Avro Canada CF-100 by Hobby Craft

1/72 scale
Kit No. HC 1391
Price: $25.00 (aftermarket, out of production)
Decals: One version – Royal Canadian Air Force
Comments: Engraved panel lines, basic cockpit, option for wingtip fuel tanks or rocket pods; one-piece canopy; two aircrew figures included; optional position landing gear

History

The Avro CF-100 was a long-range, all-weather fighter-interceptor that made a critical but often overlooked contribution to the defense of North America and NATO during the height of the Cold War. A home grown product of the Canadian aviation industry, it was designed with two powerful Orenda engines and an advanced radar and fire control system housed in its nose that enabled it to fly in all-weather or night conditions. Upon entering service in the early 1950’s it was one of the few interceptors with all-weather capability, and was highly prized by NATO. For its day, the CF-100 featured a short takeoff run and high climb rate, due partly to its relatively large wing area. It has the distinction of being the first straight-winged jet aircraft to go supersonic in controlled flight.

The first (and to date, the only) indigenously designed and built Canadian jet fighter-interceptor to become operational, the Avro CF-100 entered service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1953. It operated under the U.S./Canadian North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) protecting North American airspace from Soviet intruders such as nuclear-armed bombers. As part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), four CF-100 squadrons were based in Europe with 1 Air Division from 1956–1962, and were for some time the only NATO fighters capable of operating in zero visibility and poor weather conditions.

As the Cold War took shape in the years following World War II, Canada realized that it needed a long range, all-weather interceptor capable of confronting the only anticipated threat at that time, Soviet bombers flying over the Arctic Ocean to deliver nuclear weapons on North American targets. In October 1946 Avro Canada began design work on a two-seat, twin engined jet fighter, and the first CF-100 flew on January 19, 1950.

The development, production, and operational record of the CF-100 represents one of Canadian aviation’s outstanding achievements. Built by the same firm that just a few years earlier produced the Avro Jetliner, it was the predecessor of the Avro CF-105 Arrow, a revolutionary Cold War era design that might have been the single best interceptor in the world this side of the Iron Curtain. In its day, the CF-100 had an impressively short take-off run and a high climb rate, and was well suited to its intended role of interceptor, making it ideal for duty with NATO squadrons in Western Europe.

The CF-100 became fully operational in 1953. It remained in front-line service with the Royal Canadian Air Force and NATO until 1961 when it was phased out in favor of the F-101 Voodoo. At least one unit of the Canadian Armed Forces, 414 Squadron at CFB North Bay, Ontario, retained it in service until 1981. The CF-100 was affectionately known in the RCAF as the “Clunk” because of the noise the front landing gear made as it retracted into its well after takeoff. It had less attractive nicknames including “the Aluminum Crow” and particularly the “Lead Sled”, a reference to its heavy controls and general lack of maneuverability, a nickname it shared with a number of other 1950’s aircraft, notably the American Republic F-105.

Both its role and weaponry changed through the years as some squadrons of CF-100’s were based in Europe as part of NATO. The CF-100’s armament evolved from the initial eight .50 caliber machine guns, to rockets and guided missiles, including early versions of the AIM-7 Sparrow. Powered by two Canadian-built Orenda axial flow turbojets, in its prime it was known as a rugged, dependable aircraft that was the best all-weather interceptor in the West. Early versions (Mk. I and II) were powered by Rolls Royce Avon turbojets, but the Orenda powerplant was standard from the Mk. III on.

The CF-100 served Canada, NORAD, NATO and indirectly, the United States, quite well; it operated under the U.S.-Canadian North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) to protect North American airspace from Soviet intruders such as nuclear-armed bombers at the height of the Cold War, sharing that responsibility with the Convair F-102 and F-106. In addition, as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the CF-100 served with nine RCAF squadrons at the peak of its operational strength in the mid- to late-1950s. Four of those squadrons were deployed to Europe with 1 Air Division from 1956–1962, replacing the F-86 day fighter squadrons.

On December 18, 1952, Squadron Leader Janusz Żurakowski, the Avro company chief development test pilot, took the CF-100 Mk. 4 prototype to Mach 1.0 in a dive from 30,000 ft. (9,100 m), the first straight-winged jet aircraft to achieve controlled supersonic flight. In a subsequent adventure, Żurakowski took the CF-100 on a dramatic demonstration flight at the 1955 Farnborough Airshow that included a “falling leaf, ” an aerobatic flight maneuver in which an airplane is allowed to stall and is then slipped successively to the right and the left, with the nose being held to point in the same direction throughout. This stunned many aviation and industry observers, who could not believe that a large, all-weather fighter could be put through its paces so spectacularly. Zurakowski’s performance led to Belgium purchasing 53 examples of the CF-100.

In its lifetime, 692 CF-100s of different variants were produced. Although originally designed for only 2,000 hours, it was found that the CF-100’s airframe could serve for over 20,000 hours before retirement. For its ruggedness, all-weather capability, surprising maneuverability, and service as an airborne guardian against the Soviet threat, the CF-100 earned a place of honor in aviation history.

