1/32 Tamiya F-16CJ

 Fighting Falcon On line build  Part. 6   Steps 35-38

by Steve Bridges

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Steps 35-38 consist of assembly of the upper fuselage to the lower fuselage, nose gear door, landing lights, HARM Targeting System (HTS), and attaching the gear doors.

Step 35 -- Assembly of upper and lower fuselage

I added the vertical stabilizer support to the upper fuselage earlier.

Before attaching the upper fuselage, be sure to put the poly caps in that the horizontal stabilizers will be attached to.

The fit is good, but there will be some minor seam filling around parts B21, B22,  the honeycomb structure aft of the wing, and right behind the horizontal stabilizer mounting holes.

To protect the detail on the honeycomb area, I masked off to either side of the seams with masking tape (I use Tamiya tape).

For putty, I use Squadron White Putty thinned with lacquer thinner, and a small paint brush to "paint" it where it needs to go.  After it sets up for a few minutes, I peel the tape off.

This is the 1st kit where I've tried the masking tape method, and it's great for protecting delicate detail, and reduces the amount to sand.

There might be some sanding needed on the leading edge extension right where the leading edge slats will be.

Step 36 - Adding lower wings

There are 4 small poly caps (2 per wing) to put in prior to gluing the lower wing surfaces on.  These are used for mounting/dismounting the 370 gallon drop tank pylons.

Step 37 - Landing Light, nose gear door, HTS

I left the landing light till later, as the gear doors won't be attached until after the kit is decaled and flat coated.

I did assemble the nose gear door, and sprayed the interior surface MM Flat white.

Since the picture I saw of the specific jet I'm building does not show the HTS mounted, I skipped it completely.

Step 38 - Mounting the gear doors.

See step 37

Steve

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Photos and text © by Steve Bridges