34 replies to this topic

[PaulR]

Evening all,

can't post pics of the kit until tomorrow as digital camera has died on me, but am intending to build an F-16B or BM of the Norwegian airforce. Have a host of aftermarket bits to go on it, including Aires seats, Tamiya pitot/strengthening plates, PWMP fin base, Shaun Hull Penguin missiles and the Vivacious Vipers decal sheet, so plenty to do. The precise plane will be no. 711 of 331 Skv, with the rather fetching blue lightning flash, tricolour tail flash and squadron badge. I've found pictures of her as a modified BM, but am leaning toward doing her as an earlier B, which would allow me to put on the penguin missiles - at least in theory! Still looking for a picture of her pre MLU update, so if anyone knows of any that would be great!

Regards, Paul

Edited by PaulR, 15 July 2012 - 07:34 AM.

[RNoAF Aerobatic Team]

How about doing this one? This is actually 711!!!

Edited by RNoAF Aerobatic Team, 14 April 2012 - 09:18 AM.

[PaulR]

How about doing this one? This is actually 711!!!

Would love to, but need the decals for the NATO 50TH titles - the rest I think I could mask and paint at a push. I'm surprised no one ever did an aftermarket set of decals for this!
Paul

[Vingtor]

I have a couple of prints of pre MLU 711. I will have to scan them though. Please PM me your e-mail address.

The Zotz decals for the Norwegian F-16s (they are not called Vipers in Norway) are very good, except from the 331 Sqn. crest which is printed rather poorly.

Be beware that there are a few inaccuracies in the Zotz instructions:

• The search lights on the nose port side were installed on single seaters only.
• The strenghening plates on the jet intakes were installed on single seaters only, Block 15 and later.

Note that the stencils on 711 (and 712) are not RNoAF standard. These two aircraft were attrition replacement aircraft and had USAF style stencilling (with dark grey rectangles on the cockpit sides). Also note that the walkway lines on RNoAF F-16s (pre MLU) were dark grey, FS 26118.

The Vingtor Decals sheet 40-101 also has decals for 711 with perfectly printed squadron crest and full stenciling and walkway lines. Unfortunately the walkway lines on this sheet is a bit too dark, but Jens Brandal has a good way of dealing with this.

Nils

[PaulR]

I have a couple of prints of pre MLU 711. I will have to scan them though. Please PM me your e-mail address.

The Zotz decals for the Norwegian F-16s (they are not called Vipers in Norway) are very good, except from the 331 Sqn. crest which is printed rather poorly.

Be beware that there are a few inaccuracies in the Zotz instructions:

• The search lights on the nose port side were installed on single seaters only.
• The strenghening plates on the jet intakes were installed on single seaters only, Block 15 and later.

Note that the stencils on 711 (and 712) are not RNoAF standard. These two aircraft were attrition replacement aircraft and had USAF style stencilling (with dark grey rectangles on the cockpit sides). Also note that the walkway lines on RNoAF F-16s (pre MLU) were dark grey, FS 26118.

The Vingtor Decals sheet 40-101 also has decals for 711 with perfectly printed squadron crest and full stenciling and walkway lines. Unfortunately the walkway lines on this sheet is a bit too dark, but Jens Brandal has a good way of dealing with this.

Nils

Hi Nils, PM sent! Thanks for the extra info!
Regards, Paul

[F-32]

That's a really nice scheme!

[PaulR]

Evening all.
Kit pics as required, with aftermarket bits and pieces. The price on the box is £10.75, which shows how long ago I bought that F-16! The box art is just about my favourite Hasegawa box; the grey clouds behind the a/c seems to sum up the Cold War of the late eighties. Anyway . . .

[Vingtor]

I see you have a resin fin base for the B model. Which manufacturer has produced this?

Nils

[PaulR]

I see you have a resin fin base for the B model. Which manufacturer has produced this?

