who collect the supersonic machines of the 1960s and 1970s and want to set their Starfighter apart from the usual form from the box.