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2 1/48 F-16s!!!


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Hey everyone.

My F-14 build is going along fine though it is undergoing a lot of work to get it to look nice. Forgive me for the lack of updates on that one but I hope you understand the time I need to get that model presentable and nice so that you can enjoy. :worship: So while work on the Tomcat continues, allow me to present to you my next builds.

Fasten your seat belts because this is going to be exciting!!

Presenting to you, the build of the year! It's a twin build! An IAF Barak and a USAF Block 50 'HAVE GLASS'.

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Both are a first for me. Both will be OOB with the exception of weapons which I will source from various kits and weapons set. The Barak will be from the 101 Sqn and will carry Sidewinders and fuel tanks from the kit together with Python 4s and Spice bombs from the Skunkmodels weapons set. The Block 50 will wear the 52nd FW markings for the USAFE with an asymmetric loadout of 2 AIM-120s ie. an AMRAAM-B and AMRAAM-C, Sidewinders, 2 GBU-12s, a BLU-109 JDAM and a LANTIRN targeting pod.

Unlike most builds which start in the cockpits, here's something a little different so as to add some interest. WEAPONS! I opted not to use the Tamiya AMRAAMs as they were more of the CATM rounds. As I opted for live missiles, I robbed my last AMRAAM-C from the Strike Eagle kit and an AMRAAM-B from the Kinetic kit. We all know that Kinetic AMRAAM suffers from too thick fins so I thinned the fins as you can see in the following photos.

To the left is the stock Kinetic missile. Right is after thinning.

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And comparing the 'treated' fins to an untreated one.

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As this will be my first time attempting the 'HAVE GLASS' scheme, I opted to try out the scheme on an existing rough model. Basically I dry-brushed some Flat Aluminium all over the fuselage which gave a result that pleased me a lot. Here it is anyway.

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Thanks for showing interest! :whistle:

Edited by Qian
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks a lot Holmes! :D

Work started on the Barak. As this is my second Kinetic Viper, I knew the areas that gave me problems and what to look out for which really helped me a lot to shorten my build time and to get it into what you see right now. This is just 3 days of work compared to my close to 1 week to get to the same stage with my other Kinetic Viper which is a Singaporean Sufa. Of course, reference photos would be helpful too to getting a reasonably accurate looking Barak. Even though this is a Block 40 airframe, there are NO strengthening plates on a Barak. Also note that Baraks do not carry the AMRAAM missile and are still equipped the older 16S210 A/A launchers on the wing tips.

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Cockpit photos. The seat belts you see are extra PE from the new Academy Strike Eagle kit. Besides that, I also added the oxygen and G-suit hose on the cockpit console which you can't really see inside that black cockpit.

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And I finished the bulk of the weapons for the 2 Vipers. My 'HAVE GLASS' Viper will wear an OIF loadout of 2 GBU-12s and a 2,000lb JDAM. The rest are for the Barak.

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I'll update on the HG Viper soon!

See you soon! :)

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Hi all. Was meant to post an update on the HG Viper but then I realized that I've ran out of white to paint the intakes. But as you know, I'm a heck modeler who is in no hurry to finish his kits so the new bottle of white can still wait. So while putting the HG Viper aside for the time being, work on the Barak continues. Over the past 2 days, paint has reached this bad girl. It was painted free hand without any masks. So some touch ups was needed to get it into what it is now. Really enjoyable work so far! :)

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So while the HG Viper is on hold due to a shortage of white paint, this doesn't stop me from painting up the pilot.

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Putting him in the Barak for a test fit. Not bad!

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Thanks for looking!

:unsure:

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Thanks a lot Marcel and Gregg!

Started laying the decals on the Barak. As you can see, the aircraft is from the 1st Fighter Squadron with that bad-@S$ tail art.

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And in formation with the big boy. :whistle:

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Finally some updates on the HG Viper. Got the cockpit and seat painted up. My flyboy now has a new home. :)

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PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS! This is a small error by Tamiya. Not 100% wrong actually as this square panel circled is present ONLY on Block 50/52 PLUS airframes. Normal Block 50/52s do not have this panel. So it is still possible to convert this into a Greek, Chilean or Polish version and still be reasonably accurate while sourcing the extended tail fairings from elsewhere or the Kinetic kit.

