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G'day folks. My current build is at the 95% mark so thought I'd better get cracking on another build before the motivation wanes so this is it. I've been eying this one off for a while and thanks to a discussion with some local modelling mates yesterday, I finally dragged it out and started cutting plastic. The DXM decals have been in my stash for a while now as have the WD studio turned pitot and AOA sensors. They were all looking for a new home and this is the outcome. The 'N' variant is a bit different within the F-16 blocks as it had the smaller NSI inlet but the bigger and more powerful General Electric F110-GE-100 engine. Sans gun and a few other bits and pieces this jet was one of the real performers within the F-16 stable. As such it'll be mounted on a stick with a dynamic posture. As it's on a stick there'll be no need to muck around with gear so I'm hoping the build will be relatively quick for this reason. The obligatory 'this is it' shot. It'll be one of the VF-45 jets with the ruskie star on the tail though I haven't decided on the jet number yet. The jet will only be carrying wingtip ordnance so the kit supplied holes need to be filled. Here I've used some plain old Evergreen rod to fill the holes. I'll tidy these up and then apply some Mr Surface to fill any remains gaps. As it's a wheels up model I've started work on closing the gear wells. A few minutes with a scalpel and a sanding stick and the main doors fit quite well. This shot gives you a good idea of just how well they fit. I decided to use the divider and bulkhead for the main wheel bay; more to provide some support and gluing area for the fuselage divider between the two main doors. There are some small gaps when dry fitting the parts but when I apply some glue they should tidy up nicely. The AN/ALR-60 antennae are supplied in this boxing but need a bit of work to remove the mould lines. I spent a few minutes tidying them up and making the forward seam a bit more pronounced. The holes for these ALR-69 antennae also need opening. The resulting pods and mounting holes for them. I mucked up the one on the right but I'll fix it up. The age of the molds is certainly showing. The first image shows a bulge in the plastic on the starboard intake side. I think it perhaps due to the addition plastic inside due to the ejection marks. The second image is shows the flash that's present on the inside of the NSI inlet which I've since cleaned up. The Hasegawa F-16 is well known for the work that's needed to clean up the intake. If you attack it in a way where as much clean up is done prior to committing glue then the result can be excellent. Perhaps not the Tamiya duct but tidy none the less. Here I've attacked the side walls of the duct with a file to remove the ejections marks from the plastic. Best do it now than when plastic has been glued. The holes for the antennae won't be visible when the intake ramp is installed. A rough fit show the intake is already starting to look pretty good. There's still some work to be done here though. Some sprue glue on the intake ramp to fill in the hole for the nosewheel. And finally, the easiest part so far - glueing the fin together. And not related at all to the topic, I repositioned a few lights on the workbench. Gives me a bit more room and gets that arms out of the way as they were in the way a bit. The room light is on but you wouldn't know it. And a question for the cognoscenti. As these aircraft didn't have guns, was the gun port blocked off or a blank of some sort installed inside? Hope you like it. Cheers, Mick