Book Review of
F-84F Thunderstreak & RF-84F Thunderflash
Aviation Collectables Co.
ISBN: 978883104
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $31.95
ISBN: 978883104
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $31.95
HISTORY:
The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter-bomber, Reconnaissance aircraft
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Republic Aviation
First flight: June 3, 1950
Introduction to service: May 12, 1954
Retired: 1972 (US ANG), 1991 (Greece)
Primary users: United States Air Force, German Air Force, Italian Air Force, Belgian Air Force
Number built: 3,428
Developed from: Republic F-84 Thunderjet
Variants: Republic XF-84H Thunderscreech
THE BOOK:
Aviation Collectables Co. is based in Italy.
This book is soft-cover of 89 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The text is in Italian and English.
The book was authored by a team of 5 writers. Which is the normal way Aviation Collectable does all their books.
The cover art shows 2 color photos. At the top is a F-84F Thunderstreak sitting on a runway.
The Thunderstreak at the top carries the black fuselage no. 50-19 on the sides of its nose and black serial no. 36619 on the sides of its rudder, under a red shield with a white sword on it. At the top of its rudder there are 3 blue horizontal spear marks.
At the bottom there is a RF-84F Thunderflash, also sitting on a runway. Both are overall bare metal with black anti-glare panels in front of their windshields. The Thunderflash carries the black fuselage code 3 roundel 24 and black serial no. 2744O on the sides of its rudder, under a shield that is divided diagonally into white at the top and red at the bottom with 4 small dark stars on it.
The back cover shows a color side profile of a Thunderflash posed against a large Italian Air Force roundel. It is bare metal with black fuselage code 3 roundel 63 and has black serial no. 11263 on the sides of its rudder. It has a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield.
Including the covers the book holds 72 color photos, 90 black and white ones, 8 posters, photos of weapons, pilots, a Convair B-36 that is flying along with a F-84F strung below it on a metal trapeze, black and white photos of a master camera, joy-stick, camera control station and a C4 control panel, a line drawing showing the distance the camera can photograph and application chart for the camera.
There is a black and white photo of the “Diavoli Rossi” aerobatic team in a tight pattern in flight.
The color side-profiles include:
13 of the F-84f Thunderstreak
3 of the RF-84F Thunderflash
The modeler’s section of the book shows the Italeri-Kinetic brand 1/48th scale kit of the F-84F and RF-84F built up in 1/72nd and 1/48th scales from either an Italeri, Revell or Amary brand kits that have their box arts shown. There are also 7 color walk around type photos of one of these kits being built
The last page of the book shows 29 color cover arts of other Aviation Collectable books:
F-16A, AMX, F-86K, G.222, T-33A/RT-33A, C-130J, MB-339A, AB-205, S2C-5, G.80/G.82, TORNADO, G-91V, HU-16A, TORNADO ADV, Br.1150, G.91 PAN/R/1, SH-3 SEA KING, Gil Ultirra coccia a pistoni (probably in Italian only), and the last 11 with Italian titles.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning on building either a Thunderstreak or Thunderflash and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely want to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the North American distributor of Aviation Collectables books and all of Aviation’s books can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter-bomber, Reconnaissance aircraft
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Republic Aviation
First flight: June 3, 1950
Introduction to service: May 12, 1954
Retired: 1972 (US ANG), 1991 (Greece)
Primary users: United States Air Force, German Air Force, Italian Air Force, Belgian Air Force
Number built: 3,428
Developed from: Republic F-84 Thunderjet
Variants: Republic XF-84H Thunderscreech
THE BOOK:
Aviation Collectables Co. is based in Italy.
This book is soft-cover of 89 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The text is in Italian and English.
The book was authored by a team of 5 writers. Which is the normal way Aviation Collectable does all their books.
The cover art shows 2 color photos. At the top is a F-84F Thunderstreak sitting on a runway.
The Thunderstreak at the top carries the black fuselage no. 50-19 on the sides of its nose and black serial no. 36619 on the sides of its rudder, under a red shield with a white sword on it. At the top of its rudder there are 3 blue horizontal spear marks.
At the bottom there is a RF-84F Thunderflash, also sitting on a runway. Both are overall bare metal with black anti-glare panels in front of their windshields. The Thunderflash carries the black fuselage code 3 roundel 24 and black serial no. 2744O on the sides of its rudder, under a shield that is divided diagonally into white at the top and red at the bottom with 4 small dark stars on it.
The back cover shows a color side profile of a Thunderflash posed against a large Italian Air Force roundel. It is bare metal with black fuselage code 3 roundel 63 and has black serial no. 11263 on the sides of its rudder. It has a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield.
Including the covers the book holds 72 color photos, 90 black and white ones, 8 posters, photos of weapons, pilots, a Convair B-36 that is flying along with a F-84F strung below it on a metal trapeze, black and white photos of a master camera, joy-stick, camera control station and a C4 control panel, a line drawing showing the distance the camera can photograph and application chart for the camera.
There is a black and white photo of the “Diavoli Rossi” aerobatic team in a tight pattern in flight.
The color side-profiles include:
13 of the F-84f Thunderstreak
3 of the RF-84F Thunderflash
The modeler’s section of the book shows the Italeri-Kinetic brand 1/48th scale kit of the F-84F and RF-84F built up in 1/72nd and 1/48th scales from either an Italeri, Revell or Amary brand kits that have their box arts shown. There are also 7 color walk around type photos of one of these kits being built
The last page of the book shows 29 color cover arts of other Aviation Collectable books:
F-16A, AMX, F-86K, G.222, T-33A/RT-33A, C-130J, MB-339A, AB-205, S2C-5, G.80/G.82, TORNADO, G-91V, HU-16A, TORNADO ADV, Br.1150, G.91 PAN/R/1, SH-3 SEA KING, Gil Ultirra coccia a pistoni (probably in Italian only), and the last 11 with Italian titles.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning on building either a Thunderstreak or Thunderflash and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely want to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the North American distributor of Aviation Collectables books and all of Aviation’s books can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.