DONE @p.3 +++ 1:72 North American F-1F "Fury Dog", USMC, 1979

[Dizzyfugu]

Some progress: with paint the whole thing looks rather unsuspicious!


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Esp. from above the FJ-5 looks somewhat like an A-7 with low wings? 

The heater trick worked, BTW - it just took the paint 18 hours to dry... 

[Old Wombat]

Woh! Coming along nicely!

[NARSES2]

Woh! Coming along nicely!

Certainly is 

[Snowtrooper]

Naah, it's more like a 1:48 Fiat G.91 scale-o-rama'd into 1:72. A thouroughly deceptive entry, in all the right ways

[PR19_Kit]

Just about the best looking Sabre variant ever! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Just about the best looking Sabre variant ever! 

Well, I am not certain about that - but it's probably the most burly evolution of the original concept. 

[Dizzyfugu]

More progress. Since the model lost most of its raised surface details on the fuselage, I painted some with a soft pencil  . Next came a light surface treatment with grinded graphite, for a worn/more uneven look, a black ink wash overall and finally some post-shading with lighter tones (FS36320 and RLM 63 from Modelmaster), emphasizing/simulating panels. Looks good!
Grey leading edges come next (with decal sheet) and then the decals. In parallel I also work on the ordnance, a pair of drop tanks (those pointy things from the Matchbox Skyknight instead of the bulky OOB option), a Sidewinder acquisition/trainings round (w/o fins) and a ACMI pod.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

Decals added - unfortunately, the Revell sheet (from a Skyhawk) turned out to be a bit old and the water-solluble film is pretty yellow and grainy. Furthermore - a frequent problem with low-viz decals - the grey tones Revell used are very bluish, if not turquise. I have seen better offers, but I can live with that.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[AndrewF]

This is looking extremely good.

[jalles]

I really like the low-viz paint job, definitely gives it a more modern feel 

[Dizzyfugu]

That was the plan -  I wanted a slightly anachronistic touch, and the Compass Gjhost scheme suits the "Fat Fury" well. 

Still some finishing touches to to, I expect this one to get finished this weekend.

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, due to the Corona virus and organizational changes at work, this has taken some more time than expected. But finally it's finished:


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Some background:
The North American FJ-4 Fury was a swept-wing carrier-capable fighter-bomber for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The final development in a lineage that included the Air Force's F-86 Sabre, the FJ-4 shared its general layout and engine with the earlier FJ-3, but, compared to that of the FJ-3, the FJ-4's new wing was much thinner, with a six percent thickness-to-chord ratio, and featured skin panels milled from solid alloy plates. It also had an increased area and tapered more sharply towards the tips. Slight camber behind the leading edge improved low speed characteristics. The main landing gear design had to be considerably modified to fold wheel and strut within the contours of the new wing. The track of the main wheels was increased, and because they were closer to the center of gravity, there was less weight on the nose wheel. Wing folding was limited to the outer wing panels.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The FJ-4 was intended as an all-weather interceptor, a role that required considerable range on internal fuel. The FJ-4 had 50% more fuel capacity than the FJ-3 and was lightened by omitting armor and reducing ammunition capacity. The new wing was "wet"; that is, it provided for integral fuel tankage. The fuselage was deepened to add more fuel and had a distinctive "razorback" rear deck. A modified cockpit made the pilot more comfortable during the longer missions. The tail surfaces were also extensively modified, had a thinner profile and featured an extended, taller fin. The overall changes resulted in an aircraft that had little in common with the earlier models, although a family resemblance was still present.

