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F-16C Block 50 Wild Weasel 50th Anniversary 2015 **Finished & in Gallery**


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Entry No.2 will be built from the Kinetic F-16DG/DJ Block 40/50 kit - originally purchased at a very good price as I wanted the CC sprues (Harm missiles + pods).  When it arrived those sprues were no longer included and had been replaced by two MER + Cluster bomb sprues.  However I've since managed to do a swap to get a Harm sprue.

 

Although this kit only has parts for an F-16D, I can take the unused F-16C parts from my Polish C/D boxing and build this as 92-0920 in the (Two Bobs) 2015 special livery reflecting 50 years of Wild Weasel operations:

 

20210613_191904

 

As the decals include a comprehensive selection of inert missile markings you can expect this one to have a fairly full loadout!

 

Mike

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Welcome along Mike, with by the sounds of it is some mixing and matching to get the model you want.

 

I have one of these Kinetic models in the stash (Polish F-16D 52+), so well be interested to see how this one builds you.

 

I love the scheme choice, it going to look great....plus a couple of AM bits as well! :thumbsup:

 

Good luck with this one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

And the build is off with a cockpit using Eduard etch (theoretically for the Tamiya kit but no problems with the fit apart from missing out the two l-shaped panels either side of the main centre panel as there was no room under the hood):

 

20210625_063124

 

I've also been working on the intake for this and the Polish F-16D:

20210625_062925

The two intake fans are very different (GE version on the left).

 

Mike

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Nice start, the cockpit looks nice, am surprised the mix & match fitted.

 

For some reason I do prefer the look of the "Wide-mouth" GE F-16's over the PW versions. :blink:

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19 hours ago, trickyrich said:

Nice start, the cockpit looks nice, am surprised the mix & match fitted.

 

For some reason I do prefer the look of the "Wide-mouth" GE F-16's over the PW versions. :blink:

In theory (if the models are accurate) any etch would fit any model but of course that doesn't always work 🤔

 

This time there were no serious issues apart from the two bits that wouldn't fit but it looks the part and I'm not going to "rivet count" against an actual photo.

 

This is the first wide mouth I've built, the intake isn't  that much bigger but there are some fit issues re the intake on this kit which I've not experienced with a Kinetic P&W version (more details and photo vto follow)

 

Mike

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17 minutes ago, FortyEighter said:

In theory (if the models are accurate) any etch would fit any model but of course that doesn't always work 🤔

 

This time there were no serious issues apart from the two bits that wouldn't fit but it looks the part and I'm not going to "rivet count" against an actual photo.

 

This is the first wide mouth I've built, the intake isn't  that much bigger but there are some fit issues re the intake on this kit which I've not experienced with a Kinetic P&W version (more details and photo vto follow)

 

Mike

G'day Mike,

 

I am not surprised that the AM parts fit even though they are intended for a Tamiya kit.

I have both Kinetic and Tamiya F-16 kits and the Kinetic parts bear more than a passing resemblence to each other. I am not saying that Kinetic copied Tamiya but there may have been some 'inspiration' on their part...

 

Pappy

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Hi Pappy

 

I've not built a Tamiya viper (and don't have one in the stash) so can't comment on their similarity.  But, knowing how some kits bear a striking resemblance to others I'm not surprised by your comment.

 

Mike

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and onto the first poor fit of the build

20210627_154043

 

The two outer sections of the intake (I1 & I2) were clamped across the lugs on the inner sections while the glue set but there is a noticeable gap along the centre (and also underneath).  If the front edges are squeezed together to close the gap then the overall width is slightly less than the width of the cowl (I12) - as this seam can't be seen once it is in situ, filler will be employed.  The underside seam can also be filled but will need some rescribing afterwards.

 

I don't know if the error is mine but I've not had gaps like this when building a Kinetic P&W (narrow) intake.

 

I need to look at the cockpit before I can join the fuselage halves as it is fouling the underside and stopping the two parts meeting properly - that will be down to me!

 

Mike

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17 minutes ago, MickE said:

Good start, I like the look of the cockpit - hope my eduard set looks as good.

Thanks,

 

I'm sure yours will look great, just take time to slowly glue each etch in place (and if you're like me, forget about some of the minute handles!)

 

 

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Oh dear, the fit of that intake is pretty bad!!!! :yikes:

 

If Kinetic used the Tamiya model for "Inspiration" they must have lost it when they did this part by the looks of it!

 

bits of stretched sprue will be the best way to fill the gaps and give you something solid to re-scribe later. Hopefully there aren't any further dramas waiting down to build for you!

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Whilst continuing to build the basic body, thoughts have also turned to the loadout:

 

20210704_154330

 

Not sure whether to go with two Harm missiles or one plus ACMI pod as above - to load two of the missiles I need to find another adaptor to use under the pylon (There's one somewhere in the model room but I can't find it at the moment).  Also a Sniper pod and Harm pod to go either side of the intake.

 

You can also see an Aires resin exhaust set which is better than the plastic in the kit, though the exhaust "petal" ring is slightly wider than the kit four part offering.  The resin is meant to fit the Tamiya kit though I've used the P&W version before which is a good fit.

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a nice selection of stores. That AM exhaust dose look nice, with the exhaust being quite prominent in an F-16 it just cries out nice AM replacements.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Although I didn't take any photos along the way, the basic airframe is now complete

20210724_093336

 

 

and as a partial excuse to the length of time between posts, apart from the other F-16 and Blenheim, I've also been working on this F-16 which was way over the 25% rule so isn't in this Group Build.

20210724_094021

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update time, the main decals are now applied:

20210808_195439(0)

Apologies for the light quality, will make sure the next photos are taken in daylight.

 

Have had to "bodge" the walkway decals, Two Bob's only give you enough for the centre section to go immediately in front of the IFR markings rather than in between the cockpit and antennae (WHY??)

 

I've also used turned brass static wicks, a PITA to fit but several of the plastic ones were broken in the box and a few more during construction.

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On 8/12/2021 at 4:03 AM, trickyrich said:

gee she looks nice with the decals on. :thumbsup:

 

I had similar issues with the walkways on my Sufa, though luckily the CF tanks hid the missing areas.

I haven't got as far as decals for the Polish "D" yet .........

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  • 2 weeks later...

Decalling is now finished:

20210829_085626

 

I managed to flex the canopy while removing the masking tape and now have a split at the centre front position - not too noticeable at most angles and I'm not sure if I have a spare (I've still got one more A/B boxing to build but haven't decided on an airframe yet).

 

So the main jobs left are to fit the HUD and the canopy frame if it's to be posed open.

 

 

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  • FortyEighter changed the title to F-16C Block 50 Wild Weasel 50th Anniversary 2015 **Finished & in Gallery**

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