A couple of 1/48 Tamiya F-16s in FMS colors

[Skinny_Mike]

Well my P-47 build is just about wrapped up making it time to start a new project. I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching after Terry’s interesting “why don’t we build what we want” thread and in the end decided on my next few projects. All of which are things I have wanted to do for some time and for one reason or another haven’t. Some will fit in campaigns, others will not, but no matter, this is all about the ride! I’m going to go back to the time when I was staying motivated and actually finishing what I started, 2 projects at a time. So please follow along on this, my first aircraft project of 2016.

First a little bit of history. Way back in 2012 I decided to try my hand at posting a WIP thread. I thought that may keep me motivated to actually get through a project. Turns out that it did not, for a variety of reasons. The victim was a Kinetic F-16 MLU built as an Italian F-16 ADF. Here is a picture of the plane I was planning to build.

And you can follow this link to see the WIP thread. BTW – the gentleman commenting and offering all the tips was the same guy that painted the tail for the Italian Air Force. He knows this plane inside and out.

The Kinetic kit, in truth isn’t great but with some basic modelling skills it can be built into an ok representation of an F-16. Sure there are some issues that the rivet counters love to bash it over but it sure looks like an F-16 to me. The kit is relatively inexpensive however and comes with a ton of weapons that will feed the spares bin. You need to weigh the good and the bad.

My build stalled out for a few reasons and finally hit the trash bin when I decided that I just could not live with the very obvious mistakes I made. But I have spent the last 3+ years pulling out the kit and looking at it because I really want this bird on my display shelf. So fast forward to today, when I start over.
This time I am getting more ambitious. My plan is to convert a Tamiya F-16C backwards to an F-16ADF. The ADF version is basically an F-16A Block 15 modified for the Air National Guard specifically for Air to Air Missions. There are some differences between the F-16A and the F-16C so I will need to do some conversion work but that is part of the draw of this project for me, and the Tamiya kit is a joy to build straight out of the box so this will be fun. Ok – so here’s the kit and the aftermarket.

And here are the details:
Tamiya F-16C Block 25/32
Two Bobs Decals for L’ultima Diana
Astra Decals Reinforcement Panels
CMK F-16A Cockpit
PWMP F-16 ADF Tail
Royale Resin Block 1-32 wheels, Late
Royale Resin Radome (Not pictured)
Sierra Hotel F-16C Cockpit set (for the seat)

I do need to figure something out for the engine exhaust. I do have the Block 15 exhaust nozzle for the Kinetic kit still, but I’m not sure if it will fit. We’ll just need to see when we get there.

At the same time, I am going to work on a second non-US F-16. This one will be a Greek AF F-16C Block 52+, kind of an old verses new type thing going on here. This will also be completed from a Tamiya F-16 kit. This time I am going to use the F-16C/N Aggressor kit. This particular kit has all the parts to build every version of the F-16C making it a great starting point. The Hellenic AF planes have the unique ghost camo scheme and the Block 52s can be configured with conformal fuel tanks.

And of course there is plenty of aftermarket that I plan to use. Here's the list:

Two Bobs Decals
Wolfpack Design F-16C Falcon Dragchute Housing
Wolfpack Design F-16CJ Block 50/52 Falcon Update
Aires Landing Gear Bays
Wheelliant F-16C Wheels
Eduard Brassin F-16CJ Block 52 Exhaust nozzle
Eduard Brassin AIM 2000 IRIS-T Missiles

I am also planning to cast a copy of the Kinetic conformal fuel tanks from my F-16I kit and mate them to this build. This will be my first attempt at casting parts, so we will see how it goes. But I am using the opportunity to expand my skills and expand the old modelling toolkit!

When you put all of this together for the entire project, its quite the pile!

I also have some great reference material for this project.

For anyone planning to build an F-16, I highly recommend these books. They are fantastic.

This is going to be a fun build that I am really looking forward to and this build coupled with my JadgPanther for the Tanker’s Tangle is really going to be a fun start to the new hobby year and Skinny Mike’s new model building philosophy! Time to get a move on!

Thanks for looking, and see you all soon
Mike

 

[taiidantomcat]

My goodness :frantic

 

[lupanzer]

Amazing stuff!

Luiz

 

[phantom II]

Hmm , some electric jets

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[moon puppy]

Outstanding, well laid out plan. This will be a treat to watch.

