A Whiff of Rebellion

[The Rat]

"WHAT THE ... ... ...?! This is ridiculous!" The Rat stared, dumbfounded, at the computer screen. $26.80 was staring him in the face, the cost, including postage, of replacing a canopy in a Hobby Boss F-84E kit that only cost him $12.99



Winning a $70 million Lotto Max  payout the next day took away the financial sting, but not the feeling that this company needed to hear about it. He had been building models since 1962, and had dealt with Airfix a few times for lost parts. They were always supplied, with no charge, and that bought a lifetime of brand loyalty. Hobby Boss was not in the same league, or even, he mused, on the same planet. Swift action was needed, and it must be a direct message, with no ambiguity.



$70 million can buy a few things, like, for instance, an aircraft, a custom paint job, basically harmless weaponry, and, most important of all, the silence of those involved.



From deep in the American southwest, the boneyard of all things aeronautical, an aircraft was found, and, fittingly, it was a Republic F-84E Thunderjet. Returning it to flight condition was brief; only one flight was needed, and shortcuts were taken. Scrounging from his hobby room, and friends, procured enough clear sprue to make a few hundred pounds of ordnance, simple kinetic energy bombs that would just leave a divot in the ground. Slung under the wings with a crude release system, tests showed that they were up to the task. They were purposely molded to look like the sprues from a kit.




Along with fuel, more silence was purchased en route to the target, the Guangzhou Nanlong Industrial Park, north of Macao. At night, flying just above the waves in Hong Kong harbour, he thought of his father, who had flown Short Sunderlands in and out of here in 1945. The GPS co-ordinates were accurate, and minutes later his clear sprue bombs were harmlessly stuck in the ground outside of Hobby Boss headquarters. "IS THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU?" he screamed.



Dashing southeast at treetop level, he headed in a straight line for the rarely used Dongsha Airport on Pratas Island, a disputed atoll southwest of Taiwan, which currently held it. Landing aroused the Taiwanese marines stationed there, so he barely had enough time to give his aircraft a loving pat, and say "Mission accomplished!" Running to the seawall he jumped aboard the waiting Philippine fishing boat, which then whisked him to safe obscurity on Luzon. This was a wise move, as when the inevitable diplomatic explosion occurred, the involvement of Philippine civilians gave Taiwan the cloak of 'plausible deniability' in the operation, no doubt aided by their genuine lack of knowledge.


The Kit

Hobby Boss, if you hadn't guessed. The errant canopy was actually located after I had ordered the new one, but the anger was still real. If the canopy had been truly missing, charging a customer twice the price of the kit to get a replacement is definitely not the way to do business. If I'm tempted to buy another HB kit, it will be inspected before leaving the shop.

Construction

Wings and fuselage are comprised of only two parts, and there is more than sufficient solid plastic at the front to prevent this from being a tail-sitter, no weight needed. Nose gear doors are molded on, surgery would be required for an in-flight model, and a pilot figure is not included. Fit is good all around, but care must be taken with the small inner main gear doors, as the two tabs on each seem a little thick for the slots they fit into, carving some plastic was required.

White paint is Tamiya Fine White Primer, red is Tamiya, and the olive drab anti-glare panel is Model Master.

Decals were printed on an Epson XP-4100. Not the best, but I'm not splurging on a better printer yet, although research has begun. Suggestions welcome. Testors decal paper, with two coats of Microscale Liquid Decal Film. The choice of registration letters should be obvious.

[scooter]

 

[PR19_Kit]

                                            

[buzzbomb]

 

[kerick]

With 70 mil you could get Elon Musk to build a cruise missile to do the dirty work. Then you could sit back in your secret lair and deny everything!

[The Rat]

With 70 mil you could get Elon Musk to build a cruise missile to do the dirty work. Then you could sit back in your secret lair and deny everything!

But I wouldn't want him to get the credit!     

[DogfighterZen]

    

[2996 Victor]

      I love the registration 

[McColm]

Well done 

[Dizzyfugu]

LOL! 

[Old Wombat]

    

[rickshaw]

Elon Musk would require several tries with a cruise missile to make sure it hit the right continent... 

[zenrat]

[kitbasher]

😂😂😂

[Captain Canada]

Haha  nice one Rat ! The kit looks excellent. And too funny about the lost and found canopy ! It happens......

PS-love the reg !