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Thanks for looking! :wave:

:cheers:

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GE nozzle for the Barak painted totally without any masks. Never mind the seam, I'll take care of it with more white paint. But I've totally ran out of white. This sucks. Now both Vipers have stalled though I can start weathering the Barak.

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WOW, Quian those weapons are looking awesome. What are the two bigger weapons? Are they bombs or missles? They look really cool!! Can't wait to see more! Please keep the pics coming!

Jeremy

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Holmes, my friend! Good to have you back. :thumbsup:

How's everything going? Saw your thread in the General Discussion forum. Hope you're doing better now. :cheers:

Keep posting yea! :salute:

I am fine and much better, thank you Qian.

and you keep on doing what you are BEST at ,building MAGICAL models...LOOKING very good by the way.

The weaponary looks amaizng...the loadout will look great !

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Thanks dudes! Well, I finally bought my white paint over the weekend and began work on the HG Viper. Now that the intakes have been painted, progress on this build is now back at normal speed. This Tamiya kit has been a real delight so far. Such excellent fitting throughout that I've not used any putty to fill anything. Now I know why everyone loves this kit. :cheers:

@JMan: That large weapon is an Israeli-made SPICE smart bomb. You can read more about it >>HERE<<

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Oh c'mon sir! Can you not stand in the cockpit please? :nanner:

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Updates on the Barak.

Some weathering has been done. Real? :cheers:

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Thanks for watching!

:cheers:

EDIT: I know the Barak looks very glossy as I've yet to matt coat it. Will do so in the next few days.

Edited by Qian
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Significant update on the HG Viper today. After getting the basic fuselage together, I was able to apply the 2 greys on the fuselage. Then came the fun part, the 'HAVE GLASS' application.

Here it is below. 'HAVE GLASS', MY way..

Apply the basic colors.

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Then take a brush and dry-brush a little Tamiya Flat Aluminium all over the fuselage.

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Guess I managed to get the look I wanted. :) From some angles especially towards the light, the aircraft looks metallic. If not towards the light, you can still make up the greys. For your info, I analyze more reference photos of actual Vipers than follow the painting guide to get the closest look as possible to the real aircraft. Don't worry if you overdo it, you can always try again. But HG is not easy to overdo.

This is not the final one. I intend to apply a heavily diluted third layer of paint to tone the metallic effect a little before giving it a gloss coat. Then would be decals followed by some weathering before the final HG coat.

Anyway, here are more close-ups.

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What do you think? Like it?

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As for the Barak, she's almost home! :yahoo:

Still need to attach the chaff/flare dispensers and make the canopy in the open position and that should be it.

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Should I send the Barak or both Vipers for competitions? ;)

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Thanks a lot for the kind words gentlemen!

@Gianni: Yeah the Barak progressed real quickly. I just realized that it is only less than 4 weeks since I started on it and here I am in the last 5% of the build! :D

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Hi all, a little more updates showing the toned down HG treatment and the application of some decals in natural lighting. I think I can call the first layer of the HG treatment as the pre-HG treatment. The post-treatment will see me using a small brush to dry-brush the Aluminium over the fuselage to seal in the decals before the weathering. Since this is the commander's aircraft, weathering will be kept light.

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Meanwhile, I got the Slammers done as well.

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What do you think? :rofl:

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Finally finished the decals and applied the final HG coat. Gee.. I must say it sure was quite a challenge to get the dry-brushed Flat Aluminium to look ok to my eyes. Gotta say it was a lot harder than I had expected. But the result still pleases me a lot as it looks almost exactly like the real deal.

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Gee.. the metallic sheen isn't too obvious here. But trust me, it's there.

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And comparing it to a non-HG Viper for the difference in appearance.

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Thanks for looking! :blink:

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An exciting update today! :thumbsup:

Weathering is done and I've gone outside to take some outdoor photos with my new background picture. :) It also gives me an opportunity to see how well the completed 'Have Glass' effect looks in natural lighting. Pretty convincing I guess...

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Ready for this??

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Thanks for looking! :thumbsup:

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