Nils

Hallo Nils,
it is from PWMP (Plastic World Model Products) from Belgium. They do a really good range of Mirage/F-16 stuff, the latter having a wide selection of fin bases for both Hasegawa and Tamiya. The chap who runs it is a top chap to deal with. Let me know if you can't find it; he doesn't have a website, but does respond promptly to emails.
Regards, Paul

[PaulR]

Hi all,
in case I decide to go for a BM, does anybody know where I could get the AMRAAM compatible LAU -129 (I think) missile rails? I have made them in the past myself, and I know some Hasegawa boxings have them, but was looking for a easier/cheaper (delete as applicable!) route!
Cheers, Paul

[PaulR]

Just a quick aside. . .
you know how sometimes you settle on a particular airframe to model without quite knowing why? Well, I finally twigged why I'm going to do 711 of the RNoAF. I was flicking through an old photo album, and I came across a pic of 711 at the North Weald airshow in 1990. It was the summer of my first year at university, and I went with a mate right to the end of the tube line from central London. Had a great day; if memory serves, the events at the North Weald were billed as 'fighter meets' or something similar, and the range of aircraft even at such a relatively small scale event was by today's standards fantastic. There were specially marked Tornado GR1s and Jaguars, as well as two brand new Tornado F3s in 25 sqn marks - might have to do one of these soon! There were also a pair of RNoAF F-16s, which is where I think my interest in the RNoAF started, as I found out that 331 skv and 331 skv were originally RAF squadrons which operated from this base during WW2. Plus the fact that the paint scheme and markings were particularly smart! Anyway, I'm going to do 711 as she was on that day 22 years ago(!) when my biggest worry in life was making my student grant feed my model habit, and things seemed (but actually weren't) much simpler . . .

Paul

Oh, and pics of the actual build tomorrow!

[PaulR]

Evening all,
right - first plastic stuck together. Over the years, I have probably built more than 15 hasegawa F-16s, starting back in 1989 with a block 30 model. Experience has shown me not to build it in the sequence or manner suggested by the instructions, at least not if you want to avoid gaps and filler. I tend to start by adding the wings to the top half of the fuselage. This allows a virtually perfect fit in an otherwise really difficult area to achieve a good finish. Similarly, I added the nose cone (complete with Tamiya metal pitot proble) so that there is no awkward fit here either. I've also added the Aires engine ring, once again to get a really good fit in a very visible area. After this, it's just a case of adding the lower wings and fuselage for minimal fit issues. Works for me anyway!

You can also see the Aires PW100 engine, which really are worth the money not just for the detail but for the ease of masking. The modular construction means you can paint the different parts and then simply slot them together.

Finally, I've put the fuel tanks together, not forgetting to trim the tank fins to the later configuration, and also started to convert one of the Sidewinders to an AMA. The dark grey resing is the PWMP tail with parabrake extension.

More later. . .

Edited by PaulR, 22 April 2012 - 08:19 PM.

[Jaffe284]

Gotta follow this one

[Mish]

She taking shape nicely.

[periklis_sale]

nice start ans great tip for build sequence mate!

[davidsm]

good start there

[PaulR]

Evening all,

thought I'd better get a couple of progress shots in - some people have finished theirs already! Anyway, I add to faff around with the tail fin as I hadn't glued it straight; I've had to blend in the inevitable gaps with a little milliput.


I've also just about finished the cockpit. I build my planes withe canopies closed, most of time, so I don't tend to go overboard with the bits you are not going to see. However, I have replaced the seats with Aires ACES seats; the white plastic is H shaped plastic strip cut and sanded to represent the ejection seat rails. This is a pet gripe of mine - I don't think I've seen an aftermarket ACES seat with these very visible rails. Not a big deal to add them, but still - why miss them in the first place? Anyway, a coat of primer tomorrow, and I'll be aiming to get it painted and the fuselage closed up asap.
I've also added ventral fins, kit undercarriage bays and the air intake. I've found a Steel Beach resin intake cover, which will add a bit of colour, and will save filling and masking a notorious seam in the Hasegawa kit.


More as and when.
Paul
P.S. would RNoAF F-16 (and 711 in particular) have had the large wing reinforcing plates circa 1990? These aren't the fuselage plates that are a feature of later reinforcements, but the wing root ones just near the flaps that apparently started to be added around 1989. I'd like to add them, but am aiming for an accurate build for that date.

Edited by PaulR, 29 April 2012 - 07:52 PM.

[periklis_sale]

Great Work!

[wellzy]

Nice cleane build keep it going

wellzy

[RNoAF Aerobatic Team]

Looking good. Nice to see a fighter from "home":-)