Ta-152 wrote:cornbreadfred wrote:I wouldn't mind another F-104. There are some really nice paint schemes that the Starfighter wore during its career.
It's career of not shooting anything down (at least in the USAF) and generally killing pilots.
It was a head scratcher when 21st did it and just as pointless with JSI, especially the ugly "Really George" scheme.
All true enough ... BUT ... for people of a certain (advanced) age, the F-104, even though it served in the USAF for only a very short time, has an iconic shape. In the late 1950s and early 1960s it was synonymous with speed and advancing aerospace technology. Plus, it's a Kelly Johnson plane, which in my book automatically puts it into the "historic" category.
Now, with all that musing, there's a repaint of the F-104 I'd really like to see, which is a NASA livery. F-104s flew chase at Edwards all through the late 1950s and 1960s, and it would be cool to see the all white and NASA tail band ... hmmm ... maybe I'll do that myself if I can pick a used one up cheap.
... which then leads to an idea I've had for a 1:18 series that might be interesting -- X-planes. Wouldn't it be cool to have at least an X-1 and an X-15?