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YF-16 Prototype No. 1


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Here's one I've always wanted to build, and with the release of Caracal Models excellent decal sheet covering the subject, I'm all in. Kit bashing a Hasegawa F-16A (early Thunderbirds boxing) with an Otaki/Entex F-16 kit. The Otaki kit has about the closest you'll get to a prototype nose/forward fuselage. I went back and forth trying to decide whether to graft the fwd fuselage on to the Hasegawa kit, or just go with the nose...I went with just the nose, cutting both kits at the panel line just forward of the cockpit.
Otaki kit (gray) pictured with the old Tamiya F-16 kit. My original intention was to just go OOB with the Tamiya kit until I found the nose, indeed the entire kit, is basically the first Full Scale Production (FSD) F-16.

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Otaki nose with Hasegawa fuselage. I removed the Hasegawa cannon port and using the Otaki canon port piece, moved it forward on the fuselage.

*A note on Hasegawa early F-16A kits: The kit  I used here is kit No V002 (V2), this particular boxing (and you can see the box in the background) has the entire gun port molded into the fuselage. Later boxings of kit V2 (you can tell the difference between the two by the photos of actual Thunderbirds on the box as seen), and all subsequent Hasegawa F-16 kits, has the gun port as a separate piece. Had I known this at the time, I would have used my other Thunderbirds F-16A kit as the gun port is better detailed. 😕
Here I've also begun reshaping the canopy hinge area to the rounded type you see on the prototypes. I will use the Otaki canopy which also retains this feature.
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One of the things that influenced my decision to just stick with the Hasegawa fwd fuselage was that I could assemble and install the cockpit without any major hassles. I modified the instrument panel to more accurately represent the prototype by removing the CRT screen on the L/H side of the instr panel and center console, and replacing with "steam gages" from Reheat. I also modified the kit ACES II back section/launch rails to accommodate, and look more like the prototype ESCAPAC seat type.

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Edited by 82Whitey51
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Been pondering a similar conversion myself for a while, so following with interest.  Will you be changing panel lines?  According to the first edition Sqn Signal "In Action" book on the F-16, the cockpit was slightly further back as well, and both chord and span of the wings and tailplanes were shorter too.  Any ideas how to do those?

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3 hours ago, jenshb said:

Been pondering a similar conversion myself for a while, so following with interest.  Will you be changing panel lines?  According to the first edition Sqn Signal "In Action" book on the F-16, the cockpit was slightly further back as well, and both chord and span of the wings and tailplanes were shorter too.  Any ideas how to do those?

Yes, I shortened the intake length some (by a 1/4 inch) and also the wing span and cord by a 1/8" or so. The Otaki wings are the correct span and cord (well, as far as Otaki accuracy goes) for the prototype and I used those as a guide to trim the Hasegawa wings. Pics coming on these mods.
Panel lines, I'll replace what I destroy (LOL) in the process, but I gotta be honest, accuracy wise, I'm sure they won't match any YF-16 drawings (I can't even find any) out there. Overall length is shorter than the FSD F-16s, chopping the nose back seems to visually captured that, but again, I'm not putting my calipers to the test, just going off gouge from other guys who have done this conversion.
The tail planes (horizontal stabs) from the Otaki kit are noticeably smaller, I may use those. I have a set of Block 5/10 stabs from Quickboost that my be used as well...haven't decided yet.

Edited by 82Whitey51
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16 hours ago, Emvar said:

BTW nice article in RT!

Hey thanks, man. I received my copy in the mail on Friday, nice publication you guys do up there at IPMS Canada! I enjoyed doing the write up, and Steve (the editor) was a great help in pointing me in the right direction as far as content and grammar! 

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Moving on...Prior to gluing the  fuselage together I needed to address shortening the intake. Now, before I go any further, let me be clear, I'm not sitting here with a set of General Dynamics blue prints in front of me. My references are interwebs pics, drawings, and model forum info from other guys who've done similar conversions and somewhere along the line I have a note that says to shorten the intake by 1/4". So, I cut 1/8th from the fuselage intake mating face, and 1/8th from the aft end of the intake assembly to get there. I also removed the "spliter" that the intake assy mounts to as you can see in the photo below, because the whole thing is getting backed up. I made a template to make a rough hole filler, the splitter will be retained and glued to the intake assy, and filled the gaps with Miliput .

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Once that was all done I glued the fuselage halves together. Test fitting everything prior to, I realized the nose would be too long. I had cut the Otaki nose off at the same panel line as the Hasegawa kit, just in front of the cockpit. After dry fitting the intake, and nose, it just did not look right. So...I cut a further 1/8th inch off the nose cone. I would now be facing a major "step" at the nose join....I figured I'd use Miliput again to fair it all in...or something 🤷‍♂️. I'd take care of it when I got there, man.

