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1/72 Academy F-16 CJ/CG block40/50 !!!


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i'm not a viper fan, but this time i think i can do a review. having built, or in the process of building the worst and the best kits on the market, academy's new kit sets new levels of accuracy in this scale. much like their previous release the f-8 crusader, this kit is packed with rivet details and the landing gear and decals provided are crisp and salivating.

on to the pics!

contents of a fresh box.

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the sprue layout is simple, 2 frames of weapons and 1 for the airframe and another for the wings.

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decal sheet from cartograf is simply worth the kit itself. wolfpack and 79th tiger are the highlights.

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the clear canopy comes tinted, but unfortunately has a seam line running straight down the middle ala hasegawa. this makes repairing the sanded down canopy difficult as one has to still match the smoke tint after.

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overall, the kit is packed with details, and the weapons and decals make it worth every dollar. i am still building the kit as i speak.

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started with the exhaust nozzles, since my airbrush was laden with silver paint for the u-2. sharing the colour.

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a darker shade for the GE nozzle plug. should be black i realised.

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afterburner interior before and after

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GE nozzle interior sprayed white, using same technique for my f-14Ds

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cockpit is sprayed grey

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there is a sink mark on the side of the instrument panel. shouldnt be able to see it once assembled

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white parts are being sprayed!

front landing door

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main landing doors

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front bay details

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main bay details

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all the funny mainbay attachments, showing highly detailed of parts of the mould

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cockpit tub

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tub and side panels installed into upper fuselage

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note to future builders there is a ejector pin mark right where the CRT display goes. it is at an almost impossible angle to remove with blades( i slid in from the aft, and slowly saw away thin layers)

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the intake subassembly is very snug, relying on precision of fit for everything to go together instead of mating pinholes. it is Definitely LESS FIDDLY THAN the HASEGAWA intake subassembly.

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the main wheel bays have also been attached to the underside fuselage. this is similiar to 1/48 and 1/32 scale f-16s, there is no current 72 that produces the entire chunk not already attached or partially attached to the lower or upper fusleage( eg your hase, fujimi, italeri blah blah)

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upper and lower fuselage are now joined

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from the sprue, i found the 4 blade IFF for MLUs, E/Fs and blk 50s+ surprisingly, none of the kit's decal markings have planes which mount the IFF, leading me to the conclusion that academy has another version / release of this kit soon.

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the block of plastic is not the best fit still, requiring some sanding to the bottom, as shown above, and when attached to the plane, still leaves a very fine seam that could pass off as a panel line.

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cannon muzzle is attached

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overall main airframe is completed

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next up weapons and pylons

the academy kit provides updated pylon structures for the outboard stations such as the Towed decoy system, as well as regular. it offers it as seperate so you can build whichever version u wish.

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the mid wing pylon is similiar, in giving an accurate diamond base for late block f-16scjs

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all pylons prepared

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the alq-88 comes with the nose seperate

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the lantirn and the aaq13, quickly done. hasegawa is better looking shapewise, the academy looks too fat and long for both pods. (but maybe i'm too used to lantirn pods from hase)

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the pod and rack are attached by a massive gorge, not unlike hasegawa's weapon set version

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a set of HARMS. at long last somebody makes a correctly shaped nose for the Harm in 1/72.

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the wing tanks require slight sanding at the fuel pump circle. ie the red circle decal. this is because some tiny roughness occurs there due to the rivet detail spilling over

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the tanks are assemble. some putty and sanding is needed to smooth out the seam lines.

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at the same time i also smoothed out the seam line at the tail area

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now to the tail and the housing. academy provides both short and long tails, and if u notice, there are 2 pinholes on the extended housing.

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and those pinholes are for another part on the sprue, part e-25 on the weapons frame, a seemingly insignificant long chunk of plastic

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but , put them together and you have the tail housing for greek, polish, uae, late block C and Es. this confirms my suspiscion that there is going to be a rebox of this kit with probably a new sprue for pratt and whitney nozzles and NSI intakes to make use of these 2 pieces. and from there we can build blk 25 onto blk 52 from the box.

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working on the canopy

1 huge seam down the middle, similiar to those who have built hasegaw's kit before

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sand down with 600 and then 1000 sandpaper

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then wet sand with 2000 sandpaper

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and polish using cotton pad and tamiya polishing compound

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mask

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and spray

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masking the airframe for spraying

wheel bays

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cockpit

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the nose is sprayed in dark grey

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and once dried it is masked. the irritating spike on the f-16's radomes prevent proper masking, but i used tamiya tape and poked right through. this is because later i can handpaint the thing

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and the rest of the airframe preshaded

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as well as the fuel tanks

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GE exhaust nozzle cowling rim was sprayed black, then masked and sprayed in aft fuselage colour

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at the same time the lantirn pod and aaq 13 was sprayed in the same dark grey as the nose

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Aegean blue was mixed from gunze h366, a shade similiar to that of dauntless and us navy aircraft in world war 2. a hint of white to highlight.

here the basecoat is h-367, pearl harbour blue. to give a bluish intone to the later colour

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aegean blue proper

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build up the tone with mutiple shades of aegean, by increasing white density

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and once the aegean was dried, i started to mask for the slate grey. Greek airplanes are very dirty, and multi-shaded and weathered like tomcats. so i used the 'patch' method from my previous groupbuild

first, the wraparound near the center fuselage was masked and sprayed

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followed by wings

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next the stabilators and rudder

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and the main underside puddle

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the aft fuselage was sprayed slate grey, then 2 drops of white added to give a lighter tone, and then patched onto the panels

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amraam head is sprayed white as well

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and the fuel tanks in gunze h-307

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and the harm adaptors

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amraam heads were then dried and masked, and gunze h-308 was sprayed to the whole body, along with the aim-9s

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ejection seat is assembled. the details are better than hasegawa, though it doesnt compare to resin seats, still looks decent, and seat belts are moulded on too.

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aim9 head masked and prepared for black spray

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started post shading, with very thinned dark grey and a steady hand.

my aim was to create a subtle shading around each panel to contrast the lighter spots within.

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exhaust interior also recieved enamel wash and streaking of smoke stains

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tailplane attached to the body

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a gloss coat is given, tamiya acrylic clear, to prepare for enamel wash and decals. notice how the tonal shades darken when the clear coat is applied. i took note of this many a time, and deliberately shaded my greek camos slightly lighter in the earlier photos.

here is before the clear coat

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here is after the clear coat

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thin sludge of enamel given. it flows very nicely along the clear surface into the rivets that academy has provided on this kit.

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and the excess is removed with cotton buds dipped in enamel thinner. tamiya enamels does not react with tamiya acrylic, so i am safe.

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Hoi,

Wow, quick review. I'm watching this one with interest. I have the Academy F-8 and F-18, both look great. I really want one of these too.

Looking good. HAF F-16C-50?

later

Ruud

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Excelent review and build. I'm glad to see it in Greek colors :worship:

You only have to remove the left ECM fairing from the parabrake housing as it's installed only on the right...

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http://www.airliners.net/photo/Greece---Ai...16CJ/1333399/L/

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Greece---Ai...16CJ/1315444/L/

This part should be clear...

f16canopy3.jpg

Same mistake as Revell's kit... I'm getting mad... :explode:

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The First and may I say the Fastest.....Looking great...Gosh you have done it so BEAUTIFULLY...love the subtle coloring..

Looking forward to following you on this one Tomcat RIO.

A BEAUTY!!

HOLMES.... :worship:

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