The Monogram F-101B Voodoo instruction sheet (1967) inspired young kids like myself with this little amount of information on the plane – but ignited our imaginations and propelled us into building huge numbers of BB Gun targets. But here is what the instructions read: “The McDonnell F-101B Voodoo was a long range, two seat, all weather interceptor powered by two Pratt and Whitney J57 engines with afterburners. An earlier version of the Voodoo F-101A, set a new world speed record of 1207.6 mph on December 12, 1957, over a measured course at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The F-101B was designed to achieve a high rate of climb and to operate at extreme altitudes. The second crew man was a radar observer.

Scott offers a better history here.

The F-101B Voodoo kit was originally kitted in 1960. My issue is 1975. This is an ultra-simple kit consisting of basic parts as pictured and promises to be a fast build. This F-101 is ideally suited for a beginner or the advanced modeler waiting for something to dry on a better detailed model. There is no interior except for two crew members. The Genies seem to be a bit out of scale and are crudely basic. Modern photography and planes in museums show us that a lot of parts are missing like the pitot tube and other details. The rivets are large scale – but that was common place back in the ‘60s.

 This is a very easy kit. 2 wing halves, 2 pilots, 2 fuselage halves. And it assembles almost in that order. Literally, what you see is what you get.

I recommend a little pre-work first. Make sure the decals are in working order. As this is an odd scale, you will not be able to replace the kit decals and some of the sizes are not traditional to 1/144 or 1/72. You will have to get creative.

The wing assembly is 2 halves. Glue them together and make sure they fit. My kit needed to be clamped on this assembly. The engine exhausts had trouble fitting together, so be prepared for extra work. Set that aside. Once cured the engine nacelles will have seam problems all around. Again, you will have to get creative on how to fill the seams without obscuring the rings around the engine nacelles.

Paint the interior of the fuselage black. The seats in the cockpit are often painted gray or Chromate Green with a red headrest. The crew usually wears a white helmet and green flight suit. But you will not see much more – so don’t waste your time. Add nose weights or it will be a tail-sitter. I used 6 BBs super glued in place. Glue the fuselage halves together and fill seams.

I also added a small piece of card stock in front of the pilot to cover up some of the gaping hole as an artificial instrument column. It will cover up the BBs.

The landing gear will need a little attention; The main gear doors have 2 holes in them that will need to be filled after gluing on the main gear. I didn’t add the wheels on until later.

I painted everything (except canopy, wheels, and Genie rockets) Gloss Aluminum (Tamiya TS-17). The engines are painted with Tamiya Metallic Grey (XF-56). As noted in my Preview, I was questioning if I was going to paint the nose like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer? I just can’t do it. I really like the kit. So, the nose and anti-glare panel are Flat Black.

The decals were in good shape except they needed a lot of MicroSol and MicroSet to soften the thick decals and conform to the rivets. Finally a clear coat of Future acrylic to lock everything into place.

I added the wheels and last touch ups with a silver or black fine point Sharpie. Elevator was added and was a tight fit (expected). No need to glue it and mar the paint. The kit does not provide a pitot tube or significant details. Also different detail marking are not included and I added them in where possible. Again, since this kit is from 1960 and an odd scale, details and marking need to be customized.

Chris Mikesh

17 July 2023

Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights reserved. No reproduction in part or in whole without express permission.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.