Camus272

Came here to ask this. I'd like to start trying to get the right finish if I know that decals are in the works. Also, just to note that the 148th only painted one jet in this scheme. Brian

If you need one of the Hasegawa F-16 ones, let me know - I have a ton of them laying around. Brian

Pretty much any kind of F-16C has been there. Minnesota has sent F-16C block 25 and recently Block 50s. Alabama has sent block 30s, Arkansas block 32, South Carolina block 52, Ohio block 42 and the 466th from Hill AFB block 40. That covers all of the US versions. I'm not sure who is currently deployed though. As for weapons ,the simplified answer is generally GBU-12s under one wing and GBU-38 or GBU-31s on the other with the standard fuel tanks and wingtip AIM-120s. Brian

I'd be willing to bet that the blues are 35109 and 35190. The gray could be 36320 if its not 36440, depending on the color shift of the photo. You could get decals in these colors off of current Navy F-16 and F-5 adversary sheets. The 402 might be a problem though. Brian

That is the worst thing I've seen since 9/11. Truly horrifying. Brian

Technically, it was the other way around. Most shows were cancelled because it looked like they would not get their scheduled jet team, with the Thunderbirds, ACC Demo, Navy demo and Blue Angels (almost certainly) standing down. At this point only two questions remain: 1, when will the schedule resume? The Navy has indicated the Blue Angels and F-18 demo will fly once the sequester is lifted and training can recommence. At this point the USAF seems to be done for the year. #2: What happens after Sept 30th? As others have said this will indeed hold. We will certainly not see flying milita

Here's my stash: I believe that's 151 kits. I think I've added two more since the photo. Hopefully I can stabilize it now with built kits slightly outpacing any additions. As for the economics of it, this collection has been 13 years in the making. I probably average something like $50 a month on the hobby (not too excessive imo)- mostly going to supplies and decals. Some things like a spray booth bring up that number once in a while, but it is really the decals and aftermarket additions that add up the most cost. Brian

Thank you for posting these. I wasn't able to this year (which was honestly very depressing). Of course they would have two F-16 aggressors on display this year. Cool to see the blizzard jet out. Last year I looked all over and finally found it parked at the end of the ramp and then saw it take off on Monday morning. Were there any any Navy adversaries on display? Did the B-1 just do one pass like last year? Do you have an online album - I'd love to see a few walk-around shots of the two F-16s if you have them. Thanks again, Brian

Habu's site list the 1/48th as 1983 and the 1/72 as 1985 Brian

Sorry. Double post.

Thanks for posting, I've been waiting for photos of these. Looks like I'll have to add more Vipers to my build list. Brian

The info I posted was straight out of Colors & Markings Vol 11: USAF Aggressor Squadrons (among other places). As you will see from photos Old Blue has a light blue (35190) and New Blue has a dark one (35109). Brian

Old Blue contains 35190, New Blue contains 35109 - 35190 is a bright light blue and 35109 is dark. It would seem that Afterburner is right on this one, the Two Bobs diagrams are correct but there is typo on the number. As for the wraparound, I'm only aware of it on New Blue.

I had my driver's license at 15 in Minnesota, gotta love farm country. edit: However, it did not allow driving after dark, so there may be a violation there. Brian

Light Ghost Gray 36375. Brian

Besides being the best looking aircraft in history, it is probably the most common. 30 years with the Thunderbirds and most ANG units (in my area MN, WI, IA, SD use them and until recently ND). It also has the most range of paint schemes. Besides the aggressors, even operational units get more variation than F-15 units ( the black tailed CA and FL ones for example). I have about 55-60 in the works but they come out with new paint schemes faster than I can finish any. For something like the F-22, as good as it looks, there isn't much point in building more than one, the only difference wou

It's a different airframe, there are at least three in this scheme. This is the first operational one, now in Afghanistan. It will be interesting to see if this is just a test platform or if it will go fleet wide as I've heard. I think it looks good and its nice to see a change for the F-16 after 35 years. Brian

YF-23, F-16XL, Mig1.44, possibly T-50. T-2 is pretty rare. B-2 would be nice. Brian

Last I heard there were about 8 Tomcats left at AMARC. I don't know if any are on celebrity row, but if there is (or when as I'm guessing the last one will be) I imagine they are pretty well stripped and shouldn't be a problem. Speaking of old Tomcats, I went to see the one in Willmar MN today. Its the first F-14 I've seen in 24 years ( and probably the last). It was nice to see one, but a bit sad as the airframe is in somewhat rough shape. I imagine any left as displays would be in similar condition. Brian

Nice build! Wouldn't calling it a VFA-127 F-5E in "Top Gun"-scheme be correct?I can't see anything inaccurate about that. I plan on doing both the VFA-127 and the Top Gun Mig when the Fightertown markings come out. And speaking of Bio, I recommend reading Topgun Days for anyone who hasn't. Interesting stuff about Topgun and Top Gun. Brian

From C&M 11: Snake = 34258 Green / 30118 Brown / 33531 Yellow Lizard (Old) = 33531 Yellow/ 30118 Brown Lizard (New) = 30117/33613 mix / 33613/30117 mix The Key West Superbase book states that 31 was delivered in the Snake scheme, and it looks like those are indeed the colors. Brian

Very nice! I never get tired of looking at Viper builds. Brian

I think the big issue is just how far people take their what-if builds. I've seen many where the builders just start throwing on whatever weapons they like on whatever part of the airframe they like. But, if there are no limits than it seems to me no different than grade school kids who draw things however they want them to be (this applies to a lot of aviation video game designers as well). I think we are all here on ARC because we want a certain amount of precision. We want to know real details about real aircraft and about the kits. I like the ideas of some of the what-ifs, and I'm pl

I'll let you know when I finish one, but I would guess around 50-60 hours. Brian

The first thing I would do is a wash. Something like Promodeller is really easy to use and can be corrected if it looks off. After a dark gray wash I would dry-brush the engines/wings/aft cockpit area. Then I would use pastels and/or oil paints to simulate carbon scoring, leaks, etc. A flat coat will also help improve the look. Brian