The Little World

It’s a codfish.

The Republic F-84 fuselage is a codfish – particularly when it is the Recon version with side intakes instead of an open nose. Not that this is a bad thing – fish swim through water well and the Thunderflash swam through the air just fine. If something looks like is should fly, it generally does.

The green interior colour is the one I have settled on for my US interiors in the parts that do not get the yellow chromate finish. It is probably not right, but it is pleasing and notably different from RAF cockpit colour. A usual I am trusting to the truth-telling of the Czech writers who made up the instructions. Schweiks to a man, I should think.

The wings are easy assembly until you get to the wing fences. There are considerable gaps in there but they are hidden by gap-filling cyanoacrylate cement. Thus the actual wings are incredibly sealed. The tailplanes, by contrast, are mere slabs of plastic with few lines. No wonder – it is a flying tail with the elevator action pivoting from the centre of the stabilisers.

One interesting feature of the F-84 – the position of the landing gear legs is far back enough on the wing to put the CG between them and the nose gear. No lead weight needed.