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Need some recommendations on ACES II Seats and Other Stuff for the F-16C - And So it Begins.....

Juggernut

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Juggernut

Juggernut

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4 hours ago, chuck540z3 said:

Wolf Pack used to make a WAR HUD, Set WP32023, which I have.  It looks like it comes with 3 HUDS, so I'll gladly send you one if you want it.  Only caveat is that I can't mail it until early April, since I'll be out of the country.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

Thanks Chuck, much appreciated but not necessary.  I'm leaning BACK towards a Block 50 jet as I just read that the AN/ASQ-213 (HTS pod) is used on Block 50 jets and not block 40's...Ugh, keeping all this stuff straight is mind-blowing!

 

Now to throw another monkey wrench into the works, I found this photo, allegedly taken in March 2023 and is captioned that it is in a deployed location, obviously, over some arid country.... Me thinks that's the Middle East but what do I know?  Also it appears to have training/inert AIM-120s...I don't think it'd be equipped with those if it were deployed but again, what do I know?

 

FURTHER MORE, Now I want to render this aircraft (or something very similar - and I'm not above making something up if it's "close" to being possible) and while I can cut masks and create decals (I do have an ALPS MD-1300 printer), all those black stencils I just can't find in 1/32.  I can't do the grey markings with the ALPS because the way it prints, it leaves the decals dithered.  Meaning if you look closely, your eye will see little dots of one color over another color...unacceptable so black is best (or white).  It will be a chore to build all those stencils by hand in Illustrator but I can do it if I need to.  I'll have to find a way to render the weasel on the tail, the falcon name badge on the canopy, (there may be one on the opposite canopy sill) and the other falcon on the fuselage (probably two of those as well).  The ACC badge on the R/H intake trunk and the 55th FS badges I can trace from patches I found on the internet.  Have Glass V finish with Black markings is the rats-rear end in my world! :P

 

I don't know WHY I do this to myself.... LOL.  I just gotta be different.

 

XOEe41k.png

 

Whoops, I think the ACC badge goes on the vertical tail.  Not sure what the badge is on the right side intake trunk...yet.

 

I'm gettin damn anxious to start this... but I have a "kicked up a notch" 1/48 P-47D Razorback (If you'll pardon the borrowed term) that I have to finish first...Damn the lousy luck! :lol:

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Juggernut

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4 hours ago, Breaker said:

I'd just use the tamiya seat and detail it up with some extras. The Aires/Quickboost is seriously undersized for the kit and the one in the box isn't bad at all. 

 

 

 

I've heard a lot of unfavorable comments regarding Aires cockpits, etc. so I never planned to use anything from Aires; I just don't have the patience for ill fitting aftermarket.   However, the seats I'm looking at are from Wolfpack Design and are the later ACES II seats with the sheepskin cushions and retractable pitot's. I suppose I could "update" the Tamiya seat by removing/disguising the stock seat cushions, add the sheepskin cushions (the seats mostly have the sheepskin cushions now), and scratch build the retractable pitot's....

 

I'm still in the note taking phase of this project and haven't committed to anything just yet.  I noticed Jake Melampy (Speed Hunter Graphics) has some very nice 5th gen F-16 stencils in 1/48 but after a brief email conversation last evening, he informed me that he has no plans to upsize the sheet to 1/32 (the 1/48 sheet says 48027/32015 on it...which is why I asked about 1/32 scale).

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Breaker

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On 2/20/2024 at 2:23 PM, Juggernut said:

 

I've heard a lot of unfavorable comments regarding Aires cockpits, etc. so I never planned to use anything from Aires; I just don't have the patience for ill fitting aftermarket.   However, the seats I'm looking at are from Wolfpack Design and are the later ACES II seats with the sheepskin cushions and retractable pitot's. I suppose I could "update" the Tamiya seat by removing/disguising the stock seat cushions, add the sheepskin cushions (the seats mostly have the sheepskin cushions now), and scratch build the retractable pitot's....

 

I'm still in the note taking phase of this project and haven't committed to anything just yet.  I noticed Jake Melampy (Speed Hunter Graphics) has some very nice 5th gen F-16 stencils in 1/48 but after a brief email conversation last evening, he informed me that he has no plans to upsize the sheet to 1/32 (the 1/48 sheet says 48027/32015 on it...which is why I asked about 1/32 scale).

 

My experience with Wolfpack is no better - I've got their CF-18 conversion set that comes with an EJ seat that doesn't even fit in the tub!

 

Have you considered using Phase Hangers A-10 seat and modifying the headbox to suit the F-16? 

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Zola25

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On 2/19/2024 at 11:05 PM, Juggernut said:

 

Thanks Chuck, much appreciated but not necessary.  I'm leaning BACK towards a Block 50 jet as I just read that the AN/ASQ-213 (HTS pod) is used on Block 50 jets and not block 40's...Ugh, keeping all this stuff straight is mind-blowing!

 

Now to throw another monkey wrench into the works, I found this photo, allegedly taken in March 2023 and is captioned that it is in a deployed location, obviously, over some arid country.... Me thinks that's the Middle East but what do I know?  Also it appears to have training/inert AIM-120s...I don't think it'd be equipped with those if it were deployed but again, what do I know?

