Viper88 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Just thought I would start an interesting discussion regarding thoughts of the popularity of F-16 kits. Almost all model companies have at least one F-16 kit in some scale. Hasegawa has done pretty much every version out there and then Tamiya does it in 1/32 and 1/48th, why did they select the F-16 among all the other jet choices?....I know the Tamiya Falcons are much more accurate and nice and include weapons (shame on you Hasegawa over all these years even though they are including more and more weapons in their newer kits). Academy is going nuts in 1/32 F-16 kits and Kenetic too. And F-16 kits seam to sell well, at my LHS's they don't sit on the shelves too long but I did a poll here on ARC and other forums on kit preference Air Force or Navy and by far people preferred modelling Navy jets, so again who is buying all the Air Force F-16 kits then? All thoughts and opinions welcomed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Probably down to the fact that over 4500 have been built which are or have been used by 26 different nations and 28 different air arms. The choice in markings for the modeller is immense as is the weapon load out. I've just finishing off a 1/48 Tamiya F-16CJ and built the Kinetic Blk52+ earlier this year and to be honest there isn't much in it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
metroman Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I don't get it either - the 'Lectric Jet is a major snooze-fest, sorta like anything Luftwaffe - YMMV Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SouthViper Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 First of all the F-16 is such a beautiful aircraft, from the Prototype to the last Blocks the F-16. Even and although those CFTs You can see its seductive curves. And more, not just beautiful but very capable machine and successfully combat proven. I believe these qualities made the F-16 so popular and even more with large number of users and different camouflages. SouthViper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ol Crew Dog Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 First of all the F-16 is such a beautiful aircraft, from the Prototype to the last Blocks the F-16. Even and although those CFTs You can see its seductive curves. And more, not just beautiful but very capable machine and successfully combat proven. I believe these qualities made the F-16 so popular and even more with large number of users and different camouflages. SouthViper The term "lawn dart" comes to mind....:) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scapilot Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I think its just because theyre so recognizable. One does t have to be a huge aviation. Buff to still recognize an F-16. Any casual air show goer would identify one. They've been around for years and let's not forget the thunderbirds Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Air-Craft Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Any casual air show goer would identify one. They've been around for years and let's not forget the thunderbirds I would 2nd that, over the years the F-16 has impressed at many shows & with a good combination of speed & manoeuvrability it's often the "hottest" & most exciting aircraft for many people to see at any given show - they then often then want to model it. I'm no great F-16 fan (I prefer bigger things with more engines), but the RNLAF Demo Team's gorgeous J-015 managed to persuade me to pay a fair bit of money for an currently OOP Tamiya 1/32 F-16 to convert into it..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-Neu- Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I built 3 and 1/2 this spring for the USAFE GB... (still need to glosscoat the final one). All were Hasegawa 1/72 kits. I certainly enjoyed building them and they are pretty cool as extremely fast and nimble fighters that can do multi-role. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kagemusha Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I don't get it either - the 'Lectric Jet is a major snooze-fest, sorta like anything Luftwaffe - YMMV Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jochemp Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I'm a Self Confess Viper Fan... working on my own GB to do all 25 users and variants (blk 15, MLU, ADF, blk 40, blk 50/52) among most popular AF plenty of markings, loadouts A2A/A2G, U name it... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) I'm not a Viper fan myself, but I can see the appeal. I even build the occasional one (although for my modern jet fix I prefer Plastic Bugs) For the special markings fans you've got the gorgeous Danish and Belgian birds plus L'Ultima Diana, the oddball camo fans have a zillion options starting with the AK Aggressors, the aircraft has served with both the USAF and the USN plus major Air Forces in pretty much every world region and they've seen action in every NATO, Israeli or US engagement of the last 25-30 years (IIRC the last US engagement they didn't participate in was Libya in 1986). So tons of variants, tons of loadouts, tons of schemes, tons of users and its the most common 4th gen fighter in service. Yeah, not surprised there's so many options in terms of kits. Of course I also build Luftwaffe stuff (at least Bundeswehr era Luftwaffe). The only comparable jets in terms of usage are really a couple MiG's (15 and 21), the F-86 and the F-4. Edited August 23, 2012 by mawz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stalal Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) First of all the F-16 is such a beautiful aircraft, from the Prototype to the last Blocks the F-16. Even and although those CFTs You can see its seductive curves. And more, not just beautiful but very capable machine and successfully combat proven. I believe these qualities made the F-16 so popular and even more with large number of users and different camouflages. SouthViper I fully agree. Its a beautiful aircraft. Its combat proven and its truly multi-role. These factors make it very popular. F-16 is my most favorite airplane. Edited August 23, 2012 by stalal Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer 30 Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I respect the F-16. It has a well deserved and shining combat record and honestly, for the performance per dollar, it cannot be better. That is why they pumped out Five thousand of them. With upgrades it still can compete. My absolute favorites are the block sixties and Israeli variants. