Jump to content

1/72 Kinetic F-16I Sufa - Done!


Dermo245

Recommended Posts

Since one of my last builds for 2016 happened to be a Tigermeet Belgian F-16, it was no surprise I was going to be involved in this GB! 

And while I had hoped to build the Greek Zeus 3 Demo Aircraft, the decals aren't yet available so I'm going with this one, fully OOB though I will add a couple of crew from the spares box.

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_zpsswlhcpbi.

 

I've never built a Kinetic kit before and have heard mixed things about this one but here's hoping I can make a go of it.

 

Thanks for looking and good luck with your builds!

Dermot

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Dermo245
photo issues first time around
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome aboard Dermot, I was wondering when we'd see our first Israeli F-16 and I suspect it won't be the only one either!

 

I'll be interested to follow this one as well as I have been very close to buying a Kinetic F-16 quite a few times.

 

Well good luck with the build will be follow it with interest! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And we're off!

First job was to wash the sprues...the plastic had a strange feel to it out of the box so thought some gentle scrubbing might be in order...here it is, drying on a towel :whistle:

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_Contents_zps

 

First impressions 

  • the instruction booklet (not pictured) is tiny so will need to take my time.with reading that.
  • plenty of payload supplied which is great but I might replace a couple of them to match the box art.
  • the Kinetic QC team must have been on a tea break as there are more than a few parts mis-numbered between the sprues and the instructions....a bit frustrating.
  • the plastic I find is soft and some of the pieces have broken off the sprues as you can see above.

Will post some WIP pictures later tonight!

 

Cheers,

Dermot

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

it certainly looks impressive when laid out, I never built a Kinetic model before, well other than the Wolfpack re-boxing of the F-5A and I wasn't that impressed with that one!

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So some progress and a better background for photos than a old towel!

 

Fuselage halves with the main gear bay installed. Don't ask why I glued the nose weights to the upper half! :rolleyes:

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_fuselage%20h

 

Work in progress on the crew....I might get another backseater from a Revell kit as this guy (Hasegawa) looks a bit undersized. Both have had some hip and leg surgery to get them to fit in the seats..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_spare_crew_z

 

Early stage of the cockpit..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_cockpit_wip_

 

And now some issues. I test fitted the engine inlet (Step 4) and the side parts (A3 & A16) need fettling in the area I'm pointing at to remove a step on each side which stops them from meeting the main gear bay smoothly..(this is the after)

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_intake%20mod

 

I also glued the spine avionics hump and found it was short moulded where it meets the rear of the canopy...oh dear..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_spine_issue_

 

I've built two Revell F-16s in 1/72 and they were a joy compared to this....far less fiddly, sharper details and a better fit.

Oh well, mustn't grumble - it's a hobby after all!

 

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Dermot

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the latest with the Sufa...

 

Cockpit finished, ready for the fuselage..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_cockpit_wip_

 

And installed. The upper and lower half fit was mostly good, just some work to do on the nose..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_zps

 

Test fitting showed that i needed to sand these down as well in order to fit the inlet parts..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_inlet_zpsmun

 

But still left a gap which I'll need to try and fill somehow...

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_inlet_2_wip_

 

But some good news......Eyegor's hump fix is coming along nicely!

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_spine_repair

 

Cheers,

Dermot

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So got some more work done on this over the weekend. Fuselage getting there and filled and fixed the gap above the intake (will try post a pic of that later.)

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_2_z

 

Still some work to do on the spine but getting there!

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_spine_repair

 

For loadout, i'm going to follow the box photo so that's two x GBU-10s from the spares box needed. I still can't get over how much stuff this great little jet carries!

 

Thanks for looking.

Dermot

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So with a day off work, managed to get a bit more done on this.

Added all the lumps and bumps as well as the conformal fuel tanks. The manual was really poor at showing where to attach these so checked and rechecked references. They're butt-jointed to the fuselage which is disappointing but seems to work fine - just needed a small bit of filler around the gun port.

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_3_z

 

The intake has cleaned up ok and will see how it looks after some primer which is next!

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_inlet_3_wip_

 

Thanks for looking - hope you're enjoying your F-16 builds.

Dermot

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And so to paint on this one..after a bit of head scratching, I've settled on these colours - won't be 100% accurate but should be ok for the from-6-feet away!

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_pai

 

The 371 light grey for the underside was a bit too light I think and took at least 3 coats brushpainted. But won't be seen that much so not too worried about that. I had tried some of the 76 (on the front left of picture) but that was too dark!  Oh well, lesson learned.

 

First coat of Sky on the top surfaces..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_sky

 

Followed by a second coat and then two coats of Beige. I also had to scratch the RIOs upper instrument panel as I couldn't find the part on the sprues..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_pai

 

And as she looked earlier with the last coat of Dark Earth camo and the Matt grey for the nose. Cockpit is Panzer Grey while the engine can is Revell Steel and a Games Workshop colour I can't quite remember now.

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_airframe_pai

 

Still a few tidy ups needed so please don't look too closely! I've also lost some of the wingtip aerials so they'll all be replaced towards the end.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Dermot

Edited by Dermo245
Steel colour isn't Matt!!
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

nice work with the hairy stick, well done. I think those colours are fine, unless you have a colour corrected monitor then who can argue the point!

 

I love the little square boxes the paint comes in, have never seen them before!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Decals are mostly (!) done on this one. They went down fine, once they released from the backing paper which seemed to take forever.

Oh, and the numbers on the 1/72 decal sheet are completely wrong for the instruction sheet with this kit (which was for the 1/48 kit). So that was a bit of head scratching to compare and find out which decal and tiny stencil went where..

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_decals_1_zps

 

The canopy fix is only ok. I found the part was too narrow for the fuselage and only barely touched the sides in places. I considered plunge moulding a replacement but wasn't keen if I mucked up the original. So I sanded it, test fitted it, then glued it and filled the seams as best as I could. 

 

Next up is decaling this lot. The centreline tank is from the Revell F-16 kit while the GBUs are from Hasegawa weapons set. Everything else is from the kit. For some variety, I painted one of the drop tanks a different shade of light grey - I'm fairly sure that's not 100% accurate but thought it would make for a more interesting finish.

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_loadout_zps5

 

Thanks for looking.

Dermot

 

 

 

Edited by Dermo245
bad grammar!
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks lads.

She's sitting on the gear now- the nosewheel is a spare from an F-14 as I couldn't find the kit one on the sprue.

 

Then a Flory Models dark dirt wash. Still a few areas where it needs cleaning but happy how it turned out.......or is it too dark?

 

Kinetic%201_72_F-16I%20Sufa_wash_zpsomrd

 

Next up, decals for the drop tanks and weapons!

 

All the best,
Dermot

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...