F-104J Starfighter - Kinetic 1/48 - Showcase
There aren’t too many planes as iconic and recognisable as the Starfighter. It’s sleek, dart like shape just looks fast! As a modelling subject we are truly spoilt for choice when it comes time to paint our F104s. The aircraft saw service with numerous countries and wore so many interesting schemes, it can often be difficult to settle on the one you like the best.
I haven’t done a lot of aircraft modelling, and what I have built is generally WW2 subjects. As an armour modeller I have always been intimidated with painting a natural metal finish. Something about the unforgiving nature of that high sheen finish that made me quake in my boots. I’d dabbled with the dark art of Natural Metal Finish (NMF) on a couple of 1/72 subjects, but there was something a little more satisfying about the idea of working on a larger canvas. The metal finish was something I have always wanted to attempt at this scale, so with the release of the Kinetic F-104J, now seemed as good a time as ever to give it a go.