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YF-16 prototype


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My entry for this GB will be the first of them all, the YF-16 prototype 72-01567, in 1/72 scale.

f16073.jpg

The base kit will of course be the Hasegawa YF-16 which is quite good but lacks details. The model will thus be upgraded with parts from the Hasegawa F-16A kit as well as aftermarket stuff for the latter. As there are no really good decals out there, I will make these myself.

Photos will come.

Nils :)

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I have an old Revell boxing of this kit which comes with engine on stand. Looking forward to seeing this one completed Nils

Not the same kit, I'm afraid. The Hasegawa kit is a "real" YF-16 while the Revell kit (with the separate engine) is something between an YF-16 and a F-16A.

The Hasegawa kit has been reboxed as a F-16 CCV with a few extra parts, still with decals to build the prototype.

Nils

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As there are several who will do one of the prototypes in this GB I may just as well tell that I am working on a decal sheet for F-16 prototypes and demonstrators. I hope to include the following:

  • YF-16 72-01567 (with both "YF-16" and "F-16" tail logos)
  • YF-16 72-01568 (in red/white/blue, "cloud" and "ghost grey" schemes)
  • F-16A FSD #1 75-0745
  • F-16B FSD 75-0752 F-16/79 test bed

Including stenciling. Will be available in 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

As I need the decals for my own model I will have to finish the artwork asap and send it to the printer.

Image of the instruction sheet front page:

72-111_front.jpg

Nils :)

Edited by Vingtor
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It is D-day for the F-16 STGB, so here I go. Using the same kit as theplasticsurgeon, I refer to his thread for a photo of the kit. I will also sacrifice a Hasegawa F-16A kit for various parts, and use several aftermarket kits that are intended for the Hasegawa F-16A/B/C/D kits.

I have started with the fuselage underside, more precisely the jet air intake. The kit intake and nose wheel well is rather simple and the intake duct is much too shallow.

YF-16_1_800.jpg

The Hasegawa F-16A kit has an intake that is much better, and that fits the YF-16 kit quite well. The size and shape should be the same as for the YF-16, but details such as the position lights have to be removed.

YF-16_2_800.jpg

Although the Hasegawa F-16A intake is better, there is still room for improvements. It's intake duct is a bit longer, but still does not go all the way back to the engine fan. To our rescue comes CMK with a resin intake for the Hasegawa production model kits.

YF-16_3_800.jpg

The CMK intake has the duct like I want it, however the nose wheel well is without much detail. Aires has a nice replacement set for the Hasegawa wheel wells, though using this with the CMK intake will be a major modeling task.

YF-16_4_800.jpg

To fit the CMK intake to the kit some plastic has to be removed.

YF-16_5_800.jpg

With this done, the CMK intake fits nearly perfect. The CMK intake is a couple of millimeters shorter than the original YF-16 part, thus this gap has to be filled at a later stage.

YF-16_6_800.jpg

Nils

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Really looking forward to follow this build;-)

Normally I build 1/72 models rather basic while I leave detailng to 1/48. This time I will try to do it "right" in the smaller scale. Hopefully I will make it all the way.

Nils

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As there are several who will do one of the prototypes in this GB I may just as well tell that I am working on a decal sheet for F-16 prototypes and demonstrators. I hope to include the following:

  • YF-16 72-01567 (with both "YF-16" and "F-16" tail logos)
  • YF-16 72-01568 (in red/white/blue, "cloud" and "ghost grey" schemes)
  • F-16A FSD #1 75-0745 (possibly also as F-16/101 test bed)
  • F-16B FSD 75-0752 F-16/79 test bed

Including stenciling. Will be available in 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

As I need the decals for my own model I will have to finish the artwork asap and send it to the printer.

A preliminary image of the instruction sheet (72-01568 still missing):

72-111_front.jpg

Nils :)

RevH222F-16A.jpg

l have this kit in the stash and want to back date it just a bit to the prototype version so your decal would be handy indeed but as for the throat l will have to look to see if this kit has it as it does come with the engine. The kit is missing the instrument panel so l will be watching to see what you use for one as it is different

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l have this kit in the stash and want to back date it just a bit to the prototype version so your decal would be handy indeed but as for the throat l will have to look to see if this kit has it as it does come with the engine. The kit is missing the instrument panel so l will be watching to see what you use for one as it is different

The YF-16 instrument panel is slightly different from the F-16A panel so I think I should include this on the decal sheet. I have done much of the artwork during this weekend and it should be ready for printing within a few days. Watch this forum for updates.

Nils :)

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A few more words as the build goes on.

As the Aires wheel well is much better than the CMK representation I eventually decided to go all the way and use the Aires part, knowing that this would cause some trouble. I thus cut out the wheel well from the CMK part and made the hole big enough so that the Aires part would fit inside. First I sticked some Tamiya masking tape to the intake duct ceiling for protection as I would not risk scratch marks.

YF-16_7_800.jpg

With the Aires well in place I added .030 x .010 plastic strips along the edges, to get a smooth surface.

YF-16_8_800.jpg

The inside required a bit more work. To seal the opening from the inside I added a piece of thin styrene sheet (“rømmelokk” to any Norwegian readers).

YF-16_9_800.jpg

The edges of the styrene sheet were carefully cut with a sharp knife before I filled the uneven edges with Milliput. After sanding I filled with putty once more, this time using Tamiya putty which is easier to sand. Here is the intake from the front.

YF-16_10_800.jpg

The wheel well edges were filled with putty and sanded. Also the position lights and strengthening plates on the intake sides were removed and sanded.

YF-16_11_800.jpg

The jet engine fan is missing from the CMK intake. It is visible on the real aircraft when looking in through the inlet mouth, thus it should be represented on the model as well. To represent this I used the fan from an Italeri Harrier kit, with a Harrier tail cone acting as the spinner.

