Another photo at end of review
AMT/ESCI 1/72 F-100F Super Sabre
Kit Number: 8892
Price: $7.50
Decals. A nice set of misaligned Scalemaster decals for a wing COs bird.
Date of Review: 22 March 1998
Review and Photos by: Scott Van Aken
Another photo at end of review
North American's F-100 Super Sabre was America's first truly supersonic production aircraft. It also stayed in service a respectable number of years; from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s. Initially designed as an interceptor, it's real forte was in ground attack; a job it did well during the early years of the Vietnam War. It was finally replaced by the F-105 and F-4 in active service and ended its years of service with the Air National Guard. No AF Reserve units flew the Hun.
AMT's kit of the F-100F is merely the ESCI F-100D with a new fuselage and canopy. All other components are the same. Actually, AMT could not have picked a nicer kit to base their two-seat Hun on. The ESCI kit has engraved panel lines and excellent detail and fit. The only downside is the cockpit, which really needs a lot of work to be truly accurate. AMT also make a goof in supplying the 100F with four 20mm cannons. In reality, the twin seater only had two, so the outer pair need to be puttied in.
If you have read the review of the ESCI F-100D, you know how nice this kit is. So rather than go into a long, detailed rehash of that, I would recommend visiting that review for more information.
What is different about this kit is the paint scheme given to it. Almost all F-100s were in either natural metal or SEA camouflage. The 188 TFS of the New Mexico ANG was a unit that flew the F-100C single seater. As with all units, there was at least one two-seater assigned. Many of their aircraft were painted in overall ADC grey. This was much easier to keep clean and made for a nice looking aircraft. This kit was painted with that color by Testor's Model Master Enamels. The afterburner section was painted with titanium Metallizer and then some of the panel lines oversprayed with a gunmetal color. The kit comes with two different exhaust nozzles, so be sure to chose the right one for your Hun.
Decals for this kit were supplied by Maintrack Models in their 'Two Seater' sheet. These are an unusual kind of decal. First, the decal and its cover paper are cut out. Then the slightly sticky decal is placed in position. When properly positioned, the cover paper is wet with water and the paper removed. Once the paper is wet, the decal is permanently attached and cannot be moved, so precision is required the first time. Actually, this is a feature I do not like as I frequently find I have misplaced a decal. As a result, I generally do not use this type of decal if there is an alternative.
The end result is a very nice kit. It is much easier than using Maintrack's conversion kit and highly recommended
