Tamiya 1/48 F-16

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Just thought you might want to see Tamiya's 1/48 F-16.

It is a lovely kit but not perfect buy a long way. Anyway here's a look at the 1/48 cockpit and then the 1/32.

my main complaint is the pin marks an the positions that there in.

The pin marks are quite deep and in very alquad positions like the undercarriage legs and gear doors.

The problem at the moment is lining up the to intake parts.

[Mike]

Looks pretty good OOB, doesn't it? Those ejector marks are a bit icky, but I guess they must have been necessary. Will follow this with interest

[Stephen]

Phil,

I had problems there last night while trying to get the intake to mate with the forward fuselage where it's a little TOO snugand required some brute force.I've since been told by a couple of guys over on ARC that the secret is to put the whole intake together then add it to the fuselage.I also was left with a gap where the forward part of the wheel bay meets the cover but I think that might be down to me.Your cockpit looks great though.

Stephen

[JakeEaton]

Seeing all these in progress builds make me want mine to come faster Anychance of listing the paints that it asks for Phil just so I can order them in advance of the model arriving...cheers!

[Phil @ Flory Models]

I found the problem!

It's the main gear/ rear engine and how it sits in the lower fuselage. Make sure it in properly as it sits a little high and that's why they don't match up. I put the front part on the intake in and glue it to the lower fuselage but not the two intake parts. when dry i put a drop of zap a gap on the two intake half's a put pressure on the front part of the join, held for a minute and it fit fine. you cant see it from the front at all.

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Seeing all these in progress builds make me want mine to come faster Anychance of listing the paints that it asks for Phil just so I can order them in advance of the model arriving...cheers!

It's the standard F-16 colours of FS36118 gunship gray, FS36270 medium gray, FS36375 light compass gray

[neilfgr2]

Can you do a Greek one out of this kit???? It's the only one I wanted to do..

Cheers,

Neil

[JakeEaton]

Cheers for that Phil but is there not a list of X numbers on the instruction sheet?

[Stephen]

Can you do a Greek one out of this kit???? It's the only one I wanted to do..

Cheers,

Neil

Yes http://www.f-16.net/f-16_users_article5.html

HTH

Stephen

[Stephen]

Cheers for that Phil but is there not a list of X numbers on the instruction sheet?

The main Tamiya colours are listed as

AS-26 Light Ghost Grey

AS-27 Gunship Grey 2

AS-28 Medium Grey

AS-10 RAF Ocean Grey

These are all spray cans AFAIK

The other colours are X-1/2/4/7/8/10/11/12/18/25/27/28/31/32 and XF-1/2/7/16/20/49/51/56/59/65/66

HTH

Stephen

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Cheers for that Phil but is there not a list of X numbers on the instruction sheet?

Tamiya colours?

Sorry Stephen didn't scroll down

[Phil @ Flory Models]

I'm back dating mine to a block 32 anyway. Just got to take the lumps and bumps off

[JakeEaton]

Cheers for the reply Steve and Phil.

Are there any other alternatives to the AS range? I don't really want to be spraying it with a can to be honest. The model I'd like to do is the one with the lighter grey radome. Is that the scheme you're doing yours in Phil?

[Stephen]

I'm back dating mine to a block 32 anyway. Just got to take the lumps and bumps off

Phil,

A Block 32 has the P&W engine/small intake combination as well as the smaller wheels and non bulged main gear doors,are you cross-kitting with a Hasegawa kit?

Stephen

Cheers for the reply Steve and Phil.

Are there any other alternatives to the AS range? I don't really want to be spraying it with a can to be honest. The model I'd like to do is the one with the lighter grey radome. Is that the scheme you're doing yours in Phil?

The colours are pretty much available from Humbrol,Xtracolour,Xtrcrylix,Lifecolor and Gunze as they're standard FS colours. Just pick your preferred range.

Stephen

[JakeEaton]

Okay Stephen,

Please excuse my relatively stupid questions but I'm a bit of a spanner when it comes to this paint malarky.

Do I need all four of them colours to do the scheme I'd like to do? Also, do I just choose the paint range I like...then find the paints with Light Ghost Grey, Gunship Grey 2, Medium Grey and RAF Ocean Grey next to them? Will these definately be the same colours across the range of paint manufacturers?

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Phil,

A Block 32 has the P&W engine/small intake combination as well as the smaller wheels and non bulged main gear doors,are you cross-kitting with a Hasegawa kit?

