How do you convert the different F-16 Blocks?

[Dave Williams]

I found a copy of the instruction sheets online:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10037792

But it looks like there is only one exhaust example?

Look at the parts diagram. Unused part A1 is the P&W exhaust. Also among the unused parts are the narrow wheels, flat gear doors, and the small mouth intake. However, Hasegawa never actually changed the gear legs, so you only get the original lightweight legs that they simply tell you to remove the landing lights from. They also didn't change the gear door actuators.

For all the grumbling about the Hasegawa kit, I have to admit that I have a scene of nostalgia about this boxing. It was the first kit to include the big mouth inlet and some representation of the heavyweight gear setup. For years prior to it's release, all you got were basically Block 25/32 kits (or early NSI Block 30s), even though the higher blocks had been in service for a while.

[Jay Chladek]

Indeed the Hasegawa kit has a fair bit going for it. Yes, the GE powered F-16 kits while they include the big mouth intake and exhaust also still have the original intake and small mouth inlet on the parts trees. Probably the only minor knock I would give to the Hasegawa kit is the cockpit really should be replaced with something in resin. Tamiya's on the otherhand can practically work as is for an OOB build.

[Jonny2174]

Thank you for that tip Dave, I'll be sure to consider the Hasegawa kit for my future builds.

Jerry

[scotthldr]

I have a question regards Hasegawa F-16 kits, so rather than start anew topic I thought I would ask here.

This boxing http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10067867

I'm I correct in thinking you could make into a non LANTRIN equipped Blk50 aircraft

Thanks in advance

Scott

[Jonny2174]

Scott, I'm not too sure about your model. It looks like you'll also need to find a NSI intake from another source.

Anyways, I'm looking at the packaging and example of the Kinetic F-16C, presumably from Block 52+

http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=KI-K48028

http://www.hyperscale.com/2011/galleries/f16cblock5248mh_1.htm

If you look at these real world Vipers:

http://jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?aircraft=General%20Dynamics%20F-16AM%20Fighting%20Falcon

I don't see those two humps on either side of the center fuselage. From Michael's kit, it appears as though they are removable or optional, but what the heck are they? It's the first time I've seen a Block 52 with those things.

And forgive me for being so (what's the word) but I found a set of decals from a Block 40. Apparently the only difference from Blk 40 to 50 is something with the HUD. Is it a significant difference? Because I can't find any Block 40s on the market, although there are a few Block 50s around

Thanks

Jerry

[Paolo Maglio]

Yes, WARD HUD in Block 40 makes a lot of difference since it is huge!

Also note Block 40 have external reinforcing plates while Block 50 have them built under the skin.

Again with Tamiya F-16C Adversary/Aggressor you can also build a Block 40 since the WARD HUD is included.

[Andre]

Scott, I'm not too sure about your model. It looks like you'll also need to find a NSI intake from another source.

The NSI inlet is included with the original parts - parts C11, B4, B15 and B16.

All Hasegawa 1/72nd F-16's come with the NSI inlet - some boxings include the MCID parts on sprue F.

HTH,

Andre

[scotthldr]

Scott, I'm not too sure about your model. It looks like you'll also need to find a NSI intake from another source.

Anyways, I'm looking at the packaging and example of the Kinetic F-16C, presumably from Block 52+

http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=KI-K48028

http://www.hyperscale.com/2011/galleries/f16cblock5248mh_1.htm

If you look at these real world Vipers:

http://jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?aircraft=General%20Dynamics%20F-16AM%20Fighting%20Falcon

I don't see those two humps on either side of the center fuselage. From Michael's kit, it appears as though they are removable or optional, but what the heck are they? It's the first time I've seen a Block 52 with those things.

And forgive me for being so (what's the word) but I found a set of decals from a Block 40. Apparently the only difference from Blk 40 to 50 is something with the HUD. Is it a significant difference? Because I can't find any Block 40s on the market, although there are a few Block 50s around

Thanks

Jerry

Both the NSI and MCID intakes are provided in this box as do most of the C/D boxings from Hasegawa so that isn't a problem. I've looked into it a bit more and it could be built as a pre CCIP Blk 50 with a bit of tinkering, however it's a CCIP a/c I'd be building and therefore no use(Tamiya produce the only CCIP F16).

