F-16A By Hasegawa

[Nige201980]

Hi Guys i will be entering this older kit.



Sprues


Instructions



Smoked clear parts but with a massive mold seam that needs getting rid of


And the decals

NIce and yellow lol will pick some new ones up in the new year.

There she is for a kit 30 years old she is looking not to bad with recess panel lines and some nice details.

[TonyCnyc]

An oldie but still a goodie!

[Nige201980]

Right 1st update!!

In with step one which in most aircraft builds is the cockpit but with this its the wings and tail section


And i must say the fit is lovely just some clamping and some TET (Tamiya Extra Thin) and we are all set.


One of the first things i do with my builds is adding nose weight to the nose so they aren't tail sitters. but first it needs a little clean up there is just a tad seam line on either side



And my weapons of choice to remove said lines


Starting with the 240 grit side then on to the 1200 to get rid of the line then on with the buffer system the green then white side and we are left with no lines



Next up is the actual weight using two clamps to keep it upright


I then add my weight of choice



Then add some PVA



When the glue dries it will shrink down into the nose and make everything solid so on the self to dry.


Next up is the ejection seat and though quite plain it will do with some additions of some seat belts looks quite good.
So out with a few shots of a falcon seat



Lets get this seat together.

Seams simple enough and it was but i forgot to take any photos of me putting it together.

On with the seat belts as in the photos of the real thing the belts are sort of hanging from the head cushion so thats what im going to try and do.
Starting with some thick foil. im quite lucky i can get this from work and its sticky but the foil from a can of coffee or from i cork cover from a bottle of wine etc will do.


With a ruler and Knife i cut thin strips from the foil.


And position it in place


The final look of the seat belts once done


Time to do the rest of the cockpit just 3 parts


I then added the walls for the main undercarriage


Next up is the nose wheel undercarriage and the air intake sometimes a problem on F-16 builds but it went together rather well. Apart from an injection pin mark which i sanded away.


Once that was sorted it was time to get it together the walls and the "ring" of the intake and once done it was time to get rid of the join line. and for that i used

Yes its an electric nail fail thing with a few different sanding/buffing attachements with two speed it really helps with getting into tight places

Before



After using the buffer


So i hope you can see it rather a useful tool

Last up is getting the undercarriage together i do it at this point so i can paint it as one.

Im using the white tack to keep it in place so all the bits are lined correctly for reattaching after painting.

That's the lot guys until next time thanks for looking.

[patrickroos]

Great start!

The cockpit looks very very nice OOB!

[Lee]

Nice one Nige

[Homerlovesbeer]

This is looking really good! Great job!

[Smiffy]

Great looking build so far. Its hard to believe that model is 30 years old, though still has nice details for its age.

[peppie]

I heard about the seems inside the intake (sorry, never build a jet myself). Nice way off taking care off them.
And indeed, a nice looking kit for it's age.

[Nige201980]

Thanks guys

Update time

Time do deal with that seam line on the canopy


I hope you van see it lol

its even got a bit of flash too

I'll be using these

The grey sander and the buffer/polisher both UMPs and brilliant bits of kit

Starting with the 240 grit we get rid of the seam


Then on with the 1200 grit


The green buffer side


And then with the polisher



Next i decant some Klear into the bottle lid



And dip both parts in it


Once they are both done i wick the excess of and place them into a lockable tub to dry.


It only took me 10 minutes or so to do this in the next update ill show you how they look

Thats all for now guys thanks for looking

[MarkVerploeg]

That looks like a nice build so far
and some great detailing aswell
i will keep some of the techniques in mind for my next build
keep up the good work

[Nige201980]

Hi Guys

Sorry ive not been updating the thread ive been busy at work and when i had time do model ive just been building and painting and forgetting to take photos.

But i have finished

and here she is




the rest of the photos will be in the revel section.

thanks Guys