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Quick F-16 build


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Im thinking about picking up a monogram F-16 for a quick build and I guess what I want to know is what is this kit like? Can I make chicken salad out of chicken...poop with this kit or should I spend a bit more and get a Kentic or Tamiya F-16?

Xavier

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For a quick build I'd say Hasegawa, they can be found quite cheaply on the secondary market.

It will be light-years ahead of the Monogram offering.

Curt

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I see them at Model Contests, and Kit Collector shows selling from $10-15 $20 at the most.

Here's one Ive been working on, it's painted now but no pic's posted yet.

Curt

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I completely forgot about the acdamey kit and that's cause I see them at my local hobby lobby all the time. I just want something quick to get back into the swing of things. When I build a subject I like work with basic inexpensive kits to see what I can do with them before I get the good stuff. I will more than likely build an academy or hasegawa falcon then a Tamiya or Kenitic Falcon later on. One as a Topgun jet and the other with 149th FW markings.

And I am by no means looking for a perfect kit, just good enough.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Xavier

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Some will argue against my opinion, but I would suggest the Academy kit. At our local Hobby Lobby, it was $12.99. Some fit and shape issues, but to get you back into the swing it's a bargain. Recessed lines (if you prefer them), lots of external weapons options, and out of box they offer an A or a C version. If you're not picky, you can do a lot with this kit with a simple addition of aftermarket decals.

Aaron

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I'll disagree on the Academy kit, it does have allot of issues, it is cheap but not worth dropping money into it, you can spend the same $ on the Hasegawa kit and not have to deal with the shape issues.

Curt

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Model Shows and Kit Collector events are the place to be to get some good deals.

I just attended the Keller Show in Buena Park Ca., I could have picked up a HAS F-16A T-Bird kit for $10, I did grab a few HAS.109's a 190 for the $10 sale, another vendor had the F-16D Brakeet for $20 a Sufa for $30 but talked him down to $25.

Dragon armor, missed a stack of Tiger I's for $20 ea (white box DX08's ?) but did grab a Panther and Stug III G for $20/$15 respectively.

Missed on a Victory Prod 1/48 US/Nasa F-104 decal sheet, $10,(yea the mega sheet) I don't know how it lasted till late in the show,if I had seen it I surly would have brought it home.

But yes, there are deals to be found I recommend attending.

Curt

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I figured Academy copied Hasegawa. I mean, if you can't afford a research department, it's the expedient solution. But if almost any kit will do, it comes down to access and price. That could be a nearby IPMS show with vendors or a Hobby Lobby or Michaels with a 40 percent off coupon.

Not really a copy, but they tried.

Here is a review written by Mike V. that points out all the flaws to the Academy kit.

Curt

Acad F-16

-Cockpit, void of any detail, and has decals for instrument panel and

consoles-Weak! Even so, it’s all A model layout

-NLG strut lacks the "T" type structure and

- MLG Wheels are wrong

-The intake is split from both sides of the mouth (unlike Hasegawa's 1 piece

mouth) and is smaller on one side, so it ends up out of proportion/bad profile when the intake assembly is completed.

-Gun Muzzle is real soft in detail (worse than Hasegawa's first F-16A kits)

and is only in the C model style.

-Canopy has no bubble cross-section.

-Pylons misshapen

-The wing tip rails, though separate, once glued on, lack the proper "Angle

of incidence", witch is basically a nose down position like that of the F-18

wing tip rails.

-No flare to the rear fuselage strake (right about where the LE of the stabs

are) exist and the sides do not angle down as they should at the end of the

speed brakes. Instead, the stabs have an angled mating edge, to give them

the proper anheadral. This is the worst issue of accuracy with the kit!

-The Exhaust nozzle part (doughnut panel) has some funky scalloping going on. What they were trying to represent here, I have no idea????

Note the markings (tail stripes) for the F-16C 512th Aircraft are sized for the "A" model tail. By that botching, you really can't make even the kit markings accurate.

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