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1/48 Tamiya F-16C->F-16D TuAF 152. Filo


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I somehow made myself believe that TamiyaUSA's recent countdown (early September) was all about an 1/48 F-16D model! With a big let down, I finally decided to take a C model and attempt a D conversion.

This is roughly what I am hoping to build:

http://www.air-passion.be/fas/engine/albums/reports/NATO%20Tiger%20Meet%202005/LTBF050505_V13_F-16D_94-1559_01G.jpg

And I am very much inspired by this build:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29281&view=findpost&p=317239

I hope to use Caracal Decals new TuAF F-16 set when it comes out:

http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=233886

I have the Aires cockpit and exhaust set, some JDAM's from an Academy F-14. I chose Hasegawa's F-16F as the donor kit (a pretty expensive donor) and got the canopy, canopy fairing etc. I finally bit the bullet and started the surgery on the Tamiya cockpit area:

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A lot of careful cutting and sanding for the second seat area, as well as the resin pit tub shaving and inner wall thinning. Lots of dry fitting also. Things are not perfect but I hope to make it look reasonable with some styrene and further sanding.

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The canopy fit is not too bad, but could have been better. Since it will be displayed open, I hope the mistakes won't be noticeable. Overall, I have to say if it was not for the link I posted above, I wouldn't have had the guts to attempt this conversion.

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The intakes are assembled a little differently this time. I decided to assemble everything and sand the parts flush, then paint the inside. Otherwise it is so difficult to avoid the unsightly step around the intake lip.

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To insert the vertical support later, made a hole on the upper side.

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I hope to keep you updated with small progress pics each time.

Edited by Janissary
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Thank you Gary. I am glad that some of these steps can be useful. I have to credit Habu in my link above with this cut and probably many others who did not bother to post this probably trivial operation. It was a difficult undertaking for me. A few progress pics:

I got this idea from Viperbite's post to drill holes at the bottom of panels to attach them. Works great. Used this for panels, IFF, gun panel and chaff dispensers.

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Airbrushed the forward half of the canopy with Tamiya smoke (4 parts) + clear yellow (1 part), then a future dip:

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Some dry fitting of the pit and canopy. Now that the canopy fairing is glued in place, the canopy fits much better than I thought at its base. Still some discrepancy (width wise) between the Tamiya fuselage and Hasegawa canopy in the middle though. Also used some styrene sheet to fill up the gaps in the back. There are still some gaps to be filled, which I shall do once the pit is painted and glued in place.

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For the first time, I did not use any putty or sanding for the attachment between the forward fuselage and the main fuselage. Again a great appreciation for Tamiya's engineering.

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Edited by Janissary
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So on the twin seater of the Viper only the front half of the canopy is smoked?? Did not know that. Will keep that in mind the next time I ever build the two-seater! Thanks for showing!

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So on the twin seater of the Viper only the front half of the canopy is smoked?? Did not know that. Will keep that in mind the next time I ever build the two-seater! Thanks for showing!

No, the color of the canopies varies.

There are all kinds of combinations used.

Check you refs and timeline!

Remy.

Edited by Viper01
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Thank you everybody. I have seen half-smoked canopies quite a bit within TuAF, but there are exceptions also. Remy is right about checking the refs. Some small progress.

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For white parts, I first used surfacer 1200, followed by black X-1. The black undercoat gives more depth to white I am hoping.

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JDAM painted and gloss coated. MLG and HARM prepainted in surfacer 1200, X-1, and followed by white X-2.

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Engine tube lightly sprayed with raw umber from the back side. Compressor face primer, X-1, and Alclad stainless steel.

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Intake painted with latex paint first (cover the back, fill it up with latex paint using a pipette, dump, wait till dry, repeat again). Then masked the white and painted the intake lip. Finally, I used parts of an F-4E walkway decal to create a thin trim line between the white and the gray. This does not exist in reality, but it helped me cover up some imperfections with masking. Also adds some interest :).

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There are several ejection pin marks on the visible surfaces. Filled them with putty and sanded them flush. Will need to rescribe some of the lines.

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Looking good!

What are you going to use for the AIFF "birdslicers" on the nose? As these are different then the US variants.

This airframe have been through CUPID, by judging the pictures. Do the D's received the JHMCS update?

Which airframe are you planning to do? The 94-1559? Do you have some recent pictures, as I can't find them.

Remy..

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Thank you very much guys. I am very excited about this build, though I want to be cautious with my excitement as I have a tendency to abort these projects when things don't go right :(

Looking good!

What are you going to use for the AIFF "birdslicers" on the nose? As these are different then the US variants.

This airframe have been through CUPID, by judging the pictures. Do the D's received the JHMCS update?

Which airframe are you planning to do? The 94-1559? Do you have some recent pictures, as I can't find them.

Remy..

Good catch Remy. I have already mounted the modern IFF that come with the kit. TuAF has been using the version sitting atop a layer but I have read somewhere (KursadA might have noted this) that some of these vipers are undergoing the CCIP upgrade. I presume CCIP update involves a modernization of the IFF but I could be wrong. One example with the new IFF >> is here <<.