Jerry those humps are the Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT's)and are indeed removable and I believe these are only able to be fitted to Blk 52+(PLUS) and above not Blk 52's, and I think only Greece, Israel(F-16I), Poland, UAE(F16E/F)use them, with Turkey in the process of adopting them which I think all the modification work is being carried out locally. The USAF do not use them.

The Kinetic kit to put it simply is a "bugger" of a kit, it requires a lot of work to make it presentable and if you're planning on doing another version from waht the box says then you have to know what the differences are as there is no cross reference material, even the instructions to build OOB are wrong and misleading in places.

The differences between Blk40/42 and Blk50/52 have already been pointed out.

Going back to your initial post regards the Two Bobs decals, then this is the kit you want

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/tam/kit_tam_61098.shtml

[airmechaja]

Jerry,

I don't think it was mentioned here but Pete "Pig" Fleischmann's book "The Scale Viper" answers all these questions and more. It's well worth the money (if still available). If you're building more than a couple Vipers, It's invaluable.

Dean

[Jonny2174]

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like I'll be putting the Kinetic F-16 for later on when I'm more experienced.

I was really reading over what you guys told me and came to think that Tamiya's t-bird is quite a bit expensive.

Post #26 and #27, you guys told me that Hasegawa's F-16CJ Misawa Japan is suitable for these decals. I was confused; is there any negative side of the kit? And another thing, does that kit have CCIP (or CCID or whatever, those additional plates right in front of canopy)?

So again, putting Kinetic aside for now. Just having trouble decide over these two:

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Model_Aircraft/HAS00007232/product.php

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Model_Aircraft/TAM00061102/product.php

Thanks for your support.

Jerry

[Netz]

Although I like the Hasegawa kit allot, I'd say spend the extra $ on the Tamiya kit, as you really don't need to invest in any after-market for it, Hasegawa on the other hand would need a cockpit, is a bit sparse in the gear well.

Also it does not include the Bird Slicer antenna you asked about.

Curt

[Modelmkr]

Although I like the Hasegawa kit allot, I'd say spend the extra $ on the Tamiya kit, as you really don't need to invest in any after-market for it, Hasegawa on the other hand would need a cockpit, is a bit sparse in the gear well.

Also it does not include the Bird Slicer antenna you asked about.

Curt

Agreed. For the extra $ you may end up spending on aftermarket for the Hasegawa kit anyway, I'd forego that and just get the Tamiya kit.

Also, something to consider on the specific Tamiya kit; the Thunderbirds version is moulded in white plastic, which can be a pain to paint cover and the T'birds have specific bit's you'll need to be aware of to omit, like the smoke dispenser pipe.

As was mentioned earlier, the best of all worlds is this boxing of the Tamiya kit. It has everything in the kit to build an F-16 From block 25 to 52 (so that's 25, 30, 32, 40, 42, 50, 52).

Mind you, you'll have to know the specific parts differences between these blocks to know how to mix and match, so the T'bird boxing is more straight forward as it steps you through a block 52 build.

Good luck with you choices and build :)

Cheers.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Modelmkr

[Jonny2174]

Modelmkr, thank you for that information. I never knew the Aggressor was the same price as the thunderbird. Looks like Adversary is my next model!

One last thing, about the CCIP. The decals provide one jet without CCIP. Would the Hasegawa jet be suitable for building that airplane?

Thanks!

Jerry

[scotthldr]

Copied from Modelling Madness web site

"F-16C Block 40/42/50/52 (and “Big Mouth†Block 30s):

