Monogram 1/48 F-105F/G Wild Weasel

 I selected this kit to build an F-105F Wild Weasel as a tribute to Medal of Honor recipient Leo K. Thorsness. It was released in 1982 and has been re-released numerous times.

Lieutenant Colonel Leo K. Thorsness was a courageous Wild Weasel pilot in the Vietnam War, targeting enemy radar and missile sites in North Vietnam. During the April 19,1967 mission, his wingmen ejected from their burning aircraft from Mig 17 attacks. Thorsness initiated attacks on several Mig 17s to protect his wingmen as they were descending in their parachutes.

Two weeks later, Thorsness and his Electronic Weapons Officer Captain Harold Johnson were shot down and would become POWs for six years. They were released during Operation Homecoming in 1973.

For the full story of this heroic mission go to: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/19-april-1967/

This is a huge model in 1:48 scale. It is typical of Monogram kits of this era and measures well and builds into a presentable F-105F/G. The instruction sheet includes 30 pictorial sequences, a 3-view showing the SEA paint scheme and useful color call outs.

The nicely molded cockpit tub and fuselage interior were painted Dark Gull Gray. The side consoles and instrument panels were painted Testors Flat Black and lightly dry brushed with Model Master Aluminum. The seats and sticks were painted and installed completing the cockpit that along with the nose wheel well in the left fuselage.

When ready to close up the fuselage halves, I realized the wing spar was missing! Thankfully a good fellow modeler friend came to the rescue with the part from a spare kit he had….thanks Jim! The fuselage was closed up and I deferred installing the exhaust until after painting. I filled in sink marks before installing the two rear scoops on the rear fuselage

The wheel wells and intakes were painted Model Master Aluminum, and the wing halves were assembled and installed on the wing spar and slight gaps were puttied and smoothed.

The model was carefully cleaned and then airbrushed using the last of my Model Master SEA colors using the kit instruction 3-views. When dry I installed the landing gear struts/wheels and gear doors and the horizontal stabilizers and flat black painted nose. The kit figures of Thorsness and Johnson were painted and installed in their seats and the gunsight was installed atop the flat black glare shield. The canopies were masked and painted and installed in the open position.

I spent as much time masking, painting, and applying decals to the kit as I did assembling it. Ordnance that includes an AGM-78 ARM and two AGM-45 Shrikes along with a large centerline drop tank and a smaller drop tank on the right wing were installed.

After painting the SEA scheme I applied a coat of Testors gloss coat for decaling and a final coat of Testors Dullcoat that sealed them and gave a nice satin finish.

My Wild Weasel was completed in 40 hours and is a tribute to Thorsness’s and Johnson’s heroic service.

Squadron Signal F-105 In Action

H Davis Gandees

31 March 2026