Stephen

The colours are pretty much available from Humbrol,Xtracolour,Xtrcrylix,Lifecolor and Gunze as they're standard FS colours. Just pick your preferred range.

Stephen

yep, cross-kitting with a Hasegawa I'm doing this little gem

[Stephen]

yep, cross-kitting with a Hasegawa I'm doing this little gem

Well that should be straightforward as it's pretty much changing the doors and wheels.Looking forward to seeing it.

Stephen

[Stephen]

Okay Stephen,

Please excuse my relatively stupid questions but I'm a bit of a spanner when it comes to this paint malarky.

Do I need all four of them colours to do the scheme I'd like to do? Also, do I just choose the paint range I like...then find the paints with Light Ghost Grey, Gunship Grey 2, Medium Grey and RAF Ocean Grey next to them? Will these definately be the same colours across the range of paint manufacturers?

No need to apologise, finding your paint range is first of all whether enamels or acrylics depending on your own preferences.As I say these are standard FS (federal Standard) colours so most ranges should have them. For example Humbrol colours would be ;

Light Ghost Grey FS36375 which is Humbrol 127

Gunship Grey FS36118 which is Humbrol 125

Medium Grey FS36270 which is Humbrol 126

RAF Ocean grey is Humbrol 106

A little aside here on the choice of RAF Ocean Grey for the radome F-16 radomes are covered by a rubberised coating which is light grey and tends to darken depending on dirt in the air especially on European based aircraft.The DACO F-16 book has an excellent picture of four F-16's lined up and each one has a different colour of grey on their radome.I would say that Ocean grey would be too dark and probably Dark Compass Grey FS36320 would be a better choice Humbrol 128.

The instructions have the F-16 painted in the 3 tone factory scheme of FS36118/36270/36375 but aircraft are usually repainted at depot level in overall FS36270 with FS36118 topsides so I'd check references for the particular aircraft.

HTH

Stephen

[JakeEaton]

Thanks for the help Stephen!

The only problem is I don't want to use Humbrol Enamels on this build. It seems stupid that Tamiya wouldn't have the equivalent paints in their mini acrylic range...

I think I'll have to ask Cop what Vallejo colours he used on his snazzy F16 build.

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Thanks for the help Stephen!

The only problem is I don't want to use Humbrol Enamels on this build. It seems stupid that Tamiya wouldn't have the equivalent paints in their mini acrylic range...

I think I'll have to ask Cop what Vallejo colours he used on his snazzy F16 build.

In Vallejo its vama053 for 36118, vama050 for 36375, vama049 for 36270 and I always use Vallejo on all my models

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Ever had one of them days I have spent the day back dating my F-16 to a small mouth with the add of a Hasegawa kit only to find out that it is a block 30 with the wide mouth all aircraft numbered up to 86262 were small mouth and after were big mouth and guess what mine is number 87229 big mouth oh well all part of the fun

[JakeEaton]

Phil,

Are the colours you mean on this page?

http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/section.php/432/4

049 looks a little brown

[jenshb]

A little aside here on the choice of RAF Ocean Grey for the radome F-16 radomes are covered by a rubberised coating which is light grey and tends to darken depending on dirt in the air especially on European based aircraft.HTH

Stephen

Ahem...*Central European* if I may ask;) The air is less polluted in Norway, so the radomes don't tend to look as dark. Also, most Norwegian F-16s are fairly well maintained and clean. As a lof of our aircraft are going through the Falcon STAR upgrade and getting a subsequent repaint, you will find som quite clean samples among them. There are some more weathered ones too, but they are not the norm, and would give a wrong impression unless you were working from a picture. Having said that, the RNoAF pilots do get the opportunity to play with the gun, so you could have a fairly clean airframe with some (temporarily) heavy staining around the gun.

Oh, well, at least I wasn't the first to soil this site with an F-16 pic...

Anyway, as radomes can take a wide variety of muckiness, I'd try and find a picture of the plane you're modelling and match the radome colour to that. Jake, I'd use the FS26270 Neutral Grey and just add some dark grey to it until you are happy with the effect.

Jens

[Phil @ Flory Models]

Phil,

Are the colours you mean on this page?

http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/section.php/432/4

049 looks a little brown

yep it does look odd there but yes it is right. I have it here and will be spraying over the week end. I will put up pic for you to see.

You might want to hold off buying any, as the way this is going I could be wrong

[JakeEaton]

What is that colour actually for? The Radome?