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Tamiya F-16CJ 55th FS "Operation Unified Protector" 2011 (1/32)


Delayar

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Hi there!

 

I recently started my big scale Viper from Tamiya. I had that sitting on the shelf for almost 8 years, and now I thought it was time to start the build.

I want to build it as a F-16CM (full CCIP update) from the 55th Fighter Squadron during Operation Unified Protector: http://43yxx62a4d7x3iyru1r648gr.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Aviano-August-31-2011-OUP801-F-16CM-91-0389.jpg

I really like the loadout combination of HARM, GBU-38 and air-to-air weapons, so I decided to build this jet.

 

Of course, there is some aftermarket involved as well:

Black Box Cokpit

Aires Exhaust

Wheeliant Wheels

Wolfpack Sniper pod

AMS left side HTS pod

Videoaviation GBU-38

Eduard Exterior PE

(To be extended...) ;)

 

The decals will be a mix of the new Speed Hunter Graphics "Big Scale Vipers" sheet and Afterburners "Shaw Shooters"

With those two sets the markings of 91-0389 from 2011 are possible.

I think I will scratch build the AN/ALE-50 towed decoy dispenser, which was used during OUP. The shape is not that complex, and there are good reference pictures in the Reid Air book.

What I don't know yet is, where I will get the BRU-57. But as I am a slow builder, who knows what will be available when the time comes to add the ordnance. ;-)

 

I started with the engine and the dolly. I did them OOB, without an further detailing.

 

 
F-16C_Engine_01.jpg
 
F-16C_Engine_02.jpg
 
It will be positioned outside the aircraft, because on the airframe itself, I will use the Aires exhaust. I ordered a second H sprue, so that I have a second fan face for the intake.
 
The F-16 itself was started with the intake. I used a trick from the 1/48 kits, where I first mate the forward and rear parts of the intake, fill and sand the gap, and then put together the top and bottom halfes.
 
F-16CM_55th_001.jpg
 
A thin coat of flat white to check the seam:
 
F-16CM_55th_002.jpg
 
Of course I checked, if I can get the assembled intake in position beforehand. I dry fitted the parts and held them together with tape. It needed some fiddling, but the test was ok, so I use this method to get a seamless intake.
 
That's it, so far.
 
Markus 

Edited by Delayar
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So, I glued the intake halfes together.
 
F-16CM_55th_003.jpg
 
And then came a lot of filling and sanding, using various improvised sanding sticks to get on the inside of the intake. I thought it would be easier than in 1/48, but since the intake is not only wider, but also longer, it wasn't quite that easy.
 
After filling and sanding, I tried the pour in the paint method. I worked and provided a good base coat, but it wasn't very well covering, so I sprayed a final coat with the airbrush.
 
So after a lot of work, I had a smooth seamless intake:
 
F-16CM_55th_004.jpg
 
F-16CM_55th_005.jpg
 
At least it was worth the effort. The fine hairs on the intake lip will be removed.
 
I also made the engine bay, but didn't add any details, since it will probably be closed anyway.
 
F-16CM_55th_006.jpg
 
To make something else during trying times of filler and paint and to get some break of tedious sanding, I painted and assembled the GBU-38s of Videoaviation.
They are not yet flat coated.
 
F-16CM_55th_007.jpg
 
The next step will be the detailing of the wheel wells.
 
Regards,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar
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  • 1 month later...

Hi folks!

I am back at my usual build speed (the weather gets warmer, so I am spending more time outdoors).

Also, I am a little afraid of the detailing of the wheel wells...  :unsure:
 
However, I continued with the nose landing gear. I polished the oleo strut and then prepared the Wheeliant front wheel. As it has no mounting hole, just gluing it on with CA glue didn't look like a good idea to me.
The rims are made of wo parts, so a little surgery was no problem.
 
I drilled out the hub of the resin part and glued the kit hub on:
 
F-16CM_55th_008.jpg
 
That leaves a recess on the backside, where the kit screw can be used:
 
F-16CM_55th_009.jpg
 
And here is a test fit on the nlg leg. The oleo strut is already masked for painting.
 
F-16CM_55th_010.jpg
 
To make a break from the landing gears, I continued with some plastic surgery for the Black Box resin cockpit.
 
The upper fuselage was cut out according to the instructions.
 
F-16CM_55th_011.jpg
 
On the lower fuselage, I removed the molded in sockets for the screws which are supposed to hold the kit pit. 
 
F-16CM_55th_012.jpg
 
The forward socket was shorted, so that it doesn't protrude above the nose weight. I didn't remove it completely, because I will use the provided nose weight and the socket is a convenient attachment and location point for it.
 
With careful surgery of the resin tub, it is possible to use the provided nose weight. Only the edge of the backwards extension was beveled.
 
F-16CM_55th_013.jpg
 
The casting block was removed from the tub, and the forward part was cut out to make room for the nose weight.
I removed a little to much from the underside of the tub, so the cockpit floor has a hole at its deepest part. I covered it with a piece of paper, but it will be underneath the ejection seat anyhow.
 
F-16CM_55th_014.jpg
 
here you can see how it fits with the weight:
 
F-16CM_55th_015.jpg
 
And a try fit with both fuselage halves closed and the weight in position:
 
F-16CM_55th_016.jpg
 
The yellow area is the hole in the cockpit floor, covered with a yellow Post-It.
the sidewalls are not yet included in this try fit.
 
Best Regards,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi there!

After some health issues, I continued with the build of the F-16.
Besides some minor sub assemblies, I painted the Black Box Resin pit.

