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Israel F-16I "SUFA" (Storm) with IDF Weapons (K48085) 1:48 Kinetic Model via Lucky Model I would pretty much assume that almost all modellers reading this review are familiar with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is probably the most used combat aircraft in the world at this time. The F-16 was developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. This was as a result of proposals for an Advanced Day Fighter Concept. Following on from an Air Force study group the idea of a Lightweight Fighter was developed. Certain elements of the Air Force remained hostile to this as it was perceived as a threat to the then F-15 programme. In 1972 General Dynamics was awarded a contract to produce the YF-16. The aircraft introduced numerous innovations in fighter design, including a frameless bubble canopy affording the pilot greater visibility. Air-to-air missiles were mounted on wing tip pylons to free up underwing stations and the central control column was replaced by a side stick controller. The pilots seat was reclined by 30° to reduce G forces. In technological terms the aircraft was one of the first to use fly-by-wire and relaxed stability were by the computers actually flew the aircraft instead of conventional inputs. Like many aircraft the F-16 has developed over the years, probably to point where the original designers would marvel at the difference between the YF-16 and the latest 2 Seat aircraft with external Avionics spines & conformal fuel tanks. It has certainly gone from a Lightweight fighter to a more overweight example, no doubt like a lot of us over the years! It is estimated over 4500 F-16 aircraft have now been produced. The IDF ordered what were modified F-16D's with conformal fuel tanks. This freed up pylon space for additional weapons just about doubling the aircrafts weapons load. Another feature of the aircraft is the large dorsal spine which houses additional avionics systems, chaff and flare dispensers and the aircraft’s in-flight refuelling receptacle. The Kit This is a re-issue of Kinetic's F-16 kit which dates back to 2008 and has seen multiple re-issues since. This edition comes with decals, parts and weapons for the IDF F-16I Sufa. Or looking in the box it could be described as an IDF weapons set with a free F-16 thrown in! Construction begins with the cockpit. The centre and rear bulkheads are added to the tub followed by the side instrument panels, the main panel and the side stick controller. We then move to the central air intake duct, the bottom of which also forms the top of the main gear bay. The front and rear bulkheads of the bay are added followed by a fan front part at the rear, it can then it can fitted into the lower fuselage section. We then move to the upper fuselage section. The front part is split to allow single and two seat models to be made from the same tool. The 2 seater front part is added to the rest of the top and the gun muzzle added. IFF antennas are added in front of the cockpit. The completed cockpit from earlier can then be added in. The rear air brakes are moulded closed, however they can be cut off and positioned open if wanted. The fuselage sections can now be joined up. The main single air intake can now be built up. The bottom of this forms the nose wheel bay. The intake is then surrounded by its outer skin and this can the added to the fuselage. The instructions have the modeller add the nose gear at this point, though I suspect most will do this later. The main gear is also built up and added at this time. Moving to the read of the aircraft the exhaust nozzle is built up and added along with the tail planes. The vertical fin is built up from the fin, its base, and the rudder, along with a separate rear housing. Care is needed here as the static wicks are built in. The fin can then be added. Back to cockpit the seats are built up and added. For the canopy Kinetic have moulded the frame and canopy separate to these will need to be carefully joined. The nose cone and pitot probe finish things off. Weapons & Stores Kinetic gives us basically 4 sprues main which deal mainly with weapons and under wing stores. We get A centre line tank, two wing tanks, AIM-120s, AIM-9Ms, AGM-65s, GBU-38s, GBU-31;, GBU-12's, GBU-24s; as well as an AN/AAQ-14 & AN/AAQ-13. Additional spures give us the IDF specific munitions. Here we get Delilah missiles, AN/AXQ-14 pod, RAFAEL Spice missiles, GBU-15s, AGM-142's, and Python 4 missiles. Markings There are four decal sheets with the kit. One for the aircraft and three for all the weapons! The main 2 are by Cartograf, the smaller two dont carry any branding. Markings are included for 2 aircraft; 408 - No,422 The Negev Sqn 425 - No.451 The Bat Sqn Conclusion This is still a good F-16 and its great to see the Sufa available with a full range of weapons. Recommended. In association with

