Hi all , heres something I picked out of the stash as a quick (relatively speaking!) trouble free build to try and regain my mojo. Ive been so busy with work and the lack of time plus the cold weather meant I just seemed to lose my enthusiasm for modelling . I'm hoping a straightforward build will get my juices flowing again . The kit is the 'Air team' (Thunderbirds) boxing which i picked up for £4.99 at Home Bargains in Chesterfield a few months back (I also got a F-105 Thunderstick in 1/48 for the same price !) I dont have any interest in the Thunderbirds but the kit has a second decal option for a grey camo F-16c so thats the one I'm doing .The kit is typical monogram being a mixture of raised and recessed panel lines and some lovely detail in places. The cockpit however isnt brilliant having decals for the consoles and instrument panel which are very simplified. Theres no open canopy option but i still felt these needed replacing so ive ordered an Eduard zoom set. If anyone wants the unused Thunderbirds decals then let me know and you can have them . heres the box and sprue shots , cheers tony
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Heh, the F-16 is older than I have always been lead to believe … apparently they were already flying in 1966 (or does that say 1968?). I guess they never got deployed to Vietnam, which is why this is not common knowledge.
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:smiling2::smiling2: I didnt notice that Jakko , obviously a misprint (mind you the kit does say made in china on the inside of the fuselage so maybe the chinese printed the instructions too ) Imagine that too an f-16 in SEAC colours, that would have looked good! I think its meant to say 1986 when the f-16 s were based at Ramstein . cheers tonyComment
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Nice one Tony, I hope it gets your mojo backComment
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Nice choice Tony.Ive looked in Southend Home Bargains several times .But they never have any kits.Comment
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Its only once in a blue moon dave ,but when they do theyre usually cheap . they only had the f-16 and f-105 but quite a few of them , they must have bought a job lot or something , I looked again a few weeks later and there was nothing . Keep looking every time you go in ,you might drop on a bargain one day , cheers tonyComment
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Heres where Im at currently. The basic cockpit is supplied with very poor decals , these just being random white circles (see pic) so this has been jazzed up with the Eduard zoom PE. The kit supplies a surprisingly accurate and detailed representation of the ACES 2 ejector seat , which to be honest would have been perfectly acceptable just painted up under a closed canopy, even the moulded on belts were accurate in size shape and position. Seeing as how id got the eduard set though ,i thought id use it so the belts and pull handles were added to the kit seat . Ive also added a few strips of plastic card to the cockpit sidewalls to represent this area better and a throttle has been added to the port sidewall. This is now ready to go in and the fuselage halves (top and bottom) can then be joined and the canopy installed . Speaking of which, I know the F-16s canopy has a slight tint to it so im debating whether to try and replicate this or not , maybe a light misting with thinned Tamiya X19 Smoke ? cheers tony.
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The cockpit tint can vary a lot, but as I recall, it’s a kind brownish grey, so Tamiya Smoke should do, probably thinned down a bit. I’d try it on some spare transparent material first before painting the canopy, though. Here’s a whole lot of F-16 detail pics — scroll to almost halfway down to get to cockpit/canopy photos (the quicker way to get there is to search on the page for “cockpit”).Comment
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If I’d have to guess, I’d say thst might be because of mix-and-match parts on the real aircraft? If the canopy tint varies, then I doubt people fitting the two pieces to a plane would take the trouble to make sure they’re both the same.Comment
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Very nice work on the office TonyComment
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Nice start Tony, thanks for the tip about the Home Bargains, we go to Chesterfield regularly so I'll bear them in mind. I like to call into Hobby Craft and have a laugh at their prices.Comment
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Starting to look a bit like an aircraft now the top and bottom fuselage halves have been glued. Ive primed and metalcoted the exhaust nozzle so i can mask this up before fitting to the fuselage as it would be a pain if i left it till later. Ive been cleaning up various bits too ready for assembly later , the stabilators being something that required sorting — why do some makers still insist on stamping their name on parts that are visible!!!! ( see pics) ive also been cleaning up the undercarriage leg links and drilling some holes to improve the appearance , see before and after on the sprue. The canopy has had its tint applied , after various experiments i used johnsons klear with a bit of brown and green ink mixed in for the front section ( brushed on the inside of the canopy) and tamiya x19 smoke neat for the rear sectionComment
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