In this build, I am 'assuming' that this upgrade is implemented in my model. Like you said, I plan to build 94-1559. I have no evidence this upgrade is done on this particular airframe though. Some pics (old pictures) all showing the old IFF:

pic1

pic2

pic3

Moreover, fellow modelers let me know that this squadron does not carry HARM missiles, or JDAM, as it is not a SEAD/DEAD squadron. I may nonetheless use them and claim it is loaded for an airshow :)

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Good catch Remy. I have already mounted the modern IFF that come with the kit. TuAF has been using the version sitting atop a layer but I have read somewhere (KursadA might have noted this) that some of these vipers are undergoing the CCIP upgrade. I presume CCIP update involves a modernization of the IFF but I could be wrong. One example with the new IFF >> is here <<.

In this build, I am 'assuming' that this upgrade is implemented in my model. Like you said, I plan to build 94-1559. I have no evidence this upgrade is done on this particular airframe though. Some pics (old pictures) all showing the old IFF:

pic1

pic2

pic3

Moreover, fellow modelers let me know that this squadron does not carry HARM missiles, or JDAM, as it is not a SEAD/DEAD squadron. I may nonetheless use them and claim it is loaded for an airshow :)

According to several sources, the CCIP upgrade for the B50's should be ready in 2012.

So without any recent pictures it's guessing if this airframe is CCIP'd.

To bad for the load-out, I always like a F-16 loaded with HARM's.

Remy..

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Have been doing some searching and found this one at F-16.net:

IFF

From F-16.net:

With the introduction of the block 50 F-16, the main task of the squadron became SEAD. Since 152 Filo is the only of three squadrons within the Turkish Air Force (the other two being 151 and 191 Filos) to perform these kind of missions, these assets are a cornerstone of the Turkish air force.

Remy..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you Remy for this info, I hope the use of A2G missiles will be ok then. A small update:

Finished the harm and jdam:

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Started with the cockpit walls and tried to do the seal around the canopy edge:

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The seats have 19 PE parts/seat. It took a while to get them ready:

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Here is the test fit for the pit. Not too bad but will require some filling:

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I am now working on the exhaust nozzle. Are there any methods you could recommend to paint the inside of the nozzle? I painted the base in white and plan to do a black wash inside. But I would like to simulate the black soot all around the inside of the nozzle. Here are some pics:

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

In the past, I tried airbrushing thinned black color from the edge toward the inside. I also tried Tamiya weathering master's soot. I was not very happy with either technique.

I find this to be quite impressive, but don't know how to approach this in 1/48:

>>Link<<

I'd appreciate any tips and techniques you may have.

Thanks!

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I have never seen a post-CCIP photo of 94-1559 (I used pre-CCIP photos to design the decal sheet); but I think it's safe to assume it will go through CCIP pretty soon (if it had not already). I believe the older AIFF antenna (where the "bird slicers" are on a raised platform)

belongs to the AN/APX-107 system (used on Korean and Turkish aircraft only); while the new one belongs to the AN/APX-113 and should be identical to the one on USAF CCIP aircraft.

48006d6.jpg

I still think air-to-ground munitions and HARM are somewhat unsuitable for a 152.Filo aircraft, but you can always claim it was armed for an airshow or display. No matter what Google or anyone else says, 151.Filo is the only specialist SEAD unit in TurAF. They take their exclusive status pretty seriously and even featured a HARM missile in their unit insignia until recently (also on my upcoming sheet).

Everything looks great so far. I am going to start a F-16D Block 50 (using the Kinetic kit) and a Block 50+ with spine/CFT with Turkish markings when the stencil sheets are finally back from the printer and I start selling the decals. I hope mine turn out half as good as I'm sure your build will. Kolay gelsin!

turaf_f16stencils.jpg

Edited by KursadA
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Thanks a bunch Kursad. I am very excited about your decals! I will think a little bit more about the munitions, though my plan is to do a showbird as you suggested. Some small progress on the pit and the engine:

I did not like the intake. I cleaned everything with alcohol and redid it.

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The exhaust is Alclad stainless steel with a little bit of pale burnt metal added. The insides are white with a dark grey wash. The flame catcher is dry brushed with metallic blue:

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Some pit shots. The painting order is: Surfacer 1200 > XF-19 > Future > Brush painting boxes etc. using Vallejo and MM enamels > Future > Dark grey wash > Future > Dull coat > Silver dry brush > Button/switch painting with a toothpick. Takes a lot of time, yet I am not super satisfied with it. It looks somewhat dusty. I may be overdoing the dry brushing. Also the wash does not look very crisp. Anyway, I am studying others' build to pick up a few techniques.

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Edited by Janissary
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you, the fit was not bad, but required significant dry fitting and cutting. I have been preparing the model for painting. The overall fit is good, but I had to resort to some putty and sanding. I also deepened most of the panel lines with the UMM scriber, and redid the lost rivets.

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