Pappy Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 (edited) G'day people, I like F-16's. I have pulled this already started F-16 from the cupboard of shame. A few of my modelling mates decided to have an F-16 challenge. Whilst I did manage to get one finished, http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234982805-hasegawa-172-f-16n-top-gun/?hl=pappy Unfortunately, this one did not make it that far. Anyhoooooo, I have decided that I want this one done before the end of the year. The Hasegawa F-16 kits are good, lately surpassed by Tamiya's effort (and to some extent Kinetic), but they do have some delicate detail and importantly they go together quite well. With the advent of the newer kits, the Hasegawa kits can be bought quite reasonably. I managed to get two 1/48 has kits and some PE for just $10AUS at our annual swap and sell. No doubt people getting rid of their 'crappy' Hasegawa kit for the latest and greatest. So, here is where I got up to before I stopped, A PE set was included and some of the details were added to the cockpit. To be really accurate, the canopy actuator/motor should live in a recessed area at the front of the aft turtle deck. I had originally intended to build this kit wheels up (canopy down) so I did not bother to correct this. I bought a PE set to depict the fuselage strengthening plates that have been retrofitted to several F-16's during their mid life update. I also decided to utilise the option of open speed brakes, so these were removed prior to assembling the fuselage. I also added the engine exhaust. Many builders add this last but i have found that the 'doughnut' does not fit that well as the contours do not match the fuselage no matter how careful the builder is. Although it will require more masking I decide to do the filling and sanding now, rather than wait until the end and have a really obvious seam. i realise that there is a natural panel line here, but I find it does not match the other fuselage panel lines. The engine interior was weathered up using oils, both neat and as a wash. So, today I decide to mess around with the main gear bays. Instead of buying resin, I have added bits and pieces of etch, wire and plastic to try and emulate this busy area. I have since removed the PE mesh panel located between the APU inlet and exhaust doors. The PE instructions indicated that this was where it lived and I blindly trusted them. When I pulled this kit out and started looking at my refs for the wheel bays I realised the mistake -grrrrrr! cheers, Pappy Edited November 9, 2015 by Pappy 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 I seem to recall you working on this one before Pappy. I had wondered what happened to it. So what scheme will it wear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 I seem to recall you working on this one before Pappy. I had wondered what happened to it. So what scheme will it wear? Patience grasshopper! cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary West Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Another masterpiece on its way.............early Norwegian or maybe Dutch please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Another masterpiece on its way.............early Norwegian or maybe Dutch please G'day Westy! Thanks but no cigar! A Norwegian F-16 would be cool though (no pun intended)though as you don't see many of those on the model table and it would mean that you could hang a pair of Penguins (the missiles!!) underneath cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) G'day people, When I bought this kit (secondhand), the previous owner had attempted to copy what I think was an Aries resin nose wheel bay. The intake parts were already assembled. Whilst the work on this section was to a good standard, the resin copy was quite poor, exhibiting lots of air bubbles, pitting and generally a crappy effort. I had already glued this intake assembly in place as I was originally intending an in-flight kit, but as I changed my mind I decided that the nosewheel bay had to go. I removed the whole assembly by brushing along the joints with liquid glue to persuade the parts to come free. It was a risky approach but the whole intake assembly eventually popped free with some coaxing. I was able to source a spare intake assembly from another Hasegawa kit, as it had the options for both the NSI and MCID intakes. I did have a genuine resin nose wheel bay available, so this was installed after first removing the kit nose wheel bay details I also had a resin ground power panel from a detail set that I bought many (many) years ago when I was a little tacker. The kit was a failure, but I kept the resin bits because I had read about the importance of the mythical 'spares box', and I decided that I would keep all the extra parts, as well as harvesting useful bits like wheels, ejection seats, drop tanks etc from kits that did not get finished. The refuelling panel installation required that a panel from the right intake side was removed. This resin insert also interfered with the fit of the intake ramp, so a small cut-out was made to accommodate it Next up, a pair of re-enforcing plates were added on either side of the emergency arrester hook. These panels are moulded by Hasegawa but they are poorly defined. I sanded them off and made up a new par from some .005" card. Now for some fun. The ordnance supplied was painted up. A belly tank and the missiles, all inert I also noticed that this gun gas door should