I sprayed the tub and the seat with FS36270. The parts behind the seat and the IP coaming were also airbrushed, the rest was painted with brushes.
 
F-16CM_55th_019.jpg
 
F-16CM_55th_020.jpg
 
Jake's book provided good reference for the painting of the pit and the seat.
 
F-16CM_55th_021.jpg
 
The seat still needs a wash, I forgot that...
 
Anyway here is all assembled:
 
F-16CM_55th_017.jpg
 
F-16CM_55th_018.jpg
 
The IP is missing the instrument dials. I just ordered Airscale's modern jet instruments decals.
 
F-16CM_55th_022.jpg
 
Cheers,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar
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  • 2 weeks later...
While I was waiting for the instrument decals from airscale, I decided to tackle some minor scratch building: The BLOS Antenna at the base of the vertical stabilizer.

First, I removed the scope from the kit part. This is possible to accomplish without leaving a hole, so there is no need to fill the spine before proceeding. I marked out the rough outlines of the antenna with a pencil.
 
F-16CM_55th_023.jpg
 
I somehow forgot to take a picture of the next step, but I took a piece of masking tape, stuck it on the spine and traced the pencil lines of one side on the masking tape, trying to be a little bit more true to the final shape. I then peeled of the masking tape, put it on a piece of paper and scanned it.
Using a vector drawing programm, I smoothed the lines, and extended the artwork to both sides. I made a test print on low tack self-adhesive paper and tried it on the kit part. I tweaked the lines once more, and made a final print on high tack self adhesive paper. The thickness of the paper is enough to my eyes, since the antenna doesn't seem to be very proud of the surrounding areas, at least on the pictures I had for reference.
 
This is the final shape:
 
F-16CM_55th_024.jpg
 
The inner line is the line where the fasteners will go.
Next, I brushed on a thin coat of Mr Surfacer to the paper part.
 
F-16CM_55th_025.jpg
 
After Mr. Surface has dried, I sanded it smooth and applied the fasteners.
 
And here is the final result of the BLOS antenna:
 
F-16CM_55th_026.jpg
 
 
Cheers,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar, 14 July 2017 - 10:11 AM.

Edited by Delayar
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Finally, the airscale cokpit instrument decals and warning placards arrived, so I could finish the cockpit.
In the end, I used mainly instrument decals from the 1/48 sheet, since the ones in 1/32 are too large for the F-16 (at least for the Black Box pit)

The yellow ejection seat warnings are from the 1/32 warning placards sheet.
 
The ones on the right auxiliary console and the ejection handle warnings:
 
F-16CM_55th_027.jpg
 
And the main Instrument panel:
 
F-16CM_55th_028.jpg
 
The RWR monitor is the smallest from the 1/32 sheet, and is still a litlle bit too large. but since it is hardly seen when the IP is installed, I didn't change it.
The base of the attitude direction indicator is from the 1/32 sheet, the blue/brown part from the 1/48 sheet. the rest of the dials are all from the 1/48 sheet.
 
Together it looks like this:
 
F-16CM_55th_029.jpg
 
And one final picture of the cockpit outside the fuselage with seat:
 
F-16CM_55th_030.jpg
 
Cheers,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar
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  • 5 months later...

Hi folks,

Finally, after some other projects, I am back on the Viper.
And I finally got to the detailing of the nose landing gear. I am satisfied with it, although it is not as detailed as some other members on the forum here manage to do :-)

I used thin copper wire, 0.4mm vinyl tubing, 0.8mm aluminium tube and some evergreen styrene.
The wheel is from the Wheeliant set.

I also made some in-progress pictures, but they are lost due to problems with the SD card.

F-16CM_55th_031.jpg

F-16CM_55th_032.jpg

F-16CM_55th_033.jpg

F-16CM_55th_034.jpg

And finally, in its natural pose ;-)

F-16CM_55th_035.jpg

The hydraulic lines to the gear actuator will be added when I attach the gear door.

Cheers,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar, 14 July 2017 - 10:12 AM.

Edited by Delayar
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I made some progress the last few days.
 
after completing the nose wheel gear, I assembled the outer intake parts.
 
F-16CM_55th_036.jpg
 
Also, the Aires Exhaust was painted and assembled. I did the painting some time ago, but didn't add the outer petals until now.
 
F-16CM_55th_037.jpg
 
The rivets were sanded down a little bit, and painting was done with Alclad jet exhaust and pale burnt metal. The white styrene strips were added to center the exhaust in the kit part, since the Aires exhaust, is a tiny bit too small in diameter. 
 
F-16CM_55th_038.jpg
 
The PE part looks better in real life, the flash shows the flattness of the part.
 
F-16CM_55th_039.jpg
 
And another angle.
 
And together with the donut panel: 
 
F-16CM_55th_040.jpg
 
As I wanted to keep the option to display the aircraft with an open engine bay, I crafted the Aires part on the forward engine kit parts.
 
F-16CM_55th_041.jpg
 
to get the right fit, I test fitted the engine compartment to the lower fuselage and aligned the two parts. They were then joined with milliput.
 
F-16CM_55th_042.jpg
 
It seems like I attached the inner tube of the resin exhaust at a slight downward angle, therefore the two parts have a slight kink in them.
By using the alignment pins of the kit part, the resin exhaust, compressor fan and all are in the correct position, yet can be easily removed or even swapped with the kit engine.
 
Cheers,
Markus 

Edited by Delayar
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