Cheetah11

Terrific work Sean. Looking forward to when the masks are removed. Nick

In 2002 the Navy Aggressor unit at NAS Fallon Nevada received 14 ex Pakistani Air Force F-16A aircraft, these having being embargoed and in storage since the late eighties. This resulted in some of the more colorful color schemes to be carried by the F-16. The model was scribed and a few details updated to represent the NSAWC Vipers like the Data Pod and the intake scoops added to these aircraft. Pilot ,AIM-9L/M training missile and Aces II seat from Tamiya in spares box. Reskit provided wheels. Profimodeler provided the short pitot and the rest mostly scratch built. Despite its age still of my favorite kits. And ready to join the other Vipers in the pit. Cheers Nick

Hi Jim Thanks for the interest and compliments. Glad you also did the Navy Aggressor . They are IMO the most interesting schemes on one of my favorite aircraft. A pity the decals for them are getting scarce. Did you use the Two Bobs decals ? I am finished with the model at last, just waiting for some better weather to take photos. Cheers Nick

Hi Rick The C-6 had a different design. The tubular flame dampers were only fitted to the G-6. Here is a photo of the two in 1/48. Cheers Nick

Are you not thinking of the Ju 88 G6 exhausts. The C6 had a different type.

Easy, just get a note from the Flight Surgeon to say you are going deaf from years of jet/turbine noise, then filter what you want to hear. ( It takes a while not to react when a younger/thinner/more beautiful female speaks to you but you eventually learn ) Nick

Hi Mongoose Thanks for the compliment. I was not aware of Aeromask so I will definitely look into what they have to offer. I initially thought I could upscale some of the decal profiles but soon realized the folly of my ways. Not one of the aircraft with the three grays had the same pattern. Some are similar but not identical , so I went with 54 which is the one I could find the most photos of, and then the hard slog of drawing the pattern on plans and cutting it. It is a great idea to use the Sillouette to cut or at least draw the masks. Aha, the question of touch ups. I managed to get a photos of the subject just after it was painted and then one at the end of its service, as well as in between. Both the factory finish and the extreme weathering are a bit extreme, so I will try and do one in between. One of the last things to do before the model is complete, is to replace the overscale static dischargers. I used 0.4mm plastic rod. (I think 0.3 mm would have been better but I could not source any in time) Sorry for the poor phone picture. The riveting should also have been a bit deeper but something to learn for the next build. Cheers Nick

Not much done today. Too much surfing on LSP I did manage to do this on the Silhouette cutter. And with that I could complete the Telemetry pod. Nick

Maybe he used the Revell wings to replace the forward leaning nacelles on the Zoukei-Mura kit.

A small update The add on parts for the airframe complete, I only need to assemble them now. Almost done. Cheers Nick

Landed at the local hobby shop earlier in the week. Double the price of the Revell also on the shelf and almost the same as the Tamiya. No thanks. Nick

I had a bit of time over the weekend and managed to get some paint in the model. I also succeeded to cover the workbench with tons of paper masks, but now the basic paint is on. Cheers Nick

Just be glad there is an alternative in the form of HK.

Thanks for the interest Jeroen, A pity the kit is still expensive over there. Fellow modelers gave me three kits in various stages of building when Tamiya released their kit. I also grabbed two Tamiya kits in 2005 when they were still cheap. (R600 versus current price of R 2750, about 150Euro ) I think the Hasegawa kit is not a bad option for building an early F-16. Tamiya will most likely never adapt their molds. The Thunderbird kit which is the best to start from for a F-16A is impossible to find at a reasonable price. The last Hasegawa I have will get a Black Box(Avionix) cockpit and AM wheel wells as well as a resin Nozzle. The scribing is getting a lot easier the more I practice. Hi Olivier Thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it. At the moment I have already digitized most of the markings on the Silhouette software from photos and only need to adjust the size, as well as do one or two more stencils. I will see how the US roundel works. On the F-15 I used multiple masks overlaid to get it right. Here I plan reverse masking with a single mask. I hope it works as it will cut out a lot of masking. Fortunately the subject I chose has very few stencils and no walkway lines so only the NSAWC badge is needed as a decal. The NSAWC badge will come from the Techmod F-14 decal sheet.( I plan to do an Iranian one which is also an option on the sheet.) Happy Modeling Nick