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Hi folks!

I have been pretty busy actually building stuff and have not posted much in the meantime. Time to rectify that. As you remember here, I have two F-16’s on offer, both modified from the Tamiya F-16C kit. I am going to work some of the sub assemblies together as I go, but I am on a clock to get the HAF F-16 Block 52+ done, and the F-16 ADF requires much more extensive modification, so the HAF will get the most attention up front.

Lets get started. First thing I tried to do was the intakes. For the F-16C I decided to use the kit gear bays so that made things a bit easier. The Tamiya intake is made up of four parts that create a forward and aft half, which are then assembled together. A lot of people seem to assemble the lower half and the upper halves and deal with that seam, then assemble the top and bottom halves and work those seams. I tend to work the front half and the aft half, work the seams then assemble. I did that on my last Tamiya F-16 and I can’t see that middle seam at all once its assembled and installed, due to the contour of the intake, but that just me. All the seems were filled with squadron putty and the excess wiped away with a cotton bud dipped in acetone. Then I used the pour/dump method to paint the intake. I have mixed results using this method. One thing I did change though, I use an enamel gloss white paint instead of the typical latex paint. That way if there are any issues, I can actually sand them out and re-coat without any problems. You can’t sand out the latex. On to the pictures.

Here are the two halves of the intakes, assembled and the seems worked over.

And looking down the intake after the paint has been poured, dumped and allowed to dry. It ended up looking pretty good. I somehow got a few imperfections way down in the intake, but overall its not to shabby. I am using a Wolfpack Designs exhaust for this build, and it comes with an improved engine face for the P&W 229 motor which I have shown here next to the kit part. Unfortunatly the resin piece doesn’t fit on the end of the intake, so I didn’t end up using it.

Assembled intake and the engine face painted using Alclad Steel.

And the fully assembled intake, with the nose gear bay also installed. The lip of the intake, the top of the intake and the bottom of the fuselage where all painted in MM FS36251 Aggressor Gray, per the camo scheme, before assembly because those areas are tough to get at with the airbrush after its all together.

And finally assembled.

Next up is the cockpit. For this build I am using the Wolfpack designs F-16C Block 52 cockpit. It was painted using MM Acryl Dark Gull Gray and all the details were picked out using various acrylic paints. And yes, I sawed through the floor removing the casting block. The Wolfpack pit uses the rudder pedals and control stick and throttle from the kit. It does have some side panels, but there isn’t a ton of extra detail on those parts so I opted to leave the kit sidewalls, hoping to avoid having the typical grind the sidewalls paper thin issue! Turns out the Wolfpack pit is a tad thinner then the kit fuselage so I actually ended up with a difficult time finding surface area enough to get a good solid bond.

Well here’s the cockpit all fancied up.

And installed

In the end, the detail is not that much better over the kit parts. I think next time I would rather use the kit cockpit with a Sierra Hotel cockpit upgrade, but that’s just me.

Next up, I assembled the top of the fuselage

Scraped out a little material to ensure the cockpit tub fit in the lower fuselage, and added some weight

And assembled

I’ve worked a couple of the seams, and have a few more to work on, but nothing too major. This is a Tamiya Viper after all!
I have reached a bit of a stopping point for this build. I really need to determine the load out so I can drill the appropriate mounting holes on the lower wings prior to assembling them. It turns out, as I have just learned, that Greek Vipers do not carry wing tanks if they use the conformal tanks. That was my planned load out so now I need to make a decision. If I go conformals, then I am going to go with a centerline tank and my planned ordnance, but if I don’t use the conformal tanks then I am back to the wing tanks. To determine if the CFTs get used, I need to see if I can actually cast some. That should be next weekend’s project. We’ll see how it goes.

Had to break up this post... Stay tuned for more!

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Part 2!

Next up, I’ve also made some progress on my Italian F-16 ADF. Not nearly as far along as the Greek Viper, but progress anyway. I also started this viper with the intake. I am using the Aires landing gear bays for this build. The MLG bay actually replaces the rear half of the kit intake. So I assembled the two halves, worked the seams with squadron putty, removing the excess with acetone.

Then I assembled the halves and used the pour/dump method for the assembly. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good shot down the intake. But is a smooth glossy finish with a few imperfections, but nothing that bad. Then I painted the engine face, Alclad Steel and the intake blade in Alclad Stainless Steel before assembling them.

