DaveJL Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Hello all, Another GB that I somehow missed, but luck would have it that I had an eligible kit in the stash; Tamiya's 1/48 F-16C/N boxing, which will be marked as aBlock 40 -CM of the 555th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Wing, operating out of Bagram, Afghanistan in 2017. 89-2137 downed three J-21 jets over Bosina in one sortie in 1994, using one AIM-120 and two AIM-9. There's an article on the jet here. Kit: Aftermarket: I'll be using a Pavla seat, Master brass Pitot tube, Master brass static wicks, Crossdelta stiffener plates, Attack Squadron BRU bomb rack and Bullseye decals. Will be loaded with 2x AIM-120 from the kit, 2x GBU-38 from an Academy F-15E kit, Sniper pod from Hasegawa weapons set E and a LAU-68 launcher from a Tamiya A-1 kit (this pod is recommended by Bullseye to represent the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System, APKWS - a guided rocket) Decal scheme: Will make a start once the EA-18G is out of the way. Dave 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Oooh a Triple Nickel bird ! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Lovely, will be watching this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 Nice! I've got an Aviano decal sheet for my 72nd F-16 I've got squirreled away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 this look interesting, I have pulled up a seat , got a notepad out - I nearly went for the F-16N for this GB therefore watching with interest or should I say making a list of aftermarket goodies as you use them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I bought this kit recently so I’m excited to follow your build Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted April 26, 2019 Author Share Posted April 26, 2019 Thanks chaps, will be started soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 20, 2019 Author Share Posted May 20, 2019 Made a brief start on this one today by building up all the ordnance etc: Tanks and AMRAAMs from the kit, GBU-38s from an Academy F-15, APKWS (LAU-68) from a Tamiya Skyraider and the Sniper pod from Hasegawa weapons set E. More soon. Dave 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 More done on this one. Cockpit sprayed and detailed. I tried a new trick for the side panels - once sprayed black, I ran a sanding stick over all the raised detail. This exposed the grey of the plastic underneath and works perfectly to replicate the switches etc. Saved a lot of painting with a cocktail stick! Once dry, I fitted it to the lower fuselage along with the main landing gear bay: Left to dry for an hour or so then closed up the fuselage halves: Note the 'beer can' antennae on the wings have been fitted along with the wingtip LAU rails and some other small details. Pylons also completed: The BRU rack is the Attack Squadron example while the TER (Triple Ejector Rack) is from a Tamiya ANG boxing of the F-16. Lovely kits these Tamiya Falcons! More soon. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Good subject! I built a Triple Nickel bird from the 1/32 kit, but the 1/48 is pretty outstanding as well. Nice loadout options, it will be cool! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 Cheers Alan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 A few days work and suddenly the construction is mostly done! Just need to clean up the filler on the centre pylon (required to fill the holes as I'll have to pop on some shackles that aren't in the kit as the pylon will be empty). Once that's done I'll add the fuselage reinforcement plates and that should be it ready for priming. More soon. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 More done. Started off by adding the fuselage strengthening plates: Only 10 required for this jet: Once that was done, I cleaned up the filler on the centre line pylon and added some shackles from the spares: That's pretty much construction complete. Will add and mask off the canopy (which has been given a coat of Tamiya smoke) but other than that, it's ready for primer and paint. More soon. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 Some progress; all ordnance painted, weathered and decals added: Other sub assemblies finished: Jet itself has been primed ready for the MRP colours to go on. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 Ready for paint: More soon. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Looking good! Wonder where you got the decals from? Who sells them within / to Europe? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 2 hours ago, exdraken said: Looking good! Wonder where you got the decals from? Who sells them within / to Europe? Thanks! Thanks Werner. I ordered the decals from Spruebrothers in the States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 Paint on today. Applied in several light coats. This MRP stuff is just great! Just some small details to paint in the landing gear bays then I'll get a gloss coat on. More soon. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 Gloss went on last night so was able to get the decals on this morning. Sealed in with a top coat of MRP super clear. Decals are a mix of Tamiya and Bullseye. Sub assemblies: Hoping to get the panel line wash on in the next few days. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 23, 2019 Author Share Posted June 23, 2019 More done. Panel wash on: Excess removed after about 30 minutes. I added the landing gear, pylons, FOD insert AOA probes and pitot tube. Will leave to cure until tomorrow then will give the lot a flat coat before adding some weathering. More soon. Dave 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 Finished today, just flew together (pardon the pun) in the final stages. More pictures in RFI here Thanks to all who commented/followed. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 very nice! sorry, I just see that now.... no Bird Slicers, really, in 2017? I see the instructions do not show any..... but ... maybe I am (hopefully) wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Looks great Dave. An object lesson in turning a simple grey scheme into something rather special Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 13 hours ago, exdraken said: very nice! sorry, I just see that now.... no Bird Slicers, really, in 2017? I see the instructions do not show any..... but ... maybe I am (hopefully) wrong! Thanks mate. USAF Block 40's don't have the bird slicers fitted - Block 50/52's do as part of CCIP and some earlier blocks (25/30/32) had them retrofitted. 1 hour ago, CliffB said: Looks great Dave. An object lesson in turning a simple grey scheme into something rather special Cheers! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Awesome as usual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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