Although the CF-100 was replaced in its front line role starting in 1961 by the American McDonnell F-101 Voodoo (an arguably less capable aircraft, designated CF-101 in Canadian service), the CF-100 served with 414 Squadron of the Canadian Forces at CFB North Bay, Ontario, until 1981, in reconnaissance, training and electronic warfare roles. The CF-100’s planned successor, the CF-105 Arrow along with its sophisticated Orenda Iroquois engines, both Canadian-designed and built, was cancelled in January 1959 in a controversial decision by the Canadian government credited with striking a death blow to Canada’s aviation industry.  For a full preview of this kit, click here.

Construction

The instructions start you off with a deep, rather basic cockpit tub into which two three-part seats (for the pilot and radar operator) and a control yoke are cemented. There is no sidewall detail, although there is a blank instrument panel for which no decal is provided. The great advantage of Hobby Craft’s CF-100 is its meticulous external detail and engraved panel lines; it gets high marks in this department although the cockpit itself is bland, reminiscent of many a Hasegawa kit in this scale.

The nose and mid-section containing the engines consist of two parts divided into top and bottom halves. The separate parts for the intake fans are nicely detailed, and there is a part for the boxed-in wheel well for the main landing gear. The rear section of the fuselage includes the tail assembly, and the join seam just aft of the engines will require seam hiding. There is a separate intake scoop to be mounted along the spine of the aircraft toward the end of its mid-section, but care must be taken not to position it top-dead-center; looking at the fuselage head-on, it is situated at about the 11 o’clock position.

The kit offers a choice of wing tip tanks or rocket pods. I chose the wing tip tanks since to my eye they give the plane a more aerodynamic look. If you do the same, be careful not to break the three prongs extending from the end of fins of each tank. Their purpose appears to have been to enable the pilot to jettison fuel quickly without any of it getting onto the airframe and causing a fire hazard.

A CF-100 lifts off from a Canadian air base. Photo Credit: Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.

There is an important note on Part A8, a small, crescent-shaped part containing the apertures for the CF-100’s main armament of eight .50 caliber machine guns, situated in the belly directly aft of the nose section and below and abeam of the large jet intakes. DO NOT, as the instructions advise, wait until the fuselage is sealed up to cement this part in. The reason is that it may very well fall into the depths of the fuselage with slim hope of any recovery, which is exactly what happened to me. Somehow through the grace of God and working with fine tweezers, I was able after a struggle of some 45 minutes to extract the part through the same very narrow opening in the fuselage that the part was supposed to be cemented into. I then used cyanoacrylate to cement it in, very delicately. I also had puttying and sanding to do afterward, since I had forcibly enlarged the opening (though not very much) in the course of my efforts to extract the part. In hindsight the preferred method is to cement this part to the lower half of the fuselage before it is cemented to the upper half.

While the landing gear can be depicted up or down, if you depict them up be aware that the gear doors do not readily fit into the openings provided. Sanding will be required, and as a fail-safe I employed an old trick, filling most of the wheel well for the main gear with Milliput so that the gear doors would be resting on, supported by, and most importantly attached to this putty should the glue fail at some point.

A couple of notes on the cockpit and the canopy. There is a clear part to be cemented between the pilot and radar operator that appears to be a hood of sorts. Although it is clear, since it looks like a hood I wondered if it should be painted. I studied several photos of the CF-100 before I found one of the cockpit that had sufficiently clear resolution to answer my question. It is definitely a clear part on the actual aircraft and should not be painted. Finally, the canopy. It is devoid of any attempt to inscribe lines for the framing, which the CF-100 canopy definitely had. Not being intrepid enough to try scribe lines on clear plastic, I resorted to very thin Kabuki tape which I then painted.

Painting

Deciding how to paint the CF-100 was a challenge.  Many schemes were overall aluminum which looked boring, and the Ocean Grey/Dark Green scheme borrowed from the RAF for the CF-100’s NATO service did not acknowledge this aircraft’s Canadian origin.  After a lot of online research, I decided on a scheme of aluminum with orange-red flashes.  Painting took a significant amount of time because of all the masking required. The Avro CF-100 is airbrushed in AK Interactive’s Polished Aluminum, with Dark Aluminum for some individual panels. The flashes are Orange Red, created by mixing two acrylics, 40% Vallejo Orange Red (70.910) with 60% Golden Acrylics Pyrrole Red. The radome, anti-glare panel on the nose, inboard surfaces of the wingtip tanks and de-icing boots on the leading edges of the tail surfaces are Tamiya Flat Black.

Conclusion

This is an impressive, if aging, kit in terms of exterior detail, but that detail clearly falls off in the cockpit. One noticeable flaw is that there is not even an attempt at framing on the canopy, where modelers are left to their own devices. The CF-100’s role in North American and NATO air defense for some of the most critical years of the Cold War had gone under-appreciated for decades, and it’s a shame it’s not better known in the United States. When its intended replacement, the superb Avro CF-105 Arrow was cancelled in February 1959, the Royal Canadian Air Force ultimately acquired the American F-101 Voodoo…a step down to say the least. For these reasons, the kit has tremendous historical interest. Highly recommended. Now, if only some kit manufacturer would come out with a new tooling…

References

• Bomber Command Museum of Canada ~ http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/cf100.html
• Combat Aircraft Since 1945 by Stewart Wilson, Copyright 2000 by Aerospace Publications; Fyshwick, Australia
• wikipedia.org
• www.olddogplanes.com