The FJ-4 was developed into a family of aircraft. Of the original order for 221 FJ-4 day fighters, the last 71 were modified into the FJ-4B fighter-bomber version. This had a stronger wing with six instead of four underwing stations and stronger landing gear. Additional aerodynamic brakes under the aft fuselage made landing safer by allowing pilots to use higher thrust settings and were also useful for dive attacks. External load was doubled. The most important characteristic of the FJ-4B was, since the Navy was eager to maintain a nuclear role in its rivalry with the Air Force, that it was capable of carrying a nuclear weapon on the inboard port station. For the delivery of nuclear weapons, the FJ-4B was equipped with the Low-Altitude Bombing System (LABS), and with this capability it replaced the carrier-based A-3 Skywarrior bombers, which were not suited well for the new low-level approach tactics.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In April 1956, the Navy ordered 151 more FJ-4Bs, 10 US Navy squadrons became equipped with the FJ-4B, and the type was also flown by three Marine squadrons. At the same time, the Navy requested a carrier-borne fighter with all-weather capability, radar-guided missiles and a higher performance. This new type was to replace several 1st generation US Navy jets, including the ponderous and heavy Douglas F3D Skyknight, the lackluster Vought F7U as well as the Grumman F9F-8 Cougar. This requirement led to the Douglas F4D Skyray and North American's FJ-5, another thorough modification of the Fury's basic design and its eventual final evolution stage.

North American's FJ-5 was designed with compact dimensions in mind, so that the type could be operated on older Essex Class carriers, which offered rather limited storage and lift space. At the time of the FJ-5's conception, several of these carriers were still in service – and this argument led to an order for the FJ-5 in addition to the F4D.

For the FJ-5, the FJ-4's aerodynamic surfaces were retained, but the fuselage had to be modified considerably in order to accept an APQ-50A radar with a parabolic 24 inches diameter antenna in the nose. The radome was placed above the air intake, similar to the F-86D, and coupled with an Aero 13F fire-control system, which together provided full all-weather capability and information on automatic firing of rockets.
A deeper rear fuselage became necessary, too, because the FJ-5 was powered by a reheated J65-W-18 engine (a development of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet, optimized for a naval environment), which delivered up to 10,500 lbf (47 kN) at full power instead of the FJ-4's original 7,700 lbf (34 kN). This upgrade had, limited by the airframe's aerodynamics, only marginal impact on the aircraft's top speed, but the extra power almost doubled its initial rate of climb, slightly raised the service ceiling and markedly improved acceleration and carrier operations handling through a better response to throttle input and a higher margin of power reserves.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Internal armament still consisted of four 20mm cannon. These had to be placed lower in the nose now, flanking the air intake underneath the radome. The FJ-4B's six underwing hardpoints were retained and could carry AIM-9 Sidewinders (both the IR-guided AIM-9B as well as the Semi-Active Radar Homing (SARH) AIM-9C) as well as the new radar-guided medium-range AIM-7C Sparrow, even though the latter only on the outer pylons, limiting their number to four. Up to six pods with nineteen unguided 70 mm/2.75" unguided Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (Mighty Mouse FFARs) were another armament option.

Beyond these air-to-air weapons, a wide range of other ordnance could be carried. This included the AGM-12 "Bullpup" guided missile (which necessitated a guidance pod on the right inner wing hardpoint), bombs or napalm tanks of up to 1.000 lb caliber, missile pods, drop tanks and ECM pods. The FJ-4B's strike capabilities were mostly retained, even though the dedicated fighter lost the ability to carry and deliver nuclear weapons in order to save weight and internal space for the radar equipment.

The first FJ-5, a converted early FJ-4, made its maiden flight in April 1958. After a short and successful test phase, the type was quickly put into production and introduced to service with US Navy and US Marine Corps units. The new fighter was quickly nicknamed "Fury Dog" by its crews, a reminiscence of the USAF's F-86D "Sabre Dog" and its characteristic nose section, even though the FJ-5 was officially still just called "Fury", like its many quite different predecessors.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


With the new unified designation system adopted in 1962, the FJ-4 became the F-1E, the FJ-4B the AF-1E and the FJ-5 the F-1F. From the prolific Fury family, only the FJ-5/F-1F became involved in a hot conflict: in late 1966, the USMC deployed F-1Fs to Vietnam, where they primarily flew escort and top cover missions for fighter bombers (esp. A-4 Skyhawks) from Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, plus occasional close air support missions (CAS) on their own. The Marines' F-1Fs remained in Vietnam until 1970, with a single air-to-air victory (a North-Vietnamese MiG-17 was shot down with a Sidewinder missile), no losses and only one aircraft seriously damaged by anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire.

