David Walker

Vector has announced they will be releasing a B/C wheelwell also, VDS 48021. It's just not out yet. It's listed for the Tamiya/ICM kit but as mentioned with some work you can probably get it into the AM kit.

Yes, he mentions above that he found the placement sheet.

There are a couple good shots in Jake Melampy's excellent F-16C/D book and in the DACO F-16A/B/C/D book that show that the wing tip lights are clear with a single, very tiny red or blue/green bulb in each of them. The bulbs are so small that in 1/48 I'd think you'd be just as well off to leave the lights clear as the instructions suggest.

Wow, will those ever come in handy if I decide to model this plane! Thanks so much for that walkaround.

No, they are simply pieces of string attached to the top of the nose. (see photos linked above) It's a very basic aerodynamic device used to make sure the correct rudder imputs are being put in. While in flight the string should be blowing straight back on the aircraft centerline to insure the plane isn't in a slip or a skid. (unless of course there is a desire to be in a slip or a skid)

Make sure you have some photos of the plane you're going to model. If I remember correctly some of the Spanish aircraft have the launch bar on the nose gear and some do not, but I'm not sure if this was true in 1999 or not.

Email inbound concerning getting hold of the 1/48 instruction sheet. And for anyone interested in this sheet, having gotten a hold of the decals a week or so ago, they look great! Not a sheet you want to pass up.

Just forward of the windscreen on the F-14, attached to the upper surface of the nose, was a piece of string to help the pilot assess yaw. It shows pretty well in this photo against the black nose: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/jon...5/CRW_2175c.jpg Here it is in it's "resting" state. : http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w260/to...ey/AIRSHO-2.jpg

Neat! That's the first photo I've seen of it.

Agree 100%.

Well, if Tamiya releases a Chilean Block 50 that blank-off plate will be replaced with an insert that will have a small rectangular vent near the bottom edge: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Chile---Air...16CJ/1347566/L/

The A+ assembly instructions and the B assembly instructions should be exactly the same so you're fine there. I've gotten Has. kits before where they simply added different decals to a current kit and used the old assembly instructions (I believe the 1/48 F-15 Streak Eagle was done that way) but they included a different decal placement instruction sheet as well, sort of as an addendum. If they did do it that way hopefully someone here on ARC will be able to provide you with the decal placement sheet. If you did get the wrong instructions altogether I bet someone here has the correct instructi

Yes, that appears to be exactly what happened, particularly as they do show how to add the vent in the F-16C Block 25/32 kit. It appears the step was just accidentally left out. And thanks for bringing all this up. If you hadn't I'm sure I would have build my Block 50 and then later on wondered why I hadn't added that vent. I've since drawn it in on the instructions for my kit. edit: okay, now I feel like a complete dork. After going on and on about this I flip to pg.9 of the CJ instruction sheet, step 24, and there clear as day at the bottom of the page it shows to add part A3.

Hey, you leave it parked outside, what do you expect? At least they left the wheels but I'm sure the stereo's gone.

Yeah, after some picture searching I realized that. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Pig doesn't flying F-16s anymore. Now, if you had a close up of a United B757 cockpit, maybe.

Personally I'd go with the lightened base coat but make sure you really thin it a lot and work slowly to build up the effect you're looking for.

I believe this is the vent, the small one below the canopy arch: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Chile---Air...16CJ/1347566/L/ http://www.airliners.net/photo/Chile---Air...16CJ/1345673/L/ I notice that not all the Chilean aircraft have it. It probably depends on where the aircraft were sourced from. US aircraft don't have that particular vent.

Thank you very much about the Chilean viper information. That helps a lot. Unfortunately your photo link isn't working. It just takes me to the instructions from airliner.net on how to link.

It is mentioned, but no, that vent doesn't open and close. And I got the part wrong in the above post. The correct vent is part A3 not A7. The part is mentioned in the Tamiya F-16C Block 25/32 instructions (as the Block 32 would have it) but for some reason is not in the F-16CJ instructions.

Will we be able to see photos of the corrected parts in the near future? I like the kit and would like to see the improvements that have been made.

Very, very nice build. Great scheme too.

I know this has come up before and I can't remember any particular reason why Tamiya left that hole in the fuselage that needed part B2 to fill it as I don't believe any variants of the F-16 had a vent there. And the part (and opening) are also present in the Block 25/32 kit that Tamiya released. And unless I'm very much mistaken the panel lines that immediately surround the area of part B2 are also fictitious. With that said, there is a vent in that same vicinity that the instructions don't mention that should be there on a Block 50. It can be seen clearly in this photo right next to the eje

This has to be one of the best framed photos I've ever seen: http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7850/119xz2.jpg

You apply it before the decals (it can be brushed or airbrushed on with no thinning required) and it will really help avoid silvering of the decals. (from small air pockets between the decals and the "rough" dull surface if a gloss coat is not used) Future has exceptional self-leveling properties so buffing is not required, but it can be done if you really want to. As far as the "process" goes, quite a few of us will paint the model, gloss coat it, apply the decals, hit it with another coat of gloss to seal the decals, use some form of a wash to weather the model and then finish it off with a