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While thinking about how to solve this problem (solving problems and issues is strangely a satisfying aspect of this hobby to me, and I often put myself into situations that I have to 😩) I noticed that if I removed the fwd attaching tab of the cockpit tub, I could squeeze the fuselage together and achieve nearly the same cross section as the nose cone! I'd still have to make up for the width, however...so I split the nose cone in half, glued it in place, and filled with splinters of sheet plastic/"sprue goo"/super glue:

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WOOO!! Alright...done with that. I'll smooth it all out, and then it'll be on to the wings.

 

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Wings! The Wings of the YF-16 are shorter by span and cord than the FSD F-16...I don't have dimensions here in front of me but again, I'll use the Otaki wings as a template and cut, sand, and shape. I also modified the  AIM-9 launch rails to represent the more simple prototype rails.

 

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Modified wing up top, and the standard Hasegawa F-16 wing below. The YF-16 flaps and leading edges would tend to droop when the aircraft is shut down, I'll likely drop the flaps some, but I don't wanna mess with the leading edge.

 

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I accomplished the wing mod while waiting on Miliput, and Mr. Dissolved putty to dry on the underside area and intake assembly. The YF-16 did not have the arresting hook, so I got rid of it, and filled the openings with Miliput. Using the Tamiya instructions as a guide (visible in the background) I scribed panel lines to replicate the aft underside area. Also, you might notice in the background that I have proceeded to cut the flaps from the wing. 😩

 

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The underside strakes of the YF-16 were also a bit smaller and shaped a bit differently. Again, using the Otaki strakes as a guide, I modified the Hasegawa parts...beginning to question why I didn't use the Otaki kit as my base kit. 😕

 

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This is where I sit, today, preparing to attach the now modified wings.

 

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8 hours ago, jenshb said:

I thought I'd copied that in.  Try again...

 

http://www.zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=10918

 

 


Yes! Thank you for the link...I was searching for that thread over there on Z5 and couldn't find it. That is where I first headr of the Otaki/Entex kit. I'm going to review that thread again and see what else I can learn from it.

I even posted in that thread!

Edited by 82Whitey51
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1 hour ago, Bob Beary said:

Did you make that holder for the Tamiya cement bottles? If so, what did you use? It looks like some sort of styrofoam material.

 

Also looks very secure around the bottles.

 

Bob

Hey Bob, it's a 3D printed plastic device. The company I work for does some 3D printing, so  I asked one of the guys to make a few. I downloaded the file off the internet...that's the extent of my 3D printing knowledge 😂. It holds them alright, the sides could be a little higher in opinion, but a piece of Blue Tac under the bottles helps keep them really secure.

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Interesting project you got there mate but, I have my doubts about the accuracy of the radome, especially after the "surgery" you performed. Do you know the aircraft's length in 1/48 (I presume you're building an 1/48 YF-16, right?)?

 

By the way, the cockpit looks spot on!

 

Looking forward to hearing from you and your thoughts on how you will proceed with this build!

 

Bill :thumbsup:

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3 hours ago, SERNAK said:

Interesting project you got there mate but, I have my doubts about the accuracy of the radome, especially after the "surgery" you performed. Do you know the aircraft's length in 1/48 (I presume you're building an 1/48 YF-16, right?)?

 

By the way, the cockpit looks spot on!

 

Looking forward to hearing from you and your thoughts on how you will proceed with this build!

 

Bill :thumbsup:


No, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, I don't have a set of Gen Dyn blue prints on the table here. I shortened the nose, wings, and backed up the intake going off of the Otaki jet. The only dimensional drawings I have are what I show here. I know I'm not 100% accurate here but it'll look cool when it's done. 47.5 Ft Length, and 29.3 Ft wing span is what I ended up with.

 

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Edited by 82Whitey51
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5 hours ago, SERNAK said:

A prosperous profession these days!!! and you get to see a lot of "twins"!!!!

I know!!!! Especially living in the DC metro area! If I'd jumped into it after high school (1988), I'd be in the thick of it right now! Line out the door of hot ladies (..well, mostly) in their 40s/early 50s willing to shell out lots of $$$$$$$$$$$ to look good. thanks to all those "Bravo TV" wife shows. FUUUUUCCCKKK!!! 

Bottom line, I'd have a hangar full of Warbirds at the airport down the road 😩

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Moving on...plastic surgeon dreams aside, I modified the Hasegawa vertical stab/tail with a light assembly (?) from the Otaki tail, and have attached the wings and horizontal stabs in place. I also modified the exhaust pipe, removing a section and shortening it some. 

I may be ready to paint sometime this weekend!

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