Mike J. Idacavage Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Time to start the fun with this great GB! After much thought and bouncing between a bunch of kits and decals, I decided that I would work on the RNLAF MLU Flight Test F-16B nicknamed Orange Jumper. The aircraft got this name from the non-standard (orange) test wiring (jumpers) that was used for various test programs. Daco decals produced the markings for this test aircraft under their Astra Decals line a few years ago. For the base kit, I'll be starting with the 1/72 Revell F-16B kit which should have most, if not all, of the necessary upgrades for the RNLAF MLU version. Here's how the project looks at the start: To get a better idea as to what this model might look like at the end of the build, here's a photo of the decal instruction sheet: Oh yea, I will be building the 1999 - 2005 scheme as the orange kangaroo simply looks cool! This build will be a bit slow as I have three other builds going at the same time. As they also have deadlines attached, I am looking to spread this build out over the 6 months or at least until I can clear some of the other models off my bench. Now it is on to the classic starting point, the cockpit! Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thats a cool looking scheme indeed. Should look great all built up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sentry30 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Awesome choose of subject!! Looking forward to see this one being build!! This might be a nice add-on ;)/> Daniel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Outstanding idea Daniel! Actually, an Orpheus pod is included with the 1/72 decals from DACO. You can see the two halves of the pod in the first photo on the parts for my build at the lower right corner of the green mat. These have been made by what looks to be a low pressure injection molding system and the details are a bit soft, but this should look good after cleaning up and painting. I have started work on painting the cockpit along with a few other sub-systems so not much to look at this stage. Hopefully, I'll have some progress to report soon. Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 I finally get to show some progress on this build! While I have been working on a few of the sub-assemblies such as the Orpheus pod, drop tanks, gear wells, etc., most of the progress has been in the cockpit. Here is how the front offices look after some assembly and paint applied. I exaggerated the paint a bit as the canopy will be closed and I want to make sure the impression of a busy cockpit is there. I may have run into my first build challenge in that the multiple parts for the air inlet are too small for the area where it slots in. I followed the instructions ( :bandhead2:/>/> ) and assembled the inlet first and I found that the assembled part has too small a radius and leaves a gap at the bottom of the fuselage where it sits in and is too high at the top (when viewed upside down). Now to break out the modeling skills!!! Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ruud Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 ah the Jolly Jumper. Lucky Luke would be proud. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I think the cockpit looks great. Thats frustrating about the inlet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sentry30 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Wish more brands would include resin stuff with their decals, I was not aware of that! Nice progress so far!! D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Here's a few photos to illustrate what I meant by the poor fit of the engine inlet. I pre-assembled the basic form of the engine inlet and dropped it into to underside of the fuselage. You can see the gaps where the inlet meets the underside and where it is raised above the bottom of the fuselage in these two photos. My solution? I added a small sprue spreader bar to widen the gap where the base meets the fuselage. This also then lowers the overall height of this piece relative to the bottom of the fuselage. Here's where the spreader bar fits into the inlet. My next step is to add the front of the inlet and then glue/putty/sand this to the bottom half of the main fuselage. Oh yea, adding the spreader bar does not easily go with having an open inlet, so I now plan on adding a FOD engine inlet cover to hide the spreader bar. At least I do not need to hassle with making a smooth interior for the engine inlet! Have fun modeling! Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 You weren't kidding! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 haven't encountered such problems on my F-16s... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 I think I can chalk this up to operator error. I am not sure what I did to screw it up, but the results speak for themselves! :unsure:/> Sebastijan, like your experience, I have not read of anyone else having this problem with the Revell inlets either. I have a few more copies of this kit in my stash, so hopefully I will not duplicate this problem in the future. However, I plan on working with what I have now, so it is time to correct my mistake. The first step is to complete the inlet by gluing on the front section. I will now fill in the gaps and smooth over the poor fit between the two sections. Once this is taken care of, I should be able to add this to the bottom section of the fuselage and fare the entire inlet in. Just a temporary detour on the journey to a completed GB entry! Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Wish you luck! Although such setbacks are not welcome, at least they let us be modellers instead of assemblers :) I'm sure you'll sort out the troublsome part well! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I'm sure it will turn out great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 When in doubt, use brute force! :rofl:/>/> Here's the air inlet being glued to the bottom of the fuselage. Although there is a bit of a step and gap on the bottom left side, it actually does not look too bad now that I have taken off the clamps. After a bit of putty and sanding, I'll be able to start to get the fuselage put together. Have fun modeling! Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 More power! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 While I am having fun getting the engine inlet properly fared in, I have been working on other sections of the model. Here's the top of the fuselage with the cockpit sections test fitted. I added the prominent grab handle that is in front of the rear cockpit using brass wire. Strangely, Revell has two little dimples in the correct position but no corresponding plastic part for the handle. The brass wire likely will look better anyway. I also wanted to add some weight to prevent a tail sitter so I worked on the nose section of the Viper. Orange Jumper has a large extension for the nose probe, nicely nicknamed the Viagra Boom. As Danny has the dimensions for the Viagra Boom listed on the decal sheet, I epoxied a large sewing needle at the correct length to the front of the nose after drilling the required size hole. While I was at it, I added a hollow cone of lead to the inside of the nose cone. By drilling out the front of the lead cone (fishing sinker), this added some good support to the Viagra Boom. I'll fare in the front of the nose with a little putty to have a smooth transition to the boom. Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Looking great Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 Before I can get the fuselage assembled, I need to get the main landing gear bay added to the bottom of the fuselage. Here's the bay with a little wiring added to give it a little less sterile look. I then proceeded to paint it flat white followed by a gloss white coat. To finish it off, I then did some detail painting to complete the sub-assembly. Next step is to start pulling everything together and get something that looks like an F-16B! Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Love it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 Time to start making this look like a Viper! I have started to assemble the main fuselage structure. Here are the main parts of the fuselage assembled along with the cockpit section. I am now cleaning up the main gaps in the seems before I add the tail and the radome sections. The underside seem where the cockpit joins the bottom of the fuselage has the largest gaps but nothing that our friend MR Surfacer can't deal with! Note how that stubborn mismatch between the air inlet and the fuselage has been eliminated (or at least subdued! :lol:/>/> ). Have fun modeling! Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 F-16 seams are never fun. Your doing a bang up job though! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 I usually prefer to have my canopy opened in most of my builds. This allows me to add the detail parts like the ejection seats and control sticks at the very end of my build to prevent any damage. In this case I plan on having the Orange Jumper F-16B finished with a closed canopy to show of the family model lines. I will need to have the cockpit complete and sealed before I get t the paint stage. So I spent some time completing the ejection seats so that they would be ready to go when it comes to that step. As both of the seats had sheepskin covers on the real Orange Jumper, I decided to try and duplicate that look using scale model car "flock" added to the seat pads. As the canopy will be closed, I am hoping that these will have the right effect under the clear plastic canopy. I will find out soon enough! I did add the pull handles using wire formed in a small loop and then painted. Have fun modeling! Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Seats look great Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike J. Idacavage Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 Hi fellow modelers! A really heavy work/travel schedule for the past almost 3 weeks put my modeling efforts on the back burner for awhile. I am now back and can start to catch up on my build for this GB. While I was working on the Viper fuselage, I also took a break and finished up the drop tanks for Orange Jumper. Any self respecting test aircraft would want to wear some black and white photo calibration markings somewhere on the aircraft! :D/>/> I think these will give the standard F-16 gray scheme a little contrast. Here are the two tanks painted and decaled. I also finished up their pylons at the same time. Note that the two tanks have a different photo calibration scheme. Now it is back to working on the fuselage! Have fun modeling Mike :cheers:/>/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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