1/72 F-16D DFLCS

[Old Viper Tester]

Will be building this kit 

As the F-16D Digital Flight Control System (DFLCS) test jet

With home-made tail markings lower middle on the sheet

Sven

Old Viper Tester

[SimonT]

Like I said in your other thread, knew nothing of this till now. The white on the tail makes it really stand out. I really like the look of this.

[trickyrich]

and welcome again Sven, with your second build and again another interesting subject.

 

I do like the home decals you have and it looks like there are quite a few more to be built from that sheet as well.

 

Again good luck with the builds and nice to have you along. 

[Old Viper Tester]

Photobucket went catty-wampus since last night, been mostly looking at the pinwheel up until now. Finally able to upload some pics

For the F-16D, I’ve installed the cockpit tub and ventral fins. Also ground out and drilled the cannon port. Before I went too far, I wanted to make sure I could make the spin chute quadrapod fittings. This is what I’m attempting to represent:

 

 

This is what I’ve got so far using Evergreen strip. The strips are a bit thicker than I’d like, but they were easier to work with.

At first I tried using thin aluminium for the angle irons, but I kept running into difficulty with creases and keeping them straight.

Adding the base plates for the attachment fittings shouldn’t be too bad, but I’m still pondering on making the brackets themselves.

I always seem to have one gap in the lower wing roots when assembling the Hasegawa F-16s. This is no exception. Filled the gap with stretched sprue. May use card stock to close up the leading edge flap gap.

Thanks for looking

Sven

Old Viper Tester

[trickyrich]

very nice!

Did you try or think of trying the .020" x .010" (or next size up) strip to make the "L's"? I know the angle rod you're using, it is a wee bit thick and I think that's the smallest they make.

 

Either way I love the idea of this so have got seat &   ready for the next instalment!

[Old Viper Tester]

On 1/28/2017 at 6:22 PM, trickyrich said:

Did you try or think of trying the .020" x .010" (or next size up) strip to make the "L's"? I know the angle rod you're using, it is a wee bit thick and I think that's the smallest they make.

 

I decided to can the plastic and went back to aluminium in trying to get the spin chute attachment hardware presentable. I’ve chiseled off the evergreen L-stock. Tried several times to get the take-away aluminium stock to work, but still had problems with creasing and getting the shapes to hold.

This weekend I tried beer can aluminum. Worked fairly well. It’s a little difficult to shape on such a small scale, but I’m to the point where I’ll take it.

 

This pic also shows the last attempt using the softer take-away aluminium.

 

The straps high on the fuselage should really be inverted T-shaped , but that is well beyond my capabilities. The L-shaped stock gets the impression across. The plates for the quadrapod attachment brackets are in place. 

 

The next challenge is the attachment brackets themselves. Making several identical flanges with either of the aluminium stocks will be a real challenge. Maybe 0.005 plastic sheet will do. Another trip to the LHS is in order.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Old Viper Tester

 

[trickyrich]

that's some nice scratch building/metal work!

 

I've never thought of using "beer can" aluminium before, I generally use thin brass sheet if I'm working with metal. Hmm and what a great way to build up stock of aluminium!

[SoftScience]

brilliant reuse! 

 

I think the L shape works fine too, but if you were wanting to be really particular, you can just lay down the other side of the T as a flat piece, and mate it to the base of the L. In a sense like this _ ---> L  =  _L 

[Old Viper Tester]

On 2/23/2017 at 0:58 PM, SoftScience said:

I think the L shape works fine too, but if you were wanting to be really particular, you can just lay down the other side of the T as a flat piece, and mate it to the base of the L. In a sense like this _ ---> L  =  _L 

 

Thanks SoftScience. I may yet give that a go, depends on my level of frustration getting the other bracketry together.

 

Sven 

Old Viper Tester

[Old Viper Tester]

While waiting for the 0.005 stock to arrive at my LHS, I’ve assembled a fuselage, attached the wings, and started work on the True Details resin seats.

Also began to get the tail markings out of the way. Another obstacle. The tail markings I made turned out just a tad too large – the F-16D DFLCS legend being just a bit too long to fit on the tail. Rather than resize the artwork and print a whole new decal sheet, I’m going to try some surgery on the original one-piece decal. It is now five separate pieces and I’m going to try to move the lettering together to fit the tail.

Here, the tail has been painted Floquil Reefer White, the areas for the deals masked and the tail painted gray.  The Flight Test Center tail band has been applied and the now separate blue borders for the DFLCS marking. Once these decals have set. I’ll add the remaining pieces and keep my fingers crossed.

This pic also shows the tail for an F-16A Digital Electronic Engine Control test jet, another work in progress and another tail decal challenge. More on that later.

Thanks for looking,

Sven

[SoftScience]

Oh man, those are home made? You're quite the decal wizard.

