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1/48 Kinetic F-16D Block 52+


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Photos have been shot for this one!

This is the Kinetic 1/48 F-16I Sufa built to represent a F-16D Block 52+ of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). It has essentially the same shape as the Sufa with the only visible difference being the WAR HUD in the cockpit.

The camouflage was painted with Gunze acrylics 305, 306 and 308. Exhaust parts were painted with Alclad Jet Exhaust and Pale Burnt Metal. Weathering and panel-lining was done with Tamiya enamels.

The RSAF only has one squadron which flies this advanced Viper; 145 Sqn “Hornet†based at Changi Air Base East. The only available accurate decals for this particular squadron come from Isradecal’s initial F-16I Sufa sheet. This was the option I used. I chose to model ACFT 666 as seen at the RSAF Open House in September 2008.

The centerline fuel tank, AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN Navigation pod, AIM-120C AMRAAMs and AIM-9M Sidewinders came from the kit as were their decals. The AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod was from Dr. Pepper’s excellent line of resin items. The GBU-10 laser guided bombs were from Hasegawa’s Weapon Set D. Finally, the 600 gallon tanks were “donated†by a Hasegawa F-2B kit.

Additional details added include Royale Resins’ wonderfully casted F-16 Block 52+ wheels, scratchbuilt WAR HUD, DASH-3 HMD sensors on the canopy and the static discharge wicks. Tamiya spares provided some clear parts which were omitted from the Kinetic kit like the fin-tip and tail lights.

Well, enough of the talk. Photos are below. As usual, critique, comments and feedback are most welcome!

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Edited by gb_madcat_sl
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Excellent job Mark!! ;)

But I do have some critiques. Firstly, the cockpits aren't all black in colour but rather dark grey in colour at the walls. And since this is the new Block 52+, the intake nav lights are clear when they are unpowered and the RSAF Block 52+ does not have the DASH-3 sensor unlike the Block 52. But nonetheless, congrats on a job well done on this viper! Big ;) from me!!

:rofl:

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Many thanks guys for the compliments.

I did make some errors especially with the cockpit colours and HMD sensors. Thanks for pointing that out, Qian. I've learned something new.

@ ScreamingEagles: There were some fitting problems with the intake assembly but I do not recall having any difficulty mating the completed intake with the fuselage.

Overall the kit is buildable but it does have its challenges along the way. Put a little TLC into it and you'll have a rather nice rendition of the F-16I sitting on your shelf.

Mark

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Thank you all for the kind comments, gents!

I really hope that this build and the one by blackout will motivate all of you to try out this kit and find out for yourselves that it is not as bad as some put it out to be.

Mark

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sorry to bring this thread back to life. Yesterday, the regulars at a LHS and I had the opportunity to display our models at a National Day event. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean was the guest of honour and he signed on the base of my 2 RSAF F-16s. Talk about an official endorsement!

He's the guy in red pointing at one of the exhibits. I'm the guy standing next to him in blue.

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Mark

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