YF-16_12_800.jpg

YF-16_13_800.jpg

This subassembly was painted gun metal. The intake duct was then painted white inside before the engine fan was attached to the rear end of the intake. Finally, the inlet reinforcement strut, which came from the Hasegawa F-16A kit, was painted gun metal and installed. Actually, the fan should be positioned at the rear edge of the main wheel well. But it is difficult to judge the distance inside the intake duct so I attached the fan to the rear edge of the CMK intake. I think this will do fine.

YF-16_14_800.jpg

YF-16_15_800.jpg

Note that these steps are valid not only to the YF-16, but to any Hasegawa production model kit, and possibly kits from other manufacturers as well.

Nils

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With the intake and nose wheel well done, I am moving on tho the main wheel wells. As represented in the YF-16 kit these are much too shallow to give room for the undercarriage and they are lacking any detail. I am thus using the Aires detail set to improve this. Unfortunately I have no photos of the real YF-16’s wheel wells. Although the interior detail might not be 100% accurate for the prototype, I assume that the Aires part is a much better representation than the kit offering. To make room for the resin part I have removed plastic from the kit lower fuselage part and thinned down the edges.

YF-16_16_800.jpg

Before attaching any resin parts to the lower fuselage I wanted to finish off with all heavy surgical interventions to this part. Besides the intake and undercarriage, the engine nozzle will be replaced with aftermarket resin parts, also from Aires. I thus had to make room for the afterburner chamber on both the lower and upper fuselage halves.

YF-16_17_800.jpg

YF-16_18_800.jpg

With all the heavy work to the lower airframe done, the resin parts for the air intake and undercarriage could be positioned in place.

YF-16_19_800.jpg

The gap between the two parts was filled with a strip of sheet styrene.

YF-16_20_800.jpg

The last item to be attached to the lower fuselage is the Aires engine afterburner chamber. This item had been assembled and painted earlier.

YF-16_21_800.jpg

Nils

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Finally, the decals artwork is finished and ready for printing. I can now concentrate on the model.

72-111_decal.png

I will tell when the decals are ready, for anyone who are interested.

Two scales, 1/72 and 1/48.

Nils

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Hi Nils

I will watch your build looks good ,I like the F-16/79 scheme could be knocking

at your door for that in 1/48th

Cheers wellzy :headphones:

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Time to go on with the cockpit section.

The YF-16 kit is moulded with a closed canopy, while the Hasegawa F-16A kit has an option to display the model with an open canopy.

YF-16_22_800.jpg

My plan was to build the YF-16 model with an open canopy. However I had no idea how to do this. Now it was decition time, and (without considerating that this could go wrong) I decided to cut away the cockpit section on the YF-16 kit and replace this section with parts from the F-16A kit. There will be some changes though, to backdate the F-16A cockpit to YF-16 standard.

YF-16_23_800.jpg

Nils

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The YF-16 instrument panel is slightly different from the F-16A panel so I think I should include this on the decal sheet. I have done much of the artwork during this weekend and it should be ready for printing within a few days. Watch this forum for updates.

Nils :)

The YF-16 instrument panel and the rest of the cockpit is significantly different than the F-16A/FSD Cockpit. Hasegawa did get the sloped/angle aft cockpit bulkhead right though. Also note the YF-16 used the ESCAPAC seat only, while the FSD F-16As used the STENCEL Seats.

I am really glad to see this YF-16/FSD F-16 decal sheet; especially in 48th! I can help with technical details if you like; just let me know. Having built a few of these subjects for the Edwards FTC museum, it would be nice to finally have some modern made decals finally.

Now all we need are "accurate" conversions for the YF-16, FSD F-16A, and F-16 J-79s.

A few more words as the build goes on.

As the Aires wheel well is much better than the CMK representation I eventually decided to go all the way and use the Aires part, knowing that this would cause some trouble. I thus cut out the wheel well from the CMK part and made the hole big enough so that the Aires part would fit inside. First I sticked some Tamiya masking tape to the intake duct ceiling for protection as I would not risk scratch marks.

Note that these steps are valid not only to the YF-16, but to any Hasegawa production model kit, and possibly kits from other manufacturers as well.

Nils

Nice work so far. I've made a similar NSI intake for the Hasegawa kit, but it's a lot more tapered or tunnel contoured going aft.

I agree; Aires wheel wells much better than CMK. I've made a similar NSI intake for the Hasegawa kit, but it has more duct taper going aft.

Note that the YF-16 wheel wells were a lot less detailed than the F-16A. The NLG steering actuator was also totally different and tghe main wheels are not the same as the standard early LWG wheels. There’s also no Halon bottle or aircraft battery in the YF-16 main wheel wells.

I can't tell off hand, but is the Iranian flag included on the flag strip? It was on the original flag layout, but later removed after the Iranian revolution when the order of F-16 to that country was canceled.

Mike V

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I will use the Hasegawa F-16A kit as base for the cockpit interior, with additional aftermarket stuff. As Mike say, the YF-16 used the ESCAPAC seat, thus this will come from an Aires A-7D cockpit set.

The Hasegawa cockpit has the side "rails" for the ACES seat moulded integral with the side consoles. I would have to remove these.

YF-16_24_800.jpg

However, as the cockpit is too wide, and the Aires ESCAPAC seat easily fits between the ACES side rail, I rather decided to fill in the side consoles to level with the seat parts. I have also expanded the forwart cockpit floor.

YF-16_25_800.jpg

Mike, thanks for your interest in this project. I plan to do an F-16/79 in 1/48 scale at a later stage, thus any information on the air intake would be welcome. In fact, any information on all subjects on the decal sheet is of great interest.

Nils

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