 

Those look great

[trickyrich]

gosh I love these home made decals!

 

What sort of printer do you use to print these? Anything special software wise? 

 

You may have to run a class for us lot in how to make your own decals.......or take commissions! 

[Old Viper Tester]

4 hours ago, trickyrich said:

What sort of printer do you use to print these? Anything special software wise? 

 

This set was one of the last I did on an HP office multi-machine (copier, fax, printer). I don't remember the model. I had a deal with my boss that I would do custom markings for people leaving the office. The office team would purchase a desk model, usually 1/48 scale. I would remove the stock markings and apply personalized markings - usually a test jet that was used in one of the projects supported by the person leaving. I would fill out the empty space on the sheet with marking for my own (eventual) use.  Because I usually printed doubles or triples of the required markings on a single sheet (just in case), I have a pretty good stock of markings for Eglin and Nellis test jets.

 

Now that I've retired, and still have a supply of Experts Choice blank decal paper for laser printers, I've been taking my decal files to the local FedEx Office store for printing. This is a real hit-or-miss proposition. I've had very few examples print perfectly. Some of the issues have been smearing, ink (toner) not adhering, and printing in a size other than 100%. When there are problems, FedEx usually doesn't charge me, but I've still expended a $3 sheet of decal paper.

 

Software - I'm only now looking into a real graphics program. Previously, I had to use programs common with the office applications. I've been using MS PowerPoint. After years of illustrating my own presentations at work (we joke about being PowerPoint Rangers and having PowerPoint merit badges), I'd become pretty good at improvising to get the illustration I want. PP has basic graphics capability and I found that grouping items and saving them as an image (JPEG or PNG) and then binging that image back into the PP file ensured that the items maintained proportions as I scaled them up or down to the proper size. Changing text to an image also ensured getting the font you want as some printers don't support all fonts - very surprising when your screen image shows USAF Amarillo and your printed decal comes out in Arial! Printing as a PP slide also (usually) assured that the print size would remain true to the image as prepared on the screen.

 

For detailed artwork I would usually scan an image and then draw over it in the MS Office paint application. Making a fairly large image so that when it was resized to a much smaller image, the coarseness of the paint file would be minimized.

 

Sorry about the extensive blather. Hope this makes sense,

 

Sven

 

[trickyrich]

thanks for that Sven, it does make perfect sense! 

 

I really need to replace/upgrade my dodgy inkjet printer, colour laser ones aren't really cheap here in OZ! Graphics shouldn't be too hard, if I get stuck I can always try and enlist the wife, she use to be a graphic designer.

 

So after seeing you work I may have to give it a try....though probably a bit later in the year......

 

again thanks for that!!   

[Old Viper Tester]

On 3/2/2017 at 5:31 PM, trickyrich said:

I may have to give it a try

 

Guess I should complete the process description...

 

Use a medium weight paper, high-gloss stock setting on the printer - called gloss presentation in some printer interfaces. If you use a standard paper setting, the toner usually smears or does not cover well. Your printer may balk at the heavier paper as well, so always check the interface settings before hitting "Print".

 

I also make a couple of copies on plain paper stock. Both to check the layout before I commit to expending decal paper and also to use as masks when I need a white background - no ALPS printer here... Either paint the area for the decal on the model white and apply a cut-out paper copy of the graphic as a mask - I use small tape loops behind the paper mask, then paint the aircraft base color, or if the aircraft is already painted, cut out the graphic and use the resulting hole in the paper as a mask to apply the white where needed. Both masking methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

Here, the female mask is applied where the LANTIRN logo will go on the F-16 intake:

 

White background applied:

 

Decals in place:

 

These decals are translucent, so a white background should be used for any color graphics being applied to a dark aircraft, e.g., I apply a white background for every artwork decal on a gunship gray F-15E.

 

The example below is a Revell 1/48 with white background applied for the tail band, Materiel Command shield on the tail, and 46th Flight Test Squadron badge on the intake (46th Test Wing shield on the opposite side).

 

 

I always coat the printed decal sheet with Microscale liquid decal paper. Though I'm told any clear coat will do, some (like Krylon) may react with the ink/toner. The instructions say to spray the liquid decal paper or use a soft brush. I've not had any luck spraying the stuff, so I stick with a soft brush, lightly spreading the film over the decal. It will have brush marks at first, but it eventually levels itself. If you use a hard brush or press too hard, the ink/toner may smear or flake. The clear coat will stick to the underlying paper if there are any scratches or cuts in the film, so apply the coating to the entire sheet (at least where your decal graphics are printed), then cut out the decals once the coating is dry.