Next I needed to fit the Aires NLG bay. I was worried because of the dreaded “Aires shrinkage” but this part fit perfectly. I had to work over the back of the gear bay and the corresponding part of the intake, but after a few passes with the Dremel and sanding sticks it all fit great. The gear bay was aligned and secured to one side of the outer skin of the intake and once that was fully cured I assembled it all together.

And there you go. Started along anyway. Next steps are to clean up some seams and install the intake in the lower fuselage. After that the cockpit where I have a bit of a dilemma, but more on that later.

Thanks for watching! Be back soon.
Mike

 

[lupanzer]

Most excelent,Mike!...

Luiz

 

[moon puppy]

I just love the shape of the F16. Looks great Mike

 

[centaur567]

With that kind of investment there's more pressure not to screw up. But it looks like your off to a good start. My wife calls my hobby "the other woman". :frantic Gary

 

[SA Dave]

Looks awesome

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Thanks guys! I am having fun that's for sure! Having built one of these before, I know where the challenges are, which makes it all that much less frustrating sometimes!

With that kind of investment there's more pressure not to screw up. But it looks like your off to a good start. My wife calls my hobby "the other woman". :frantic Gary

I totally understand Gary! When we moved into our new house, the closet in my man cave got bigger so the stash was consolidated into one place. Now my wife can see the extent of my addiction - which has not been met with approval by SWMBO! Oops - better to ask for forgiveness then for permission I always say! :tomato

 

[centaur567]

When I was a member of a modeling club(IPMS/Space Coast) I could claim "look what I won in the raffle'. Now I live in GA and no club, so I have to wait till Scottcon at Werner Robbins in June. Not like I need another model. Gary (I do need seats for a Su-27 though). Gary

 

[Skinny_Mike]

When I was a member of a modeling club(IPMS/Space Coast) I could claim "look what I won in the raffle'. Now I live in GA and no club, so I have to wait till Scottcon at Werner Robbins in June. Not like I need another model. Gary (I do need seats for a Su-27 though). Gary

LOL - I totally understand Gary, I totally understand...

Funny you should mention IPMS/Space Coast - I just moved to Melbourne, FL. Well I say just, its was almost 18 months ago! I sent those guys a couple of emails and never heard anything, so I kinda gave up on them. Although their show is coming up in a month or so.

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Hey Everyone! I have a short update today.
I started work on the tail of the HAF F-16. The HAF F-16s, like a lot of FMS Vipers, have the para-brake tail housing. The plan was to use the Wolfpack Para-Brake Tail conversion to create the correct tail. The set comes with the end of the tail base and is supposed to be installed in place of the aft halves of the Tamiya tail base. It also has some extra antennas that are used depending on which FMS viper you decide to use.

Well, its all supposed to go together that way anyway. Once I tried to add the Wolfpack part to the Tamiya part, it turns out the resin piece is too small, both not wide enough and not tall enough. Hopefully the picture shows it.

After a little bit of cussing and resisting the urge to thow stuff around the man cave, I thought I might give the Kinetic F-16 MLU kit in my stash a try. Turns out there is an extra para-brake base end in that kit, and it’s the correct size to graft onto the Tamiya forward tail base. I did use the extra tail sensor from the Wolfpack set, so its not a total loss! Here is the assembled base of the tail.

And the completed tail

That’s all for today. Sure felt like I spent more time then this at the bench this week, wonder where all that time went?

Thanks for looking!
Mike

 

[helios]

McGuyver!

 

[moon puppy]

When I was a member of a modeling club(IPMS/Space Coast) I could claim "look what I won in the raffle'. Now I live in GA and no club, so I have to wait till Scottcon at Werner Robbins in June. Not like I need another model. Gary (I do need seats for a Su-27 though). Gary

Where in GA are you?

 

[centaur567]

In Walton Co., between Atlanta and Athens. We are "Miami refugees". Gary

 

[moon puppy]

I've always wondered how a town gets name Social Circle.

Sorry for the highjack Mike.

 

[centaur567]

Hi Mike, I've been away from there for about 10 yrs now. We lived in Rockledge/Viera and I worked at Jess Parrish hosp. Rick Bellanger was the club pres. back then. rbellanger@att.net Don't know it it's current. They put on a good show so go and enjoy yourself. BTW your doing a great job on your F-16's. Gary