After this frontline experience, a radar upgrade with an AN/APQ-124 was briefly considered but never carried out, since the F-1F showed the age of the original Fifties design – the type already lacked overall performance for an all-weather fighter that could effectively engage supersonic bomber targets or low flying attack aircraft. However, the aircraft was still popular because of its ruggedness, good handling characteristics and compact dimensions.
Other upgrades that would improve the F-1F's strike capability, e. g. additional avionics to deploy the AGM-62 Walleye glide bomb or the new AGM-65 Maverick, esp. the USMC's laser-guided AGM-65E variant, were also rejected, because more capable types for both interceptor and attack roles, namely the Mach 2 Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the LTV A-7 Corsair II, had been introduced in the meantime.
Another factor that denied any updates were military budget cuts. Furthermore, the contemporary F-8 Crusader offered a better performance and was therefore selected in favor of the F-1F to be updated to the H-L variants. In the wake of this decision, all F-1Fs still in Navy service were, together with the decommission of the last Essex Class carriers, in 1975 handed over to the USMC in order to purge the Navy's inventory and simplify maintenance and logistics.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


FJ-4 and FJ-4B Fury fighter bombers served with United States Naval Reserve units until the late 1960s, while the F-1F soldiered on with the USMC until the early Eighties, even though only in reserve units. A considerable number had the heavy radar equipment removed and replaced by ballast in the late Seventies, and they were used as fighter-bombers, for dissimilar air combat training (simulating Soviet fighter types like the MiG-17 and -19), as high-speed target tugs or as in-flight refueling tankers, since the FJ-5 inherited this capability from the FJ-4, with up to two buddy packs under the wings. A few machines survived long enough to receive a new low-visibility livery.

However, even in the USMC reserve units, the FJ-5 was soon replaced by A-4 Skyhawks, due to the age of the airframes and further fleet reduction measures. The last F-1F was retired in 1982, ending the long career of North American's F-86 design in US service.

A total of 1,196 Furies of all variants were received by the Navy and Marine Corps over the course of its production life, including 152 FJ-4s, 222 FJ-4Bs and 102 FJ-5s.



General characteristics:
    Crew: 1
    Length: 40 ft 3 in (12.27 m)
    Wingspan: 39 ft 1 in (11.9 m)
    Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m)
    Wing area: 338.66 ft² (31.46 m²)
    Empty weight: 13,518 lb (6,132 kg)
    Gross weight: 19,975 lb (9,060 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 25,880 lb (11,750 kg)

Powerplant:
    1× Wright J65-W-18 turbojet with 7,400 lbf (32.9 kN) dry thrust
       and 10,500 lbf (46.7 kN) with afterburner

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 708 mph (1,139 km/h, 615 kn) at sea level,
                      737 mph (1,188 km/h/Mach 0.96) at height 
    Range: 2,020 mi (3,250 km) with 2× 200 gal (760 l) drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 missiles
    Service ceiling: 49,750 ft (15,163 m)
    Rate of climb: 12,150 ft/min (61.7 m/s)
    Wing loading: 69.9 lb/ft² (341.7 kg/m²)

Armament:
    4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon (144 RPG, 578 rounds in total)
    6× underwing hardpoints for 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of ordnance, including AIM-9 and AIM-7 missiles



Well, the end result looks simple, but creating this kitbashed Fury all-weather fighter was pretty demanding. Even though both the Fury and the F-86D are based on the same aircraft, they are completely different, and the same is also true for the model kits. It took major surgeries and body sculpting to weld the parts together. But I am quite happy with the outcome, the fictional F-1F looks pretty conclusive and natural, also in the (for this aircraft) unusual low-viz livery.


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American FJ-5/F-1F "Fury"; "ME/12 (BuNo. 155018)" of the United States Marine Corps Reserve VMA-133 "Dragons"; Alameda Naval Air Station (CA), 1979 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[AndrewF]

Excellent work and great photos!

[Old Wombat]

That one's awesome, Dizzy. Absolutely brilliant!


It looks so happy!

[Dizzyfugu]