be open on the ground. I cut the panel out and made a new door (only temp fitted at this stage) The belly pylon was swapped out and replaced with one form a Kinetic Viper kit. I like the detail and shape of these better. Hasegawa pylons have large square recesses that correspond with large square bits on the jugs. This makes for a solid but ugly looking join. It fit surprisingly well, and only needed a small amount of putty to blend it in, cheers, Pappy Edited November 8, 2015 by Pappy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Nice work Pappy. I'm no fan of the F-16 but enjoy seeing models being made well and that's always the case with your projects. I'm hopeful you're picking a less common South American or Middle Eastern scheme for this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Nice to see the words put into pictures Pappy. Love the detail you've put into it. Keep going! Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janremco Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Nice on this Viper. Another Viper build to follow. Great the busy wheel bays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Nice work Pappy. I'm no fan of the F-16 but enjoy seeing models being made well and that's always the case with your projects. I'm hopeful you're picking a less common South American or Middle Eastern scheme for this one Thanks Col, to each their own. It won't be one of the usual suspects, I can assure you Nice to see the words put into pictures Pappy. Love the detail you've put into it. Keep going! Mick Cheers Mick. Nice on this Viper. Another Viper build to follow. Great the busy wheel bays. G'day J, you can never have too many Viper builds! G'day people, I thought I had lost my pics from the earlier build stages but I managed to find them tucked away in a sub-folder of another hard drive. So to back track a little, here are the cockpit build up pics. The cockpit tub was prepared for the PE set consoles. This involved sanding off the moulded details. Sidewall PE details were added Note that the kit throttle as supplied is devoid of all the knobs and switches found on the real item The seat also received some attention. The flight data recorder and a seat arming switch were added Once the tub was painted, the printed PE details were attached A few detail items were added to add some additional interest. I am ambivalent towards the printed PE detail. I think that they are very neat and but I think they lack texture and look a little too flat. They are great for stuff like instrument panels but in hindsight I would have preferred to leave the kit side details. The throttle switches were added as well as an electrical cable for the map light Finally, the seat painted up with the PE belts added 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorLars Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janremco Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Nice work on the cock pit. I like the PE details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Lovely! Nice work on the cock pit. I like the PE details. Thanks gents! I think that the pre-painted PE looks okay in 1/72, but it less realistic in 1/48 scale. I think that if I did not add the pilot's oxy hose and the other details the cockpit would look look a little too flat and lifeless. G'day people, I have assembled the under wing tanks Unmodified, the Hasegawa tanks have incorrectly shaped fins. I decided to alter these to a more correct shape. Here is a pic with a modified tank next to the original shape Continuing along with the theme of things under wings, I wanted to hang a pair of AGM-65's on my jet so I sourced a pair from my spares box. My load will be a practice load so the rear fins were removed from the missiles to make them into CATM-65's. I also wanted these to look a little worn as well. The launchers were also completed and added to their respective pylons Finally, I have replaced the kit CATM-9M with a better item. The replacement missile has thinner rear fins. My references show that the CATM was installed without the forward maneuvering fins installed so I removed these and drilled out the fin mounting points I have also started to play around with some weathering effects on the belly tank cheers, Pappy 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janremco Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Nice weathering what did you use for weathering? Very currious about the weapons lay out and airforce. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 G'day people, Not much done today. I did manage to clean up the undercarriage units and and some brake lines to the main gear legs, cheers, Pappy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Leijdens Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) Outstanding work there Pappy! I'm working on a 1/48 Hasegawa Viper too but not with the same amount of extra detailing like you. Looking forward to your end result mate! I have noticed one thing that you might want to correct since you corrected numerous other things; the Vulcan cannon port is of the first type used, but since you have used the stiffners on the fuselage of the present day F-16A model it should be the cannon port with just 2 vents. It seems that you have one of the first Hasegawa F-16 kit(with the cannon port molded in the fuselage) because later boxing offer two types of cannon ports separately. But very great work I will use this thread as reference for my build Erik