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Laurent Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 First of all the F-16 is such a beautiful aircraft, from the Prototype to the last Blocks the F-16. Even and although those CFTs You can see its seductive curves. And more, not just beautiful but very capable machine and successfully combat proven. I believe these qualities made the F-16 so popular and even more with large number of users and different camouflages. SouthViper Like the MiG-21, the F-16 was initially a "supersonic sports plane" (this how the Indians called the MiG-21F-13 according to Bill Gunston). I'm not a huge Viper fan but I'd love to read a monography about the development of the aircraft. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mightymax Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I never took much notice of the F-16 even though I have several Hasegawa kits. Then I see these flying slabs that are supposed to be F-16's in Israeli desert camo and I stand up and take notice. I think the F-16 is a pretty airplane. I think the Polish and Isreali birds with all the CFT's big spines and tons of ordnance are so brutish looking and I like that look alot for this aircraft.! Max Bryant Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmk0210 Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Hasegawa has done pretty much every version out there and then Tamiya does it in 1/32 and 1/48thActually regardless of what they say on the box, the 1/48 Hasegawa kits are basically -A and earlier -C models with extra parts to sortof-kindof represent the newer models. Use the Hasegawa kit for a -A or block 25 -C. For the Block 30 or newer, the Tamiya kits are much closer. Tamiya needs a two seat kit though. I remember when the Viper first came out. It was a really high tech aircraft, pushing the envelope of then current technology to provide a relatively simple and lightweight multi-mission aircraft to replace both the F-104 and F-4 in USAF and NATO service. It was and still is a very impressive workhorse, jack of all trades aircraft, fulfilling its original specifications and then evolving into much more. The Marines and Navy had similar capability in the F/A-18 A/C, but had to trade off higher weight and less range to add carrier capability. And really the Hornet never grew up in capability and role as well as the Viper (aside from the F/A-18D). Just a few months ago I watched a South Carolina ANG Viper maneuver over my house for about an hour. It is a very sexy aircraft regardless of the dull gray paint scheme. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Camus272 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) Besides being the best looking aircraft in history, it is probably the most common. 30 years with the Thunderbirds and most ANG units (in my area MN, WI, IA, SD use them and until recently ND). It also has the most range of paint schemes. Besides the aggressors, even operational units get more variation than F-15 units ( the black tailed CA and FL ones for example). I have about 55-60 in the works but they come out with new paint schemes faster than I can finish any. For something like the F-22, as good as it looks, there isn't much point in building more than one, the only difference would be the tailcode and number. As for the kits, there was almost a 30 year gap between the Hasegawa and Tamiya releases, so it was about time for an upgrade. Brian Edited August 24, 2012 by Camus272 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Viper88 Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 Just picked up the Tamiya 1/48 F-16C Block 25/32, wow, what a nice kit. Also picked up the Up Parts Set, nice too. The bad part is I like the kit so much I can now understand why everyone is waiting desperately for a 2 seater. I just can't understand that it has been 5 years since the CJ kit has been release and no 2 seater. Hasegawa has had a 2 seater forever, Kinetic has a few, you can tell by the design of the kit and the 2 sets of belts on the Up Parts Set that these were all designed to cater to a 2 seater so, the million dollar question is.............when or will we ever see a 2 seater released by Tamiya? They could go nuts with version, Sufa, block 60, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dan W Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 The F-16 is my favorite as well. My question is on the F-16E and F-16F. How do these differ from the F-16C and F-16D? How is Kinetics E and F's? I believe Hasegawa makes one or the other as well. Dan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Still the prettiest... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andre Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Still the prettiest... That's the fun of F-16 modeling for me - you can go all the way from that one to a steroidal, swollenspined, ECM/RWR-pimpled and CFT-saddled beast like the F-16F/I. Cheers, Andre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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