 

These decals can be brittle, so a little more care is needed in handling and placing them. Once in place, I apply a little Solvaset to the decal, then almost immediately roll a moistened cotton bud over the decal to remove the Solvaset and squeegee any excess water from under the decal. If you use a dry cotton bud, it may lift the decal.

 

I think that's it...

 

Sven

Edited March 31, 2017 by Old Viper Tester
Information correction

[trickyrich]

thanks for that, you have gotten my interests up in printing my own decals.

[Old Viper Tester]

I’ve got the five-part decal puzzle that is the DFLCS tail band together such that it fits on the vertical tail:

 

 

 

The DEEC tail is still a little rough, but I think I can make it presentable.

I’ve also got most of the DFLCS airframe together

The bad news is that I will be diverted for the next couple of weeks, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish these other F-16s in the allotted GB window.  A friend of mine is retiring from the same office I retired from last year, working on the F-15 program. The office contacted me to see if I would "come out of retirement” to do one more personalized retirement model. I agreed, but it’s more than what I usually did in the past. I’ve been given this in 1/42 scale:

… and have to convert it to the proposed F-15QA variant. Changing the paint and the markings will be the easy part. I’ll have to scratch the new double aperture stingers at the tail, add the MWS fairings on either side of the forward fuselage, add pylons and suspension equipment on Stations 1 and 9, make a new targeting pod pylon incorporating an IR sensor, and fabricate some realistic stores in this odd scale.

As you can see at the back of my less-than-neat spray booth, I have completed touching up the Sufa camo.

Thanks for looking. Hoping I’ll be back at the vipers before too long.

Sven

[trickyrich]

it'd be great if you can finish them Sven, but perfectly understandable if you can't.

 

The F-15 sounds like quite a task specially in such an odd scale.

 

The build thread stays open even after the build officially closes, only the gallery is locked. So feel free to keep updating when you can as I expect theres a lot of interest in the remaining builds you have. Plus if a few photos of the F-15 beast just happen to accidentally get posted in this thread   ......I don't think anyone would object! 

[Old Viper Tester]

I finished the presentation F-15QA last night and delivered it to the program office this morning for the retirement luncheon. Now that's out of the way, I can get back to these Vipers.

The F-15QA is to be based on the F-15SA. Biggest changes from the USAF jets are the fly-by-wire flight control system, addition of a missile warning system (MWS), and the re-introduction of Stations 1 and 9. Like many of the export Strikes, all of the stores stations are fitted for the 1760 mix interface, making them compatible with GPS weapons. IIRC this means that the CFT shoulder pylons are about 6 inches longer than the USAF pylons. The QA also has the wider TGP pylon incorporating an IRST system.

To make the original 1/42 scale Lakenheath F-15E into a QA, I binned the CBUs and generic AIMs, added the MWS fairings beneath the rear canopy rail and double-bubble apertures on the tail stingers, added Stations 1 and 9 pylons and suspension, carved a new Sniper pod, and built up an IRST pylon. AIM-120s and AIM-9Xs were fashioned from wooden dowels with plasticard fins - trying to cast these in resin was a disaster. The 12 CBUs were replaced with GBU-54s cast in resin from a carved plastic body master and added plasticard fins. That's 80 plasticard fins cut and secured with epoxy (AIMs) or CA (GBUs). I didn't bother with lengthening the CFT shoulder pylons.

Markings were printed on Experts Choice clear decal paper with a laser printer and applied using the methods described above - some of the painted white background is peeking out from the roundels. The NAV pod and pylon were cast from a mold I'd been using when I was doing a lot of 1/48 presentation F-15Es. It's not 1/42, but it is slightly larger than 1/48. The paint scheme is supposed to be 36375 and 36320. I didn't think the Dark Ghost Grey made for enough contrast, so I added about 50 percent Neutral Grey. 

Apologies for the detour. Now back to Test Vipers...

OVT

[trickyrich]

no problems at all, gosh she does look really nice!!!!

[Old Viper Tester]

Not having much luck with metals or thinner card stock, I've gone with this for the quadruapod attachment points. They are over-sized, particularly in height, but they at least make a representation...

 

 

 

Some painting done and the vertical tail attached...

 

 

More work on the camo and the stores...

 

 

The CBUs are from a Hasegawa weapons set. Will be fixing those in a slant-two configuration on the TERs, the ALQ-119 will go on the centreline. The kit AIM-9Js will will be masked to show training round markings and loaded on the wing tips. True Details resin seats in the cockpit. Also need to fashion a YAPS (yaw-and-pitch sensor) nose probe.

 

Probably won't get much further today, but I'll keep updating the thread. 

 

Thanks for looking,

OVT

 

 

[trickyrich]

they don't look too bad at all, for anyone who doesn't know the aircraft or who hasn't seen photos of the aircraft, they wouldn't pick it up! 

 

They just add to the aircrafts uniqueness, which is super cool!!!