F-16I SUFA Interior 3D Decal (QD48046 - For Hasegawa Kit) 1:48 Quinta Studio When Quinta’s innovative products first came to our attention a few months ago they caused quite a stir, as well they should. The replacement Instrument Panels and internal details are mind-boggling to look at, because we’re used to seeing simplified styrene instrument panels, or Photo-Etch Brass panels with either two layers of etch, or laminated parts that can be tricky to glue together, even though they are pre-painted for your ease. But decals? These aren’t your run-of-the-mill decals though, they’re 3D printed in many layers and colours on a flat carrier film, having as much in the way of elevation as is needed to complete a realistic panel printed in the correct colours, complete with shiny dial faces, lustrous MFD screens and metallic-effect hardware, and often including cushions and seat belts in the set. Each set arrives in a ziplok bag with a folded instruction booklet protecting the decals, which are also separately bagged, so they should reach you in good condition. The pictorial instructions are printed on glossy paper, and are shown in full colour as befits the awesomeness of the sets, showing exactly where each part should go on the actual model, so there’s no confusion due to the “pictures speak a thousand words” maxim. Additional hints and instructions are also included, marking out parts needing bases, kit parts and other useful tips. The technical instructions in the text-based sheet gives additional tips to the new user about maximising adhesion and preventing lift at the edges by wicking in super glue. This set for the Hasegawa F-16I Sufa supplies all of the front and rear instrument panels and side consoles. Also included are the cockpit sidewalls, seat pads, seat belts, seat handels and seat placards, as well as RBF tags. Conclusion They’re still a highly impressive product and look to be very useful, even more so to those who are not fans of PE (Like myself). Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

This is a twofer - a double helping of the Academy 1/32 Sufa converted to a UAE Desert Falcon with the IsraCast conversion and judicious scratch building. The second includes the Aires cockpit and wheel bay sets as well. These were built about three years apart - I made the intake corrections from scratch and used the Aires GE jet pipe/nozzle. Wheels corrected from the Wheelliant set for the Sufa. Scratch built Northrop-Grumman AN/AAQ-32 targeting pod and mid-part of the spine. Otherwise it's a pretty easy conversion using the Sufa kit, as a lot of the Block 50/60 parts are included. The Academy Sufa is like hen's teeth these days, and unless IsraCast re-release the conversion set, these will be rare birds indeed! Paints were Xtracrylix, Vallejo and Tamiya. Decals were included with the IsraCast set. Ladies and gents, I give you , the world's most advanced F-16 in man scale! First aircraft - pictures by Chris Bradley. The second example as photographed by me in my back garden! The pylons contain magnets to enable swapping out of various bits of ordnance. This was a commission build for a fan of the first one! The canopy is propped open to show off the cockpit for photography, it usually sits at a better angle for display. Thanks for looking, Alan

The F-16I is a two-seat variant of the Block 52 developed for the Israeli Defence Force – Air Force. Pics thanks to Dov.

Is the Hasegawa 1/48 F-16F Block 60 kit good for a Sufa or an RSAF Peace Carvin IV jet OOB?

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. 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

Hi fellow modellers, that's my take on the IAF Sufa built from Hasegawa kit. As the base kit is rather ascetic as far as the underwing stores go, I went for Skunkmodels Workshop IAF Weapons set which sourced out the Pythons 4 and Delillah 2. The Litening II and Lantirn pods came from Hasegawa weapon set no.12, while the AIM-120's and fuel tanks are from the kit. The kit was further enhanced with Aires inlet ducting, wheel bays, the exhaust pipe and Eduard Zoom etched. All in all not a cheap affair, but I enjoyed the build as the kit went together without problems. It was painted with Gunze acrylics as per instructions except light green which is applicable for older IAF types like F-4 or Vautour. The actual shade should be more pale, so I went for slightly darkened H74 Sky instead. The plane depicts one of the "The Negev" squadron machines. Be warned tough, being not a hopeless IAF nut I may have missed some features, so please excuse my ignorance:-) Cheers Libor

I made this a bit earlier in the year, but have only just got around to taking some decent photos. As usual Kinetic offer an amazingly detailed kit but true to form over complicate the build. I added a resin cockpit but everything else was OOTB. A 1st for me using Mig Jimenez acrylic paints, which I think were spot on for the right coloring's for this IDF bird.

Here's my take on the Kinetic's 1/72 Sufa kit. Built OOB with kit decals. Not bad kit, but with lots of minor snags and quirks that really do get you down, but in the end it looks like a sufa. Used various colours for LGG on the undersides, pylons and fuel tanks namely, MM LGG, HU and Tamiya XF-66 and XF-83. Uppers were done in MM Acryl sand, Gunze H72 and H310, (72 for the CFTs and 310 for the body) and HU 23 sky green. All the dielectrics brush painted with Italeri 36321. AK wash and Alclad Matt cote sealed this one off. [url=http://s856.photobucket.com/user/sdaneels/media/AZ%20Model%20IK-3/Kinetic%20172%20Sufa/IMG_8949_zpse56270a7.jpg.html][/url