The kit comes with a sturdy box that contains 529 parts. 16 plastic sprues, 1 clear, 1 photo-etched fret of metal parts, three rubber tires and ammo belts and a decal sheet. The sprues are bagged and the canopy, tires, PE, are packed in a small box. The 24-page instruction book is in English and Chinese.
Parts breakdown
Starting with the cockpit, there is very little in the way of detail, considering the scale it's in. The seat is very basic and the two side wall panels are soft. The instrument panel looks good, it the best piece in the cockpit tub. The kit seems to be identical to Trumpeter's F-105D, so I'm sure using any of the aftermarket cockpit sets wouldn't be a problem.
You get a complete engine with strong and crisp detail. It's too bad that the engine is covered up. Maybe one could build this and have the engine out on display.
Cannon and ammo drum are nicely molded and also can be displayed as the cannon door panel is a separate piece. The refueling probe can be displayed extended open or closed.
The landing gears are made of plastic, detail lacking. But that's not to say one can't spruce them up using copper wire for brake lines and Evergreen plastics. You will need to add weight to the nose, so I question how well will the plastic landing gears will support this and hold up.
The wings have working flaps and leading edge flaps using photo-etched and pins provided. Construction of the wings don't seem to be difficult looking at the instructions.
The kit has a complete radar and this can be displayed open or closed. If you plan on displaying it, I would look over some reference photos to dress it up.
There are three fuel tanks provided and an armament of 46 different bombs.
Decals
Well, they're not that bad for kit decals. There are many aftermarket decal sheets out there to buy. Painting and decal application is printed on the back of the box.
Conclusion
This is a nice kit and, with some work and aftermarket parts, it would make a nice addition to your large scale collection. As I stated this seems to be identical to Trumpeter's F-105D. The price tag of $79.00 seems a little steep, but that's $25.00 to $30.00 less than Trumpeter's kit. I highly recommend this large scale jet for anyone who builds large scale.
SUMMARY
The Republic F-105D “Thunderchief” was developed as a supersonic tactical fighter-bomber to replace the F-84F. The “Thunderchief”, later nicknamed the “Thud”, the aircraft first flew on June 9, 1959. It was produced as a single seater in the B & D series, and as a two seater in the F & G models. The F-105D was used extensively in the Vietnam war, and flew 75 percent of the air strikes against the north. The USAF had 610 F-105D’s and B’s built and the “Thunderchief” was withdrawn from service on July 12, 1980.
