The F-105 was initially designed as a supersonic fighter bomber to replace the F-84F.  The intial design concept was actually a company-funded development of Republic known as Republic Advanced Project 63 or AP-63-FBX.  The original design was similar to an extended F-84 with an internal bomb bay, but the design was significantly changed for the production version of the F-105.  The first flight of the YF-105A prototype #54-0098 was on October 22, 1955.  The first combat-ready production aircraft, an F-105B-6 number 54-0111, was delivered to the Air Force on May 27, 1958.  In all, 833 aircraft were built before production ended in 1964.

This is a model of a Republic F-105D-31-RE Thunderchief, USAF serial number 62-4372 assigned to the 357 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355 Tactical Fighter Wing at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base during 1969 and 1970.  The model is being built for a friend and is detailed to represent the aircraft as he flew it in Vietnam.

The decals from the kit were used in most places, however the tail number "RU-372", airplane name, and some other decals that contain the aircraft number were custom printed.  I did the artwork in CorelDRAW! and shipped it to Spare Time Hobbies for final printing.  The cost was reasonable and having the correct tail number on the airplane certainly increases the level of accuracy.  Per the owner's request many of the smaller decals were omitted.  He wanted only the larger decals shown so that's what he got.

After painting two coats of Future were sprayed to provide a smooth base for the decals.  Once the decals were complete two coats of Pollyscale Clear Flat were sprayed to give the model an overall flat finish.

The aircraft is finished per the owner's criteria.  Specifically, there is no panel line wash at all and no "Remove Before Flight" flags except on the pitot tube (the reason that one is there is because the pitot is steel and I kept poking myself with it!).