¹⁄35

F-105D Thunderchief

Background:

With all the fuss about Revell/Monogram finally re-releasing their F-105D, you would think that you would see more of them getting built. The hype over wanting this kit was so great that I heard stories of an original release kit going for $80 at the 1999 IPMS National Convention in Florida. The poor sap that bought that kit had to eat quite a loss when Revell/Monogram put up the banner proclaiming the kit was to be re-issued later in the year for a mere $15. On sale, you can even find it for just over $10 (which is what I paid for the extra kit I purchased for this project).

Just as Revell/Monogram was re-issuing this kit, I got an e-mail from a guy living outside Washington DC asking if I would be interested in building an F-105D model for him to present to a friend that had just retired, kind-of as a retirement gift. This guy's friend had flown the THUD for the DC ANG during the early to mid 1970s. He wanted to present to his friend a nicely built display model to replace the desktop model that was destroyed by a falling picture when the friend was moving out of his office. With the availability of the new Revell/Monogram re-issued kit, I would not have to commit one of my personal kits, so I agreed to take on the project.