Thanks for the compliments Alain. I am doing an Aggressor from the NSAWC at NAS Fallon. Not very colorful as it is all in different greys but the one I like the most. I think I bit off a bit more than I can chew. After making the decision I realized that decals and information are almost impossible to obtain. I initially thought is will be relatively easy but then found almost all the aircraft had many subtle changes in the cammo patterns. To add to this many repaints and touch ups complicate things, not to mention the extreme weathering in the desert. This is the aircraft I could find the most reference of, No 900945. Some guesswork on the bottom will be called for but at least I have reference of the top from both sides. After a couple of hours behind the computer enlarging some prints and cutting masks I completed the underside of the wings. Eventually the bottom wings done. This is the first time I am using MR HOBBY lacquers and I must say I am impressed with them. A small amount of white was added for scale effect. The topside will need some more attention as the pattern is a little different but that is next week's problem. Cheers Nick

Well I have done a bit this week. I am really enjoying this old kit. All the 1/32 F-16 kits have one or another issue and this one is not bad at all if you are prepared to re-scribe it. The fuselage is joined here and primed. I also painted the AB nozzle, still to be shaded,. I also detailed and painted the surplus Tamiya seat. No belts as I plan to put a pilot figure in the cockpit. Cheers Nick

Thanks Alain, strangely I find more satisfaction in improving parts then merely throwing AM in a kit. Anyway a small update. The wheels turned out great after the fix. I also needed to backdate the tail to the original config. I modified the tail years ago to do a Belgian Viper. When it was binned, I kept the tail. As the kit arrived without this, the A tail, I fixed it with a surplus piece from the Sufa kit. (with a lot of sanding and filling) Some re-scribing and filling still needs to be done but here is the basic shape) More next week Nick

The Tamiya J kits have the C/D/E cockpit parts included .

The wheels were eventually sorted by cutting a slot and decreasing the tire diam. On the nosewheel it worked the best as I worked in smaller steps. In the mean time I added some plastic to the undercarriage bays to add a bit of interest. The battery box was 3D printed with HIPS. At the moment I am successful with about one in 3 prints. The ambient temperature in the house will soon be about 28 deg C and then I will see if HIPS works better. Cheers Nick

I was not planning any aftermarket on this kit relying on items from the spares box. But this showed up at the local hobby shop and it fits right in with the subject I was planning. Elation soon turned to disappointment. The rims are undersized or the tires are oversized. I think during the manufacturing of the master the 3D program was set on the same diameter and does not take in account the overlap between tire and rim. Really disappointing considering the price. My Fix To be superglued together later. Nick

The AIM-9L's and color of the Phoenix is also a dead giveaway of photo manipulation.

Hi Grunticus I am slowly gathering info for a similar build. From what I could find on forums I think the wheels in the kit are the only ones with the correct pattern for F-14 aircraft before 1980. I do not think there are any AM parts for these wheels. Maybe some of the members with more F-14 knowledge can give more info on this. Cheers Nick

Ade if you need a simple program to start with try Tinker Cad. You will be able to do many simple shapes and get a feel for a cad design. The more complex programs are much more powerful but will tale a long time to fully master. Nick

During the last week I worked on the afterburner a bit since the kit has a poor representation of the real thing. As presented in the kit Trimmed the nozzle and the cut it a bit. More sanding and cutting A printed jet pipe and resin copy of the F-15 nozzle completes the innards. A bit crude but looks better than the kit parts. And done. More next week and happy modeling to all. Nick

Thanks for all the comments gents. Derek I am doing a F-16A this time but have not finally decided on the paint scheme. I was also offered an Academy kit for a song by a modeling friend (He bought the last Tamiya at the old price from the local hobby shop), so maybe a Hellenic one in the future. I am 90% certain of the scheme but need to find one or two decals first. Here is the cockpit done. Strangely I find this cockpit easier to paint than the Tamiya one and it looks better then the Academy cockpit. And a few pieces of plastic added to make the cockpit more interesting. Cheers Nick