After
visiting the USAF museum in Dayton, Ohio I called my dad and told him about the
aircraft he used to work on while at North American Aviation back in the day.
There was the XB-70, X-15, and the F-107A. North American made some
marvelous aircraft back in the day. Dad began to tell me about the F-107A.
His good friend developed the induction system which is the most identifiable
visual aspect of this airplane. I found this 1/72 kit and decided to make
it for him for Christmas.
Click on
images below to see larger images
- I
couldn’t leave well enough alone so I checked to see what could be done
about upgrading the model. I ended up adding the following…
- Cobra
Company resin cockpit set. I in turn modified everything aft of the
ejection seat to reveal all the plumbing and such in those small windows
behind the cockpit.
- I
used Mike Grant instrument decals to complete all the instruments on the
panel.
- Pitot
tubes from HobbyDecal (the long RAF offering) in both 1/48 and 1/72 scale
for the long one on the nose and the short one on the starboard wingtip.
- HobbyDecal
and Verlinden dry transfers for the stenciling.
- Black
Stripe decals from Xtradecal.
- I
purchased a reference book, North American F-107A from Air Force Legends
which served as a great reference and an additional gift for dad.
Arne
Goethe already did a very nice article about this kit so I’ll not bother you
with the details again. I did make a case from oak with a Plexiglas cover
and added a tarmac surface made from poster board and painted with Floquil
concrete. Dad really enjoyed it. I think it brought back a lot of
good memories of his friend and this wonderful airplane.
David Waples
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