Can the 1/72 Hasegawa F-104J/CF-104 be built into a USAF version?

Never mind, I found the info I needed.

And what was the answer?

Was told the following:

The engines and avionics are different internally but externally the J has a larger rudder than the C which is very noticeable.

I see.

F104 C


F104 J

Yep, that rudder on the J goes way beyond the engine can, great pictures. I will eventually make it a Canadian 104.

A not so visible difference is the main wheels. The -A and -C had a nearly solid disc wheel with a ring of small holes near the rim. All other variants based on the -G had a spoked wheel.

Thanks for the great pictures and added info Jessie. This Hasegawa kit has the spoked rims so it's correct for the Canadian version. I will be doing this one in Canadian NMF courtesy of Alclad.

Oh, and one more little difference that even many model companies miss. The inboard horizontal fin of the tip tank is longer than the outboard fin on the -G and its variants. The -A and -C fins matched the outboard fin.

Looks like Hasegawa missed on this detail, thanks Jessie for the help! This is an easy fix, just a matter of a little sanding the tips a bit.

CF-104s had the long fins on their tip tanks so you're okay with what the kit gave you.