Harv

...But just to be clear - The -N is for the most part, an early-block 30 -C...while it has the GE engine, it still retains the NSI (Normal Shock Inlet - aka "small mouth" intake) the SAME as all P&W engined F-16s, including all the A models. SO, the intake is the same for both NSAWC -As & Topgun -Ns...just add the 'cheek-mounted' antennae to either side of the intake for an -N. Also, the -N uses the enlarged -C type tail base, but leave the air scoop off of its leading edge. And the NSAWC -As, having been in storage before being dispatched to NAS Fallon, were given all the appropriate

Tim, sorry I didn't see this & respond earlier- That picture of Izzy made my day! Well worth the effort & then some- Hope you two have a great time building together...And congrats on becoming a grandpa-to-be. Not yet there myself, but 2 of 3 kids are 'of the age'. I'll be looking for build shots down the road,

The Series says, "Import". Looks like the plain vanilla Revellogram F-14D that has been around for years, and can be had in the states for $12-$15 (or even less with a 40% off coupon from Michael's). Remember, the site you're linking to is really set up for the Japanese market, so to them, it is an import. Their import/duty/distributor mark-up looks much like ours is here in the States for imported kits - incredibly high.

Mike, if I recall, the 'Fighting Fulcrums' Aggressors are either Bl. 25 or 32 aircraft (NSI [small mouth] inlet+ P&W -220 engine). The Academy 1/32 Viper gives you the option of building your bird this way, too - so, from that aspect, you're still okay. If you look at the pictures on the decal instruction sheet, you'll see the AN/ALQ-188 pod hung on the centerline of the 'Flogger scheme' (green/brown) jet; and shots of the 'cheek pods' mounted on either side of the intake on the brown/tan jet. Those are also included in the AIRES AN/ALQ-188 resin set. The lack of 'lightweight gear' and non

Mike, you can build the 1/32 Academy Viper OOTB and make it pretty close to an 'accurate' AK Aggressor except for: Landing gear is the 'heavyweight' style not found on the U.S. Block 30 F-16s. (They were introduced with the Bl. 40/42s). If you build it gear-up, substitute other gear, or live with it as-is. This affects the landing gear, larger (wider?) wheels, and 'bulged' MLG doors (to accommodate the bigger wheels). ~You're good with the GE/MCID (big mouth) intake combo; they're included. You get a ton of weapons, but won't need them. (Typically not much hung on aggressors). IF you want to

Ryan, I'd recommend doing a search on the forums right here on ARC...there have been many builds of this kit over the years, and you'll probably see all of the various fit, build, and accuracy issues addressed in one fashion or another. Besides the intakes, some of the most-often mentioned issues are: the outer wing panels (that attach where the wing folds are), which are molded with 25 degrees of dihedral (upward) angle vice the correct 12 (Nautilus sells a jig to help if you really want it); Undersized J-79 afterburner nozzles (AIRES does some nice replacements, but they're expensive); the b

...And all right on the heels of the release of the GE exhausts for the Tamiya F-16CJ. The basic inner liner & outer petals are the same for each; with number and shrouding being the change between airframes. Smart on AIRES part to get the most from their molds, especially in the 'limited' 1/32 market. The critique of the inner detail is a direct result of how the Tamiya inner nozzel looks; they'er pretty much a direct copy of that. As far as the question of why GE F-110s in 1/32 instead of the more popular 1/48, I think the answer is simple...The F-16s (Tamiya, Academy, and the older H

...Ah- Aggressor/Adversary custom jobs! First, the 'flying cow' Alaskan aggressor vipers, and then the F-Tigerstripe F-5E/F/N adversaries at VFC-13 & VFC-111...

...Glad to hear that more prizes are finding their way to the raffle winners. Especially happy Chris' F-14 markings made it to him - always encouraging to see younger builders that are the next generation of the hobby.

Thanks for the comments, guys- Euge is a great individual, and I was happy to help him with closing out the raffle part of the group build. Pete, glad to hear the package made it to you...Hope to see that F-16 built up on-line one of these days-

Today's Update: (Friday, 22 May 09): Completed the remaining prize mass-mailing today. Those listed below should be receiving an email from me confirming I sent your prize out in the mail earlier today. T0M4ever johnsan f12aaa Johnopfor leverancier ALF18 Rocat Congratulations to each of you, and as I said before, thanks to all for participating in such a great Group Build! Cheers one last time to ThunderGrunt for organizing the build, and lastly, to our sponsors for their generous raffle prizes. I've started to receive notification, both domestically and internationally, that the wi

Latest Update: Did the first prize mass-mailing today. If you were listed as a winner above, and sent me your snail-mail address before today, you should have received an email from me confirming I sent your prize out in the mail earlier today. For those who had their name drawn for a prize, but whom I hadn't yet heard from, I sent follow-up PMs requesting an address to send to, just a short time ago. Those folks whom I have prizes for, but don't know where to mail them are listed below: T0M4ever johnsan f12aaa Johnopfor leverancier ALF18 Rocat Please contact me by my email < rmhar

...Added some pictures of the drawing at Phillip's Hobbies - Also, please check the listing above for items in RED, as there have been a couple of new items added & changed, leverancier & Rocat, you are now part of the winner's circle! Thanks again to all who participated, and once again to all our sponsors!

