HOBBY MASTER AIR POWER SERIES

The F-104 Starfighter was a revolutionary design with short razor-sharp wings. It was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. The Starfighter shattered speed and rate of climb records that still are impressive today. This extremely high speed earned the plane the nickname "The Missile With A Man In It". Because of financial considerations 15 or more countries purchased the F-104. The Starfighter flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004.

Designed to meet a need for an aircraft that could successfully compete against the MiG-15 in Korea, the F-104 Starfighter was first flown on February 20, 1958. American pilots believed that the F-86 Sabre was too large and complex to outmaneuver the lighter MiG, and they wanted a smaller, simpler, high-performance aircraft to replace it. The resulting design was a light, aerodynamic airframe wrapped around a powerful J79 turbojet engine. The F-104C was used by the USAF from 1958 until 1967, but most of the 2,578 production Starfighters were built and flown by members of NATO, including the Italian Air Force, which didn't retire it until 2004.

Hobby Master's 1:72 scale F-104 Starfighter is a good looking model with many quality features. The exceptionally long fuselage is constructed in diecast metal, with plastic side-mounted engine intakes. The rear turbine blades and the exhaust with its "turkey feathers" are some of the high points of this model, along with a canopy that opens to reveal an ejection seat and pad printed front and side instrument panels. The M61 Vulcan Gatling gun port is beautifully recreated, and the complex main landing gear is accurately rendered, securely locking into place for ground display. Most releases include removable wingtip fuel tanks, with fuselage mounted missiles on some versions.

Info:   RF-104G Stargazer - ROCAF, #5632, Taiwan, January 13th 1967