 

FURTHER MORE, Now I want to render this aircraft (or something very similar - and I'm not above making something up if it's "close" to being possible) and while I can cut masks and create decals (I do have an ALPS MD-1300 printer), all those black stencils I just can't find in 1/32.  I can't do the grey markings with the ALPS because the way it prints, it leaves the decals dithered.  Meaning if you look closely, your eye will see little dots of one color over another color...unacceptable so black is best (or white).  It will be a chore to build all those stencils by hand in Illustrator but I can do it if I need to.  I'll have to find a way to render the weasel on the tail, the falcon name badge on the canopy, (there may be one on the opposite canopy sill) and the other falcon on the fuselage (probably two of those as well).  The ACC badge on the R/H intake trunk and the 55th FS badges I can trace from patches I found on the internet.  Have Glass V finish with Black markings is the rats-rear end in my world! :P

 

I don't know WHY I do this to myself.... LOL.  I just gotta be different.

 

XOEe41k.png

 

Whoops, I think the ACC badge goes on the vertical tail.  Not sure what the badge is on the right side intake trunk...yet.

 

I'm gettin damn anxious to start this... but I have a "kicked up a notch" 1/48 P-47D Razorback (If you'll pardon the borrowed term) that I have to finish first...Damn the lousy luck! :lol:

 

Uprise Decals have a set of completely black stencils.. https://www.ebay.com/itm/354551922380

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

/Niels

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Juggernut

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5 hours ago, Breaker said:

 

My experience with Wolfpack is no better - I've got their CF-18 conversion set that comes with an EJ seat that doesn't even fit in the tub!

 

Have you considered using Phase Hangers A-10 seat and modifying the headbox to suit the F-16? 

 

No, I have not.  If I need to start modifying aftermarket to fit then I'd be served just as well to modify the kit part without having to spend the extra money on something that isn't going to fit anyway.  Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Quote

Uprise Decals have a set of completely black stencils.. https://www.ebay.com/itm/354551922380

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

/Niels

 

Thanks, I'll have to look into these as a possible alternative.

 

As an added note, most, if not all the markings, stencils, and what-have-you are actually on the Tamiya decal sheet.  With the exception of the little Wild Weasel on the tail of the Shaw aircraft, I can just scan the Tamiya sheet and pretty much change what I need to black in Illustrator and then print it out.

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Juggernut

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For your review:  A large version of the Shaw Wild Weasel.  This will be a decal that I'll print on my ALPS printer (obviously, the copyright won't be on the decal).  Constructive criticism encouraged to make this as good as possible.  This is a stencil version that adorns the tails of the Shaw based F-16's.  I don't know if they all have it but this is what is on those planes with the Have Glass V paint.  Forward is to the left in the image below.  It will be rotated counterclockwise to align with the leading edge of the vertical tail (which I have already done in the Illustrator file as well as mirrored it for the opposite side of the tail).

 

ARSZET9l.png

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  • Juggernut changed the title to Need some recommendations on ACES II Seats and Other Stuff for the F-16C - Choosing a Subject
Juggernut

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8 hours ago, LSP_Ray said:

FYI: Two Bobs did a sheet:

 

l_32-065.jpg

Whatever, it is going to be cool!

 

Yep, saw that but thanks.  This sheet is for a two-tone F-16C and as you can see, it's dated 2015 and was most likely a presentation/airshow aircraft (that's just a guess on my part).  I'm trying to get a current line jet so I needed to create the "stencil" version of the weasel.  This is going to take awhile because I need all black markings and stencils.  Most of which I will have to create on my own.  Luckily, the Tamiya decal sheet contains most of what I need so my plan is to scan it and change the necessary stencils and markings to black. 

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Juggernut

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27 minutes ago, BiggTim said:

Did anyone mention the ACESII seat from Resin2Detail? Looks nice to me!

 

Got a link?  I can't seem to find it on the Resin2Detail website.  Phase Hangar Resin has an ACES II but it's for the A-10...similar but not the same.  While you're here, did AMS have an F-16 BLOS upgrade?  I seem to recall reading that someone said he did and figured you'd be the person to ask.  If not, no big deal, it's easily created by either scribing the "patch" antenna on the vertical stab fairing or making one out of styrene sheet if it's supposed to sit proud of the surface....

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BiggTim

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1 hour ago, Juggernut said:

 

Got a link?  I can't seem to find it on the Resin2Detail website.  Phase Hangar Resin has an ACES II but it's for the A-10...similar but not the same.  While you're here, did AMS have an F-16 BLOS upgrade?  I seem to recall reading that someone said he did and figured you'd be the person to ask.  If not, no big deal, it's easily created by either scribing the "patch" antenna on the vertical stab fairing or making one out of styrene sheet if it's supposed to sit proud of the surface....

I actually spotted it on ebay, try this - https://www.ebay.com/itm/176246279362?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=BQ7r_axEQ82&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=z-Ocm8WYT8O&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

The only F-16 upgrade I'm finding from AMS was the Left Side HTS pod. I don't know of any others.

 

 

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Juggernut

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Thanks for the link.  That does look very nice.  I’m looking for the later style ACES II seat with retractable pitots so unfortunately, this one won’t work for me.

 

Thanks for checking on the BLOS mod for me.  I already have a L/H HARM pod or I’d get one from ya.  Come to think of it, I believe I actually have two of these pods laying around. ;)

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