Well, folks, here is the run-down of today's Gone But Not Forgotten Raffle Prize Winners (in bold next to the prize listed)- Please contact me by email ( rmharvster@yahoo.com ) with a snail mail address so I can get your prize sent out. Congratulations to those who have won something here - a little bonus, as the fun of building was the primary goal. Thanks to all who participated, a 'BZ' to each of you who finished (some way more than just a single entry!). I'd love to minimize trips to the post office, so the sooner I hear from you and have a good shipping address, the sooner I'll be able

...Ummm...contact PWMP and let them know? JP is a really great guy and fellow modeler- my guess is he'd be happy to help you out.

Black Box used to make a cockpit set for this kit; but I think it is out of production at the moment. Check with Squadron.com , as they picked up the rights to most of Black Box's molds. They may also stock the seat alone. Not sure if that VFA-127 "MiG-28" boxing has the sharknose and LEXs, but depending upon which airframe you chose to build, they may be needed. If you want to build an F-5N US Navy adversary, you might also need to add the under fuselage chaff/flare fairing, as well as the ECM antennas that are mounted to the sides back near the afterburner cans. Those ECM antennas I believe

PM Sent...

Small update - mostly just to check-in and let you know we have not dropped back into the cracks... Had a Hase 1/48 F-16C kit passed to me yesterday from ThunderGrunt via John Bibay. ...Thanks, John! There are some extras in the box, including a Dr. Pepper Resin LANTIRN pod. I believe this is a second viper kit, and not the one already up for prize giveaway, but I'll confirm that before the raffle drawing, which is still planned for this Saturday. Once more, I thank you for your patience, and will report out the lucky winners Saturday PM.

Update for Wednesday, 29 April: Spoke with Phil of Phillip's Hobby HQ yesterday. With the exception of the RoyaleResin items, he has all the sponsors' prizes in-hand at his store, along with the list of eligible builders provided by ThunderGrunt before he left on deployment. For the RoyaleResin TBD items, Doug Smith has requested that we pull two names, and each will be awarded the resin wheel set of their choice from his line. As I live about an hour's drive from Phillip's shop, I've proposed to Phillip that we do the drawing on the 9th of May, as this is the day of our normal club meeting,

...Dang, Patrick, is there ANY cool subject left out there that one could think of which you haven't already done a superlative job in creating?

There has been talk for about a year (that I've heard, anyway) about Trumpeter doing a new-tool 1/32 Scooter. Don't recall any mention of which version, though...but if the current trend follows through, it seems likely (if/when it happens) we'd see an E/F first, (since other than the TA-4J and fairly rare limited-run OA-4M), it is what's out there in the most numbers. (E.G. the upcoming F-14, being issued as an A model, despite the fact that two companies have this version out in 1/32 already, while we, [admittedly minority] modelers SCREAM for someone -anyone- to kit a B/D version). Based up

Back-in-the-day, Meteor announced a CE 1/32 conversion set for the E/F, similar to the mods they actually put out for the 1/48 A-4E/F kits, prior to Hasegawa releasing their own 1/48 Mike; but they failed to get the 1/32 version out before their implosion and subsequent loss of joy. Bummer they went with the anticipated big-sell on the (then) newly-released 1/48 Scooter instead of the older mold, smaller-market 1/32 jet, since once the injected OOB A-4M came out, I'm sure the sale of the resin set(s) -there were several 'flavors'/combinations of bits- tanked. CE DID do a small 'Super Fox' set

This Morning's update: (Tues/28th) Passed email with the mfr-sponsors, and they are all on-board...NO ONE has bailed, so please no more speculation; should catch up by phone or email with Phil today (His shop is closed Mondays). The best way you can help is to please take a look at the raffle-eligible list in the pinned raffle prizes thread...I would really like to make sure I haven't missed anyone, but my goal is to not allow this to drag out any further than absolutely necessary. As mentioned elsewhere, I'm shooting for having the drawing done by this weekend, and prize winners notified shor

Updated 27 April: Based upon my review of the completed entries, below is the list of builders (42!) eligible for the prize drawing, more-or-less in the order of completion (-not that it matters). If anyone believes this listing is incorrect in any way, please bring it to my attention soonest via email as listed in my signature below. ~Thanks for your participation! Yardbird78 F12aaa SSgtd6152 ResinBuilder Tomcat Tweeker TimMansfield phantom John King mastergg Najk Andrew Doppel Chuck54Oz3 Julien (UK) icekj Jay Chladek twhite80 johnsan jordan03 SPECR Tomcat RIO kuman Jo

Gents- Per ThunderGrunt's posting, I'll work with Phil to sort out the GB prize situation while Euge is on deployment. Of course, he put this out right as I was going OCONUS myself, but I am back at home now, and will help him bring this to resloution for all. Request a couple days to coordinate with Phil, and then I'll report back with a status update for all. Please don't bother to PM me; the box is full...feel free to contact me by the email address in my sig line if you want to contact me directly.