Edited November 10, 2015 by Knetterik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Looks good! Cheers Phil! Outstanding work there Pappy! I'm working on a 1/48 Hasegawa Viper too but not with the same amount of extra detailing like you. Looking forward to your end result mate! I have noticed one thing that you might want to correct since you corrected numerous other things; the Vulcan cannon port is of the first type used, but since you have used the stiffners on the fuselage of the present day F-16A model it should be the cannon port with just vents. It seems that you have one of the first Hasegawa F-16 kit(with the cannon port molded in the fuselage) because later boxing offer two types of cannon ports separately. But very great work I will use this thread as reference for my build Erik G'day Erik,, Thanks very much and you are absolutely correct about the gun port. I did pick it up but as you say, it is an early boxing with the original port moulded in place. I originally intended this build as a pole sitter and I was building for speed, so I was not too fussed about correcting stuff. When I re-started this build, I decided the remedial work was not worth the effort, but that is a decision that each builder can make for themselves. I don't know about using my thread for reference, I am not really building for 100% accuracy here, just adding some details where I can. I have since progressed to priming so I am not going back to fix it. The stiffeners are actually designed for the Tamiya kit, but they seem to fit this kit okay. They don't line up exactly along all the panel lines but they are pretty close. I am looking forward to pics of your build, cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Leijdens Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Ok thanks for clearing things up, was afraid you missed something! But you put some great effort into it, myself i'm building my F-16 almost completely OOB except of the ejection seat and decals. I like you drop tank weathering very much! Just wondering what air force it will be! My F-16 will be a Block 40 from Bahrain when they were deployed in Desert Storm in '91. My first F-16 since my youth, nowadays I used to only build ww2 aircraft so it's a bit uncomfortably building a Viper. Some progress can be viewed on Scalemates: http://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=14213&p=albums&album=25213 Maybe I will open a thread here to Looking forward to your progress Pappy! Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 G'day Erik, I hope you do start a thread. This is the boxing that I am using, It is definitely one of the earlier boxings, I think first released around 1983 and re-boxed with some new sprues in 1987, cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Thanks gents! I think that the pre-painted PE looks okay in 1/72, but it less realistic in 1/48 scale. I think that if I did not add the pilot's oxy hose and the other details the cockpit would look look a little too flat and lifeless. G'day people, I have assembled the under wing tanks Unmodified, the Hasegawa tanks have incorrectly shaped fins. I decided to alter these to a more correct shape. Here is a pic with a modified tank next to the original shape Continuing along with the theme of things under wings, I wanted to hang a pair of AGM-65's on my jet so I sourced a pair from my spares box. My load will be a practice load so the rear fins were removed from the missiles to make them into CATM-65's. I also wanted these to look a little worn as well. The launchers were also completed and added to their respective pylons Finally, I have replaced the kit CATM-9M with a better item. The replacement missile has thinner rear fins. My references show that the CATM was installed without the forward maneuvering fins installed so I removed these and drilled out the fin mounting points I have also started to play around with some weathering effects on the belly tank cheers, Pappy Are those fin styles particular to the operator that you're using or standard. I'm sure I've seen the pointy versions before. Great work on the ordnance too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Are those fin styles particular to the operator that you're using or standard. I'm sure I've seen the pointy versions before. Great work on the ordnance too. G'day Mick, I just think that Hasegawa stuffed up and got the fin shape wrong. This is a very early kit, based on their 1983 kit, although re-released in 1987 with new parts, but they did not update the tanks. Tamiya and Kinetic both got it right cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Just had a look through this thread and the weathering on both the exhaust and ordnance / tanks is fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Just had a look through this thread and the weathering on both the exhaust and ordnance / tanks is fantastic! G'day Mark, Thanks very much. G'day people, Progress continues. I have applied the main colours, painted the wheel bays and begun the weathering process, I picked out the AAR door with a hairy stick. Once dry, I added some scratches using a soft lead pencil. cheers, Pappy 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uilleann Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Amazing work Pappy! If I can't watch you finish that incredible F-117 build...this will fill in nicely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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