DaveJL Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 (edited) Hello all, Here is my second entry for this GB. Tamiya F-16CJ Block 50. The Kit: Sprues: The aftermarket: Will also be adding a resin Sniper pod, HTS, GBU-38's and GBU-12's from various sources. I plan to make something like this: CAS F-16 for ops in Afghanistan. I will be using the 'colour' jet (the top one!) from the Afterburner sheet. Dave Edited May 27, 2012 by DaveJL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 (edited) Hopefully this one will fit better than the Kinetic one. That really is an interesting weapons load. But what a traitor starting this before the Tomcat F1, Ha Ha. Edited May 27, 2012 by Jabba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Hopefully this one will fit better than the Kinetic one. That really is an interesting weapons load. But what a traitor starting this before the Tomcat F1, Ha Ha. It does, i've build one before As for the Tomcat, they will likely be built in tandem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Nice decal sheat looking forward to the build. wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Nice decal sheat looking forward to the build.wellzy Thanks mate. Should be commencing building next week! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Quick question on this for those 'in the know'.... What is the difference between 'Navy' GBU-38's and 'Air Force' GBU-38's? I've a set of Wolfpack's 'Navy' ones but don't know what the difference is! Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Quick question on this for those 'in the know'....What is the difference between 'Navy' GBU-38's and 'Air Force' GBU-38's? I've a set of Wolfpack's 'Navy' ones but don't know what the difference is! Cheers Dave I think the fuses are different and possibly the Navy ones would have an ablative coating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 I think the fuses are different and possibly the Navy ones would have an ablative coating? The ones i have are smooth. Perhaps it is the fuses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaffe284 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 The difference is the ablative cover on the Navy edition. Supposedly to make them harder to ignite when/if a fire onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 The difference is the ablative cover on the Navy edition. Supposedly to make them harder to ignite when/if a fire onboard. The ones I have here have no covering so I guess I can use them on the F-16! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaffe284 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Yupp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Made a start on this kit today. 4 hours and boy did i get a lot done! First stage was, of course, the cockpit: Brush painted with the details 'picked out' in red, silver, grey and yellow using the tip of a cocktail stick. Next up was the main landing gear bay assembly: Absolutely no dramas here. Fit was perfect. Next was the main intake. As i'm adding a FOD cover, i decided not to paint the interior parts: Again, the fit was perfect (unlike the Kinetic kit!). Attached the Steel Beach FOD cover next. This will require a bit of filler just to tidy up the join: Tail fin: Cockpit inserted, main wheel bay in place and fuselage halves attached. I cannot imagine a better fitting kit to this. Just falls together: And finally for today, the ordnance: The AIM-120's and AIM-9's are from the kit (undecided if i will use all 4 or just go for the 2x AIM-120's on the wingtip launchers as per the 1st photo in my initial post). The GBU-38's, left side HTS (HARM target sensor) and Sniper pylon are from Hasegawa Weapon set 'E'. The TER and GBU-12's are from wepaons set 'D' and the VER is from a Hasegawa F/A-18D. The only thing missing is the Sniper pod (which is on it's way). One thing i'm not sure about is wether to include the kits ECM pod on the centre line station. I know ECM is not really needed over Afghanistan, but then again, neither are 4 air to air missiles! 4 hours of this kit and the only conclusion I can draw is that it is the best fitting model i have ever built. Fantastic work Tamiya! Now please if we can have a 1/48 F-14, F/A-18, F-15, Typhoon, Tornado, Mig-29 and Flanker i'd be ever so grateful More to follow. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Quick question on this one...does anyone know what the correct model master colours would be for this (and other) USAF jets? cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundown Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 (edited) F-16 USAF 3 tone scheme: Upper surfaces FS 36118: Model Master 1723 Gunship Grey Sides and wingtip missile rails FS 36270: Model Master 1725 Neutral Grey Undersides, pylons and drop tanks FS 36375: Model Master 1728 Light Ghost Grey Sean Edited June 3, 2012 by Sundown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 F-16 USAF 3 tone scheme:Upper surfaces FS 36118: Model Master 1723 Gunship Grey Sides and wingtip missile rails FS 36270: Model Master 1725 Neutral Grey Undersides, pylons and drop tanks FS 36375: Model Master 1728 Light Ghost Grey Sean Thanks mate. I've heard that the USAF jets are only two tone paint? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundown Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 (edited) Depends on what stage of life you are depicting the jet. F-16's left the factory wearing the 3 tone scheme but when they had their first re-paint it was in the two tone scheme. In which case just lose the light ghost grey from the underside, and use FS 36270 Neutral Grey for all but the upper surface. It's worth noting that some external tanks may still be painted FS 36375 Light Ghost Grey but there is little tonal difference between light and Neutral Grey which is, I suspect, why the USAF dropped it from the paint scheme. Sean Edited June 3, 2012 by Sundown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Depends on what stage of life you are depicting the jet. F-16's left the factory wearing the 3 tone scheme but when they had their first re-paint it was in the two tone scheme. In which case just lose the light ghost grey from the underside, and use FS 36270 Dark Ghost Grey for all but the upper surface. It's worth noting that some external tanks may still be painted FS 36375 Light Ghost Grey but there is little tonal difference between light and Dark Ghost Grey which is I suspect why the USAF dropped it from the paint scheme.Sean Spot on, thanks for the info. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike V Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Depends on what stage of life you are depicting the jet. F-16's left the factory wearing the 3 tone scheme but when they had their first re-paint it was in the two tone scheme. In which case just lose the light ghost grey from the underside, and use FS 36270 Neutral Grey for all but the upper surface. It's worth noting that some external tanks may still be painted FS 36375 Light Ghost Grey but there is little tonal difference between light and Neutral Grey which is, I suspect, why the USAF dropped it from the paint scheme.Sean Actually the tonal difference one on one between light gray FS 36375 and neutral gray FS 36270 significantly noticeable. When my jet has a neutral gray and a light gray wingtank, it's quite noticable. The reason why the Air Force no longer paints the F-16 in 3 tone gray was more a cost cutting reason than anything else. It's cheaper to paint the aircraft in 2 tone gray than 3. Also note that the external tanks average about a 50-50 mix of light gray (FS 36375) and neutral gray; FS 36270 in most units. It's not uncommon to have a neutral gray and a light gray wingtank configured on the same aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundown Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Actually the tonal difference one on one between light gray FS 36375 and neutral gray FS 36270 significantly noticeable. When my jet has a neutral gray and a light gray wingtank, it's quite noticable. Thanks for the info Mike. When I referred to the tonal differences I was thinking more in scale terms, at 1:1 scale it would be way more obvious! Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike V Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 True, seeing the jet in the sky or taxing at a distance, you can't really tell between the two tones. My perspective was from a closer view (or demarcation line) of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Thanks for the info chaps. I'll have a look into the colours. I'll probably end up painting the tanks light ghost grey, as I've plenty of it and that seems to be the colour in a good few of my references. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 More done this evening. Really enjoying the ease of building on this one! Exhaust area painted: Tamiya provide the ducting as one piece, thus eliminating nasty seam lines like those on the Kinetic kit. Installed this onto the fuselage as well as adding the ventral strakes, arrestor hook, antennae, flaps and beer can antennae on the wings: Moved onto the nose section next. This will definitely be the hardest bit to clean up and will require some filler: Added the Sniper pylon to the intake and applied the first helping of filler to the FOD join: Overall shot of the jet for today: Next up is to tidy the nose, add the intake and tail fin and, errr, that's about it! More to follow. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Aerobatic Team Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Nice job there, mate! Always good to see a F-16 take shape! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Nice job there, mate!Always good to see a F-16 take shape! Thanks mate. This Tmaiya kit is quite something. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Looking good Dave ,it gets better and better!! wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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