Monogram 1/72 General Dynamics F-16XL

[hsr]

This is my Monogram 1/72 General Dynamics F-16XL. The F-16XL was originally built to test how the cranked arrow delta wing from the commercial SST (Concord) would work on a high performance fighter. Later it was entered into the Enhanced Tactical Fighter competition against what was then known as the F-15SE (Strike Eagle) and having won is now the F-15E. For further information see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16XL. Based on this http://web.archive.org/web/20041225003945/http://www.habu2.net/vipers/xl/index.html article by Keith Svendsen from the fall 1984 IPMS Quarterly I made the following changes to the Monogram kit:

 

• Moved the intake back to the proper location
• Moved the main gear forward
• remove the AMRAAM rails from under the wing
• Removed the gun hump from the left side and replaced it with the correct slot.

 

I made no attempt to change the angle of the tail and I just punted on the extra antennas. Other then that it is OOB  and I used the kit decals. The decals worked surprisingly well  although I didn't realize until too late that they had slightly yellowed. 

 

So here it is:

 

 

A note on the missiles; I was all set to add all the stripes and stencils to them but, I found several pictures that show them as plain white  so I left them that way.

 

Next up the the Flighpath conversion of the Heller E-3 to an E-8 that I had started but had to put aside for a while I waited for a part.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

[Farmerboy]

Cool! Like that a lot.

[OutcastJoel]

This is one of my very favorite aircraft and you have done an amazing job of modelling it!

[hsr]

It is cool lookig with the red white and blue tail.

 

Thanks

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Great looking XL. ... This is one on my desperately needs list. 

[hsr]

It is actually a nice kit. It just needs a lot of mods

 

Thanks

[DougC]

Nice! You don't see many of these completed.

 

I've had one in the stash for about 30 years with a vague plan to convert it to the 2-seater in the Ferris camo scheme.... & maybe cross kit it with a more modern tooling of a B/D model. Anyone tried it & have any top tips?

[hsr]

9 minutes ago, DougC said:

I've had one in the stash for about 30 years with a vague plan to convert it to the 2-seater in the Ferris camo scheme.... & maybe cross kit it with a more modern tooling of a B/D model. Anyone tried it & have any top tips?

 

You mean like this: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/rm/build_rm_5206.shtml

 

Thanks

[Britman]

Not to belittle the Strike Eagle, but I would rather see these batting through the Mach loop. Built one of these years ago as a 6 squadron RAF joby with wrap around  camouflage and half a dozen cluster bombs underneath. Nice build of a nice kit. Thank you for sharing it with us.

 

Keith

[RMCS]

Niiiice 

[F-32]

Very cool build, looks really good

[DougC]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:13 PM, hsr said:

 

You mean like this: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/rm/build_rm_5206.shtml

 

Thanks

Yep, just like that... except I wondered how easy/ worthwhile it would be to use even more of a newer, more accurate kit of a B/D model rather than just the nose section. The Monogram kit is pretty basic so it would be good to replace as much as possible without creating a surgery nightmare!

[hsr]

Compared to the Tamiya (Italeri?) kit the Monogram does not look bad. 

[paulsbrown]

Love an old Monogram anytime, cool choice of paint scheme.

[busnproplinerfan]

I was looking at doing much the same thing using the old Hasegawa F-16 for the new nose and a resin cockpit. Never got around to it yet. The method in the link looks a bit easier. I have two XL's, one old one I built years ago and a newer one.  I want to have the the single seater and the two seater. Is the tint on the canopy really that dark?

[hsr]

4 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Is the tint on the canopy really that dark?

Yes, but you can still see details inside. Opening it up would be very difficult.

 

Thanks

[opus999]

Fantastic!  This looks great!  I haven't seen one of these in a long time... loved it when I was in a kid.

[Mark Turk]

Nicely done.  I was fortunate enough to see the first flight of F-16XL #1 while working as an engineer at General Dynamics back in the early 1980s.  

Edited August 30, 2022 by Mark Turk
Correction: Should have said F-16XL #1 not F-16 #1

[hsr]

I remember this kit when it first came out and I was just getting back into the hobby. That was my WW I aircraft period so it took 30 years until I bought one and built it.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Nice work Howard. 

 

I build this one about 30 years ago, I still have most of it in my spares box and was hoping to rebuild it one day. I was not aware of the issues you corrected so may have to take them into consideration if I ever get around to rebuilding mine.

[hsr]

3 minutes ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

I was not aware of the issues you corrected so may have to take them into consideration if I ever get around to rebuilding mine.

If you didn't fix them I am sure no one would notice.

 

Thanks