f 16 tamiya block 40

[dashotgun]

this project was started in 2014.  I two major stumbling blocks.  I broke off the  light on the forward tail empanage and could not   figure  out a way to repair it.  I also changed jobs at around that point and had no further time for models.   I retired in 2017 ( yea) and after about 10 months got the urge to  go back to the hobby.  I  ended up just buying the whole tail sprue from Tamiya( much more economical then buying a sprue on ebay  boy oh boy).  A few more self inflicted stumbles  ( launched one of  air brake covers into  the carpet) also who knew that   the piece for the   radar in the nose  had to be put just so or the   nose would not swing close)and she is almost  done.   I will post better and more detailed photos in a few days.  I back dated it to a block 40  but it has the sniper pod and the block 40 can now do SEAD so the hts got moved to the port side.  I have to finish the war HUD and a few more odds and ends and it will be complete.  Next up finish the  spitfire lX  I started when it first came out I put it aside to do  the tamiya mustang we are talking old here.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

I like it! Looks great....Harv

[A-10LOADER]

She looks really good.

 

Steve

[Gerhard]

Very nice

[jmel]

Really nice Viper and a great choice for markings.  The 35th flies a ton of sorties every day and their shelters are full of live ordnance ready to strap on in a moment's notice if their northerly neighbors decide to do something stupid.  

 

If you're going for accuracy, AGM-88s aren't white.  They are very  light gray, despite Tamiya's instructions. 

 

While true that the Block 40s now have a limited SEAD capability, the HTS pod is more of an additional tool for situational awareness, rather than a full-on radar-sniffing tool as in no-kidding SEAD Block 50 squadrons such as the Misawa guys.  When I flew with the 35th at Kunsan a couple of years ago, they did not have any HTS pods and surely no HARMs.  However, the 36th up at Osan did have both.  The Block 40s at Kunsan were more geared towards interdiction and quick-reaction strikes with precision guided munitions such as JDAMs and LGBs, although things could certainly have changed since I was last there.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jake

[dashotgun]

thanks for the kind words it is nice to hear from a primary source.  Accuracy to an extent maybe if I was building it for someone.... I can always paint up the jdams.  I do have  pictures of the HARM being white and some being gray the AF has a penchant for  changing colors.  I am sure you are correct however

 

 

This shows a 35th jet with both the right sided HTS pod and a sniper  So perhaps they do some non dedicated SEAD now

 

 

and below is a picture I would swear shows the HARMS as white.  I have seen gray looking  over my pictures.   Since you served there no arguments from me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 from wikipedia

Edited April 26, 2018 by dashotgun

[dashotgun]

only thing left to finish is the war hud    btw  pictures to follow  soon

[Viper Enforcer]

Nice work on your Tamiya Viper. It's such a nice kit. Block 40 and 50 are pretty much the front Viper standard these days. Been a long time since I was at Misawa; but back then we only had Block 30s.

 

Curious what make Sniper pod that is, as the pylon adapter is too wide.

 

BTW, Jake is right about AGM -88s in service being light gray. I was on the HARM program back in the mid-90s at Edwards and every HARM I've seen on a jet including Flight Test today, they are painted light gray; not white. The one photo you posted of the HARM on that Cannon Viper only “looks†white, as it's easy to be tricked from camera exposure. The one close-up HARM shell posted is just an airshow prop. We had one here that was displayed along with an AIM-120 painted white and GBU-10s painted gloss green.

 

Mike V

[dashotgun]

the sniper I think was brassin  it included the adapter but it did not include the pylon that came from   a lantirn pod made by Drpepper a defunct cottage industry resin maker.    sigh I am just going to live with white harms.  you cannot see them from the pictures I took but  the  fuselage does have the scab plates as well  The WAR HUD is finished I used one I got from some ones Academy kit.  Had to fake the clear parts.  next up is to  take  a series of photos including the engine

Edited April 26, 2018 by dashotgun

[Viper Enforcer]

Ah, DPR, I remember him. I used his 48th F-16D conversion years ago. I wonder what happened to him.  Did you have his Sniper Pod too, or did he ever make one in 32nd?

 

What HTS pod did you use?

 

Ah, you use the Brassin Sniper Pod. It's a very nice looking Sniper Pod, but something is  off with the Brassin Sniper. The pylon adapter is more than twice as thick as it should be. The side thickness on the real adapter is about an inch. I dry fitted it to a 5R pylon I made and it doesn't look right. Shame, as the pod is well cast.

 

Looking forward to seeing more photos of this build, though do post more of the Sniper Pod and HTS Pod. Also, if the canopy going to remain closed, as you noted you still had to installed the WAR HUD.

 

Mike V

[jmel]

The yellow-striped Viper is from the 80th Fighter squadron, also located at Kunsan.  That is the first image I've ever seen of an 8th Fighter Wing jet with the HTS, so you may well be just fine strapping the pod to a 35th FS jet.  

 

And one correction:  I never had the privilege of wearing the uniform.  I'm just a civilian with a camera.  Everything I "know" is first-hand observation rather than first-person knowledge or understanding.

 

Jake

[dashotgun]

still working on pictures  here are some  teasers 

 

 

[Gazzas]

Very nice!

[Greif8]

Beautiful build Harv, I don't see any evidence of the issues you brought up.  I think you painting is top notch on this one.

 

Ernest

Edited April 28, 2018 by Greif8