With kit 06110, Hasegawa started what I call their “second generation†of 1/48 Viper kits. 06110 F-16CJ and identical 07232, 09382, 09421, and 09438 are based on 06104, but have three new trees which include larger intake, leading edge RWR parts, larger tire/wheel/gear/bulged doors appropriate for Block 40/42/50/52 Vipers, square nose gear door landing lights, and newer type wingtip missile rails and AIM-120s, and also has a tree of AGM-88 HARMS, launch rails, and ATHS. 09474 and 09811 are based on 06110 but lack the Wild Weasel parts (tree V). 09848 is based on 06110 but includes LANTIRN parts and some new antennae and lacks the Wild Weasel parts and newer style landing lights. 09869 is based on 06110 but includes LANTIRN parts and new stiffening plates 09894 is based on 06110 but includes some new antennae and lacks the Wild Weasel parts, AIM-120 tree, and AIM-9/drop tanks parts. 09397 is based on 06110 but lacks the Wild Weasel parts (tree V) and the NLG landing lights. 09368 and identical 09826 are based on 06110 but lack the tree with HARMs and ATHS, instead have trees C and Z from Weapons Set D (X48-8) with both LANTIRN pods and their pylons and optics. 09766 is almost identical to 09368/09826, it lacks only the later landing lights. These recent kits are the most accurate choices to build F-16C/Ds from Blocks 30/32 or 50/52 Fighting Falcon. All can be built as Block 40/42 if the HUD is corrected; see Greg Feiser’s web pages fpr details. A quick way to tell that a kit has the new parts is that these issues come in a larger sized box than the earlier F-16s."

and the complete list, scroll down for the F16 contents list.

http://modelingmadness.com/splfeat/kr/has48d.htm

[Jonny2174]

Hello,

It has been some time since I last looked at this topic and thank you for your excellent advice. But here I am looking at the F-16 paint chart:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/f-16/f-16c_profile02.shtml

Looks like FS36270 Neutral Gray for the underside and forward fuselage and vertical stab, FS36118 Gunship Gray for the top of fuselage, and maybe some FS36375 Light Ghost Gray for the missile rails and armament.

But what color is the nose? That darker part, the instructions don't really say and my TwoBobs decals reference sheet doesn't say either.

And also I'm assuming that the afterburner tailpipe will be Titanium with the silver ring right before it be Steel?

Thanks,

Jerry

[scotthldr]

The Nose radome starts out as FS36270(Neutral Grey) but darkens pretty quickly due to the material it is made out of so if you paint it anything darker than 36270 you will technically speaking not be wrong.

The exhaust petals vary in colour and indeed material depending on what Blk you decide to do

Everything is explained in this link

http://www.usaf-sig.org/index.php/component/content/article/82-f-16-viper-faq-stuff-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-f-16cd

Edited March 10, 2012 by scotthldr

[jmel]

Jerry, with all due respect, you're asking a TON of questions. that's totally fine, and what this forum is all about. However, you've been pointed to many different resources where all this information can be found. Lots of people have invested a lot of their time in putting together resources to answer such questions, with the aim of making things easier for people that don't know that much about the F-16. Truly, you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration if you just go to the links provided and do some research yourself. You've been pointed to two books and two websites that answer the questions you're asking, and you haven't even acknowledged those people that were trying to help.

Jake

Edited March 10, 2012 by jmel

[Jonny2174]

First, thank you Scott for that information.

Jake, I understand what you are saying. Yes, I probably could find most of this information online, but I feel that this forum is most useful because I am talking with real people. There are probably plenty of informative websites and books, yes I acknowledge that but I just feel that forums are more, should I say, "engaging" or so.

If I didn't acknowledge those people, I am very sorry. I appreciate all sources of information and all help given.

Jerry

[jmel]

Fair enough, Jerry, and that's totally fine. As I said, that's why these forums exist. It just seems to be very frustrating for you to have to wait around for someone to answer your questions for you, when the information is so readily available in book and/or website form.

Jake

[Bigasshammm]

Resurrecting this one as I just started a build. In this diagram the strengthening plates what would be the best way to scratch them? Are they recessed or would they be bumped out? Basically should I just scribe the lines for them or cut out pieces of PE or thin styrene and just glue them directly to the surface?

Thanks

Same with the RAM panels on the nose?

Edited March 20, 2012 by Bigasshammm

[dmk0210]

They are raised from the surface.

You probably could cut them from PE or thin styrene. The main problem would be getting them to conform to the surface and lay flat. They also have some surface detail (rivets and such). Check some good clear hires pictures for detail.

Edited March 20, 2012 by dmk0210