Special Hobby 1/72 Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 'Reborn Luftwaffe' # 72505

The F-84F Thunderstreak swept-wing jet fighter was a development of the Republic F-84G straight-wing aircraft.

Using a wing with the sweep along with a more powerful jet engine improved the performance to that of the F-86 Sabre.

At first, the F-84F experienced several trouble with their power units, manoeuvrability as well as with corrosion.

Later, after the outbreak of the Berlin Crisis and the subsequent need to make the NATO forces more powerful, the F-84F jets started to equip many NATO air forces, including that of Germany and France, while earlier these planes were used mainly by the USAF and US Guard units.

The first combat deployment the F-84F saw was during the Suez Crisis and the only air victories gained by the type were achieved by Turkish machines taking on Iraqi Il-28 bombers violating the Turkish air space.

The German Luftwaffe acquired 450 Thunderstreaks and operated the aircraft within NATO between 1957 and 1966 when the remaining airframes were sold to Greece and Turkey.

Two of the German jets crashed due to loss of orientation on Czechoslovak territory, their pilots managed to eject in time.

Each of the SH72505 model kit contains a tiny piece of those two wrecked airframes along with a certificate.

The decal sheet caters for the markings of four Luftwaffe machines, one of which was the one that crashed in Czechoslovakia.

- A truly excellent model, very easy to assemble
- Large decal sheet containing all the servicing stencils
- Interesting camouflage schemes