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A different path for the F-16


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Hi all-

Since this seems the be the mainstream board most receptive to 'what if' subjects I thought I'd post my latest build, which I posted a few weeks ago on the what-if board.

It started with the idea of turning an old (built around 1992) Fujimi 1/72 F-16 into a 1/48 UCAV.

Rafalcon002.jpg

Not far into the brainstorming phase I found an old set of Rafale wings in the spare parts box, leading to:

Rafalcon004.jpg

By this point I had decided that it would stay as a 1/72 manned fighter.

A twin-tail seemed to go best with the new wing, so a donation from a cheap F-18 kit resulted in:

Rafalcon008.jpg

The brief alternate history for the build:

After losing the Lightweight Fighter Competition to Northrop's F-17 Cobra, General Dynamics modified the YF-16 design to incorporate a larger delta wing optimized for weapons carriage, rather than dogfighting, in hopes that the F-16 would still achieve export sales as a multi-role fighter.

The resulting F-16A first flew in 1977, and was soon seeing orders from a number of air forces, including the Canadian Armed Forces.

In Canadian service the F-16 Viper served primarily in Europe until the early 1990s. This particular CF-16 was based at CFB Baden-Soellingen in 1984. It carries a single NATO B61 tactical nuclear weapon on the left outer pylon, with a AN/ALQ-131 jamming pod on the right outboard, with external fuel tanks on the inboards and AIM-9L sidewinders on the wingtip stations.

This load was carried by four CF-16s during the October 1984 nuclear scare when East German troops appeared to be beginning a large-scale assault through the Fulda Gap. Fortunately this scare was a false alarm, and with the thawing of East-West relations in the late 1980s, the CF-16 would soon relinquish its nuclear role.

And the finished article...

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All painting was done with spray cans. Camo colours are Tamiya Haze Gray, Tamiya Olive Drab II, and MM SAC Green. Masking was done with Blu-tac (except for the straight edges obviously). ECM pod is from a Hasegawa weapons set, and the sunshine bomb is from the Testors/Italeri NATO Weapons Set.

As always criticism and tips to make the next build better are always welcome.

Edited by aeroplanedriver
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She looks great this way!

The plan view reminds of the F35 JFS. Grafting a Viper style front onto a F35 would make it look decent anyway.

But as the old saying goes; 'these planes are being built for going to war, not to a dance'

I actually took that from Boeing , said when they were commented in the JFS program for building the ugliest aircraft ever. Another one was:

'We checked and rececked the MOD design spec's we were given for the JFS program, and never managed to find "pretty'' as a requirement.''

To be sure you understand; your's looks pretty :-)

greetz skybert

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  • 7 years later...

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