thunderchief | Blind Bat News

When it comes to the new high tech produced Hobby Boss F-105G Thunderchief Wild Weasel, versus the old-but-gold classic Monogram kit, price is the deciding factor.

I swear I had some 1:48 scale drawings for the F-105, but, despite tearing apart my decades old collection of modeling and aircraft magazines, I can’t find them. Oh well, I did discover with my F-104s that scale drawings can be inaccurate, as well.

Click on the gallery pics to make them bigger and read the comparisons of the kits:

: $60 vs $10

: Both fuselages are almost identical in size, the HobbyBoss kit’s tail is much smaller than the Monogram kit

: In this pic you can see how small the HobbyBoss tail is. The Monogram kit is based on their F-105F, which has scribing for bomb bay doors.

: Both kits have good cockpit details with HobbyBoss also including panel decals. Monogram has much better wheel well details.

: Wings are also similar in size. Mongram has raised panel lines while HobbyBoss has recessed lines and rivets (despite no such thing as recessed rivets)

: Note the lack of details on the HobbyBoss main gear door, and it appears to be bigger

: HobbyBoss does give you parts not seen in the Monogram kit, but does the price justify it?

Monogram first issued their F-105 series of 1:48 kits in the late 1970s early 1980s. Believe it or not they’re still viable and available today, currently issued by Revell (which took over Monogram in the 1990s).

Monogram Plus: Generally accurate, good details. Price buster; if you shop on the internet, and are patient, you can get one for as little as ten bucks (or less, not counting shipping cost)! I once saw Revell’s new Thunderstick version in a brick-n-mortar shop for $15! The Hobby Boss kit will cost you anywhere from $35 to $65 USD depending on where you get it (also not counting shipping cost if purchased on the internet or old fashioned mail order).

Hobby Boss Plus: Generally accurate, good details. Extra parts like an engine, radar, 20mm Vulcan and an extended inflight refueling probe (F-105s had both refueling probe and receptacle. Oh no, not a hermaphrodite!?). More decals.

Cold War: GOING ‘GANGBUSTERS’ WITH TEXAS F-4C & GEORGIA F-105G!