What this extra parts for? (Academy F-16C)

[kuman]

hi guys...

i about to start with this kit (1/48 Academy F-16C Fighting Falcon "FlyingRazorback" (12204)..

but i saw that they have some extra parts on the sprue... as per grey shaded below..

so now i was just wondering.... if i were to use the extra parts.. what are the options that i can build by using the extra parts especially those located on sprue tree A and spruetree D

thanks guys :D

kuman

[Darren Roberts]

The shaded parts look to be the base of the tail section for an F-16A and the pods are the 30mm gun pods used by the 174th (NYANG) in DS1.

[silent-eagle]

The part on sprue A lets you build an A jet. The parts on B are the GE gun pods which never made it into widespread service IIRC.

Edited December 31, 2007 by silent-eagle

[kuman]

The shaded parts look to be the base of the tail section for an F-16A and the pods are the 30mm gun pods used by the 174th (NYANG) in DS1.

The part on sprue A lets you build an A jet. The parts on B are the GE gun pods which never made it into widespread service IIRC.

thanks for the reply guys....

so for me to make an A jet out of this kit, i can use this tail base... will there anymore modification needed? (the very obvious modification)

as for the gun pod.. anyone got a real picture of this gun pod? any idea whats the reason for this not widely in used?

thanks

kuman

[j-basset]

The 30mm GPU-5/A gun pod was hung on the centre-line of the NY ANG F-16A, which I believe were Block 5 or 10 airframes.

To build the Academy kit as a Block 5 or 10 jet, you also need to replace the horizontal stabilators with the original 'small' stabilators. The ones provided in the kit were introduced on Block 15 jets onwards.

Remember reading that they flew a few missions with the gunpod on the opening days of Desert Storm, which didn't work too well due to some software issues.

Thereafter, they ended up using various freefall munitions instead, and photos show some of their jets carried a ALQ-119 ECM pod on the centre-line.

Jason C.

[kenlilly106]

The gunpod came from the idea to use an F-16 as an A-10 replacement, an idea that died after the success of the A-10 in DS1.

I've also read that there were some serious vibration problems associated with the pod.

Ken

[j-basset]

A couple more mods needed to back date to a Block 5/10:

1. relocation of the blade antenna between the ventral fins to just aft of the intake lip & forward of the NLG door.

2. removal of the 2 blade antennas under the forward fuselage, just aft of the radome.

3. adding a small dome like antenna under the intake, just aft of item 1) above.

4. replacement of the late type gun muzzle molded into the Academy fuselage.

Jason

[F-16 Weapons]

The 30mm gun pod was causing serious stress cracks in the area that it hung from. That area is actually quite thin as far frame work goes and the pod was just too much for the airframe so I heard through other units that they were used very briefly not to mention that some of the wiring modifications were causing centerline fuel tank jettison when the gun trigger was pulled for the internal gun. Talk about a scene that would have been.

[thetoe17]

I also read something to the effect that the vibration of the gunpod was so great that rounds spread all over the place like a cluster bomb, which wasn't very effective, and on top of the other issues mentioned, made it more useful to just carry actual cluster bombs.