The Centuri F-104 Starfighter was introduced in the second 1977 catalog.
The Fighter Fleet series must have been quite successful, there were three introduced in 1975, two more designs followed. The picture above shows the last two models.
These models (and others from Centuri at the time) had wings, fins and details die cut from thick mat board stock. This heavy card stock was fairly durable and easier for younger builders to use. There was no grain to fill in thick mat board fins. Older, more experienced builders hated it.
The upper left picture shows an original Centuri F-104 build supplied by Lonnie Buchanon.
The intakes are folded from cardstock into a long rectangle shape. The intake cone is a profile triangle. Below this is the Odd'l Rockets version with the intake cut from a body tube.
On the right is the comparisons between the original Centuri kit to the left. The inset picture to the right is the new Odd'l kit. The tail section on my version is taken directly from a side profile of the real F-104 jet.
Here's the first prototype. Many small adjustments were made before the kit will be released.
The wing tanks were enlarged to the correct scale size. The tail surfaces were adjusted and the decals tweaked.
This is one of the more complicated kits I've ever produced. I wanted it to be a tribute to the Centuri model while improving the design.
Great job Chris! I can't wait for this one to be released!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill,
DeleteI still have to do some more test flights with the larger (and slightly heavier) wing tanks.
I like it Chris. Gonna want four of those. I built some of the original Centuri Jet fleet kits back in the day and liked them even though my peers would have nothing to do with the fiber board construction. They weren't very scale but they did look cool and I enjoyed building them. Oddly, I don't remember flying one nor do I know what became of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim,
DeleteI'll try to get four kits ready soon! There have been more delays waiting for test flights. I didn't like the fiber board parts either. This F-104 is pretty sleek.
Just a minor nitpick about the position of the wing.
ReplyDeletehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-104_3-view.jpg
I'm guessing the location of the wing was a result of trying to avoid the complication of having to cut slot in the intake tubes (the wing anhedral is also likely to complicate the fit as well). I did run into similar problem with trying to build my own F-104 scratchbuild many years ago (with carved balsa blocks to represent intakes) -- after several botched tries I ended up scrapping that part.
Hi Naoto,
DeleteThe wing position is more for stability. Like the Centuri kits, the wings are placed towards the rear.
I should've clarified what I meant -- I wasn't referring to the rearward position of the wing but rather the position of the wing as would be seen in the front view. On your model the wings appear to be positioned noticeably lower than the fuselage midline than on the real F-104 (they're pretty much at the midline). Positioning the wing near the midline would necessitate cutting a notch into intake tubes -- this was the difficulty I ran into on my F-104 build (I was having difficulty in getting the slot right for the wing).
DeleteHi Naoto,
DeleteGetting the wings to fit under the intakes was one of the reasons why I went with the positioning used. If the wings were placed at the center line you run the risk of the model turning horizontal after it cleared the launch rod.
I also tried to notch the wings to fit over the back end of the intakes - but different builders might shape the intakes with variations so that notch might not fit their build.
Really looking forward to this build and kit Chris!
ReplyDeleteBuzz
Hi Buzz,
DeleteThanks! I wish I could bag these up right now, but a long trip to California and other obligations have delayed B and C engine test flights with the new (larger, slightly heavier) wing tanks. I hope to do final testing the middle of November at the NEFAR launch.
Yay! SO glad to see the Fighter Fleet come back in some form (yeah, I'll be buying several of this kit). The F-104 was my favorite, too, though way back when I never actually got around to getting one. Fascinating, very un-rocketlike model rockets. One friend had an F-16 and another had an F-15. At the time, all my interest in winged aircraft was WWII, hence the reason why the F-104, though I liked its clean lines - was there ever a plane that *looked* faster? - stayed on the "someday" list. The Fighter Fleet and the "Super Kits" were probably Centuri at its zenith, even as their R&D budget was shrinking under the Damon regime.
ReplyDeleteHi Lawrence,
DeleteI'm looking forward to bagging this kit up! The F-104 model rocket is pretty sleek, sort of the Batmobile of jet fighters. "... very un-rocketlike model rockets." That's what Odd'l Rockets is all about!