1/72 Revell F-16BM J-066 "Orange Jumper"

[Elve1984]

I got a new project on the bench. I will be building the RNLAF F-16BM J-066 "Orange Jumper". I will be building here as she flew out of Volkel AFB in the last couple of years of her operational service life. For those who dont know the J-066 "Orange Jumper", she was a test aircraft of the RNLAF.

Here is a picture of Airhistory.net in the version and with the load out as i will be building her.



Besides the kit i collected a lot of aftermarket stuff that i will be using in this build, here's a little list of most of it.
- Revell (03844) F-16D Tigermeet 2014
- AWC-Model Seamless air intake
- Eduard Brassin Sniper ATP pod
- Eduard Brassin gbu-39/bru61
- Master brass pitot tube
- Astro decals "Orange Jumper" decal set
- Daco Vinnly stifnet plates
- I designed some decals myself for the Volkel tailband, "Brabantse" checkerd markings on the lower fuselage fins and some other small stuff.
- self 3D geprinted ejection seats (drawings from Cults3D)
- self 3D geprinted exhaust nozzles (drawings from Cults3D)
- self 3D geprinted wheels (drawings from Cults3D)

As a primary reference i will be using Daco's "Uncovering the F-16".



I started the build with the cockpit, all parts where cut from the sprues and cleaned up.




Next i primed everything with a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1500.


Next up was painting the cockpit and seats, i sprayed everything in a base color of Mr Hobby H306. After wich i painted all the details with a brush. I mainly followed my reference pictures for the right colors. With everything painted i sprayed a coat of gloss varnis, applied the kit supplied decals followed by a wash to bring out the detail a bit more.














During the cockpit drying times i have been working on the AWC-Models air intake. For this to fit i had to remove some of the kits plastic, after wich i could start glueing some stuff in place.

First i removed some parts from the fuselage to get the intake to fit.




Spraying the intake nice and smooth without getting drips looked a bit hard to me. After searching the internet on how to do this best i run into an intresting technic and tried it out. First i taped off the bottom side of the intake with masking tape. After wich i poured some thinned latex wall paint in the intake. After letting it dry for a short moment i removed the tape from the underside so the intake would drain leaving a thin even coat of paint on the inside of the intake.


After painting the rest of the parts everything was glued togheter.




The AWC set also contains the parts for the wheelbays, so work continued on those, first i glued the side panels in place.


After wich i could glue the intake in place.


Last up was glueing the replacing AWC fuselage part in place.


The overall fit was pretty good, only some small seams that needed filling.

In the mean time i also preformed some work on the wings. Most parked F-16's have there leading edge flaps raised a little bit and the aft flaps in a dropped position. So i cut them lose and fitted them in a different angle.




Thats it for now, let me know what you guys think of my work so far.

[Stokesy44]

Cockpit looks good and great surgery on the airframe to get the new intake and wheel bay in

[Elve1984]

Here's another update with some more progress on the "Orange Jumper" Time for some pictures of my progress.

First up the wheelbays, i added some extra detail to them using copper, lead wire and some streched sprue.








A fellow modeller pointed out to me that most F-16BM's (and also D's) have a HUD repeater in the back cockpit. This basicly is a screen that repeats the image of the front cockpit HUD to the person in the Rear cockpit.

Unfortunitly Revell doesn't supply this part in the kit.


I wanted to add this part to my model as it is well visable in the cockpit. So i went to work with the 3D drawing program "Blender" and tried to draw the part myself.


Next step was to print it on my 3D printer at home and this is how it turned out.




To be able to install the part i had to scrape away a bit of the Revell Plastic after wich i could glue the part in place and paint it.




It took me some time to learn a how to 3D draw in Blender and draw the part but i am happy how it turned out.




With the extra work on the cockpit done i went on with installing the 3D printed exhaust.


All the parts where cut from the printing supports.


The aft fuselage part is installed, the rest of the exhaust will be installed after painting.


The parts for the tail ready for assembly.


This is how the assbembled and installed tail looks.


Thats it for now, ill be back shortly with another update.

[cor]

Cockpit is indeed very nice.

[Stokesy44]

Good work, especially the missing part in the rear cockpit. What a great tool to have in your Armory!

[digger303]

well done

[Elve1984]

Thanks a lot everyone!

[DBMiller]

Wow, you work fast! I saw that tip on painting intakes as well. Seems like it worked pretty well.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Fantastic
A cool kit with lots of goodies and then you are 3D printing stuff too
What resin pinter are you using?

[Elve1984]

Wow, you work fast! I saw that tip on painting intakes as well. Seems like it worked pretty well.

Yeah, its a intresting technic. Works verry well with the right paint consistensie.

Fantastic
A cool kit with lots of goodies and then you are 3D printing stuff too
What resin pinter are you using?

Thanks! i got an Anycubic Photon Mono 4k. got it for a couple of years now.

[cor]

Very nice.

Me wants a 3D printer

[Stokesy44]

Very nice.

Me wants a 3D printer

What he said.

[digger303]

Very nice.

Me wants a 3D printer

What he said.

Me too, I'm keen to see how the next generation printers have improved.

[RangerNeil]

Very nice.

Me wants a 3D printer

What he said.

Me too, I'm keen to see how the next generation printers have improved.

And me. Although I foresee problems with the OH (and the dogs) with smells. And in the case of the OH - the money...

[digger303]

What he said.

Me too, I'm keen to see how the next generation printers have improved.

And me. Although I foresee problems with the OH (and the dogs) with smells. And in the case of the OH - the money...

You are right those are the down sides, they aren't cheap, the odours need to be considered and consequently probably need to be sited away from the house.

[Elve1984]

Prices for 3D printers are dropping rapidly, mine is 3 years old or something. The new generations are a great improvement already.

when you start 3D printing you have to keep in mind the hazards fumes and liqueds. I print in my garage with the door and windows open and always wear gloves and a respirator mask when i am working with the printer. The downside of printing in the garage is that the temperatures get to low in the winter so i have installed a fermentation heater arround my resin vat to heat the resin when printing.

Altough you have to keep in mind some stuff it is a great tool for scale modeling

[Garion77]

Amazing job on such a small scale. Can't wait to see other updates.

[Portman]

That's an absolutely cracking job so far - the cockpit, and especially the seats, look excellent. The HUD repeater was a nice touch.

[Elve1984]

Thanks a lot guys! Been busy with a lot of small stuff hope to post an update again soon.