Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA1008 F-104G German Air Force, Jabog 31 “Boelcke”

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE RETAIL VERSION

True 1/72 scale Professionally painted unique scheme Great attention to detail All markings are Tampoed (pad applied) Option to display the model on a stand that is provided Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions Loads of optional armament has been provided Canopy can be displayed open or closed Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic Highly collectable

The F-104 Starfighter was a revolutionary design with short razor-sharp wings. It was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. The Starfighter shattered speed and rate of climb records that still are impressive today. This extremely high speed earned the plane the nickname “The Missile With A Man In It”. Because of financial considerations 15 or more countries purchased the F-104. The Starfighter flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004.

The German Air Force purchased about 1/3 of all F-104s produced, 915. The first operational unit to receive the Starfighter was Jagdbombergeschwader 31 “Boelcke” (JBG31), in 1961. This is the oldest flying unit in the present day Luftwaffe and named in memory of Hauptmann Boelcke who was a WWI ace many times over. He also helped develop many of the fighter tactics still used today. April 1982 Luftwaffe F-104Gs surpassed 200,00 flight-hours. Because the F-104 was such a difficult aircraft to fly JGB 31 lost 18 planes killing 14 pilots.

F-104G specifications Manufacturer: Lockheed Designation: F-104G Starfighter Crew: 1 (pilot)

Length: 16.66 M. Height: 4.09 M Wingspan: 6.63 M Wing Area: 18.22 Sq. M Empty weight: 6345 Kg. Gross weight: 9362 Kg. Max. weight: 13171 Kg Range: 1754 Km Cruise Speed : 821 km/h Max. Speed : 1844 km/h Climb : 14,630 M/min Ceiling: 15240 M. Wing loading: 563kg/m2 Powerplant: 1 General Electric J-79-GE-11A (A/B 7,067 Kg.) Thrust: 4356 Kg