This
F-16D was the only 2 seat Viper in Tulsa’s inventory for the longest time
until BRAC gave Tulsa a second “D” model. Tulsa operates block 42 Vipers
which use a unique HUD called WAR (Wide Angle Raster) as well as beefed up
landing gear. Currently, most if not all of the F-16’s at Tulsa had their
engines upgraded to the F100-PW-229 giving the Viper an additional 5,000 pounds
of thrust however they retained the “small mouth” intake. The -229 engine is
easily identified by the turkey feathers which appear almost black since they
are made from carbon fiber instead of titanium.
The
Hasegawa F-16 kits have been around for a long time and are still considered one
of the best available. Not until the release of Tamiya’s F-16 did the Hasegawa
offering really start showing its age.
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This
kit used provides nearly everything needed to make an accurate block 42 aircraft
except for the heavyweight landing gear (lightweight gear provided in kit) and
the WAR HUD (comes with WAC HUD). Although the kit has good details, I had to
add some aftermarket goodies to really improve the build. Another item that was
a must is Jake Melampy’s book (Reid
Air Publishing)
“The modern Viper guide”, an invaluable tool in making an accurate USAF
F-16C or D.
Starting
with the cockpit, I used Black Box (Avionix) kit which gives superb detail as
well as a WAR HUD. I did struggle with getting the side walls to fit correctly
but nothing Tamiya epoxy putty can’t fix. Unlike the single seat cockpit set,
the Black Box set I used did not come with canopy framing details, all these
framing details had to be made from scratch. A lot of styrene & epoxy putty
used again and one little extra detail was needed, exposed fasteners in the
framing. I drilled small holes where the fasteners go and added .015 diameter
styrene rod (looked like a pin cushion). I then trimmed the exposed exterior rod
flush leaving the interior rod to simulate fasteners. Last I added canopy hooks
from Black Box’s “bone yard” line.
Next
step was the landing gear and intake. Luckily I picked up a Cutting Edge intake
many years before the company folded. The detail is superb but the nose gear bay
is a little sparse. To fix this, I decided to us the Aires wheel bay set and
both main & nose bays presented some issues. The main gear bay needed to
have a lot of material removed so it would not interfere with the intake runner.
The nose gear was not that easy to make the fit. Since I am dealing with a resin
intake (with it’s gear bay) and a resin upgrade, I had to grind out the CE
nose gear bay being careful to not break through the intake trunk. I also had to
grind the Aires wheel bay top surface as far as possible without breaking
through. I failed on the intake, breaking through in one spot. To fix this, I
put a strip of tape inside the intake (used Scotch tape) and used 2 part liquid
epoxy to secure the two resin parts. After the epoxy set, I removed the tape
revealing a filled hole and somewhat smooth contour, only minor clean-up
required. The rest of the work was standard gap filling.
The
rest of the build was straight forward with a few minor enhancements. One thing
I added is the gun bay vent below the LEX on the left side. Jakes book brought
to my attention that this vent door was usually open on the ground when
hydraulics pressure bleeds off. Jake also does a great job of explaining certain
items that are missing on the “D” models but are present on the “C”
models. Hasegawa instructions indicate to add a vent on the RH side just below
the cockpit, vents on the tail and a duct on the tail, these are not present on
the “D” model. The Aires wheel bay set provided bulged main gear doors and
nose gear door which accommodate the re-positioned landing gear lights. I had a
spare set of landing lights and added those. The radome needed some attention
and the easiest solution was to build Tamiya’s radome and make a resin copy,
surprisingly, it fits perfectly (shape is better too). Little details were taken
care of such a cutting out & re-positioning the flaperons and scratch
building the upper fuselage stiffening plates.
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Resin goodies
were next to be added. Aires has a super exhaust set and to make it one step
better, I convinced
Scale
Motorsport
to create a 1/48 scale Carbon Fiber plain weave decal. This is
what is needed to represent the turkey feathers on a F-100-PW-229 engine. The
Tulsa birds are usually seen flying with a Litening AT targeting pod and
Drpepper
Resins came to the rescue. Most of the USAF block 40/42 F-16’s had
their wheels upgraded to block 50/52 standards and Royale
Resins had the right wheels for the job. The last bit of resin to be
added were a pair of GBU-38 JDAM bombs and BRU-57 vertical bomb racks produced
by Shawn
Hull. Last but not least (not resin) were weapons pylons &
missiles, these are compliments of Tamiya (purchased the weapons sprue from
their F-16)
Painting is the
basic two tone scheme (36270 & 36118) which applies to most USAF Vipers
(after they have been repainted at depo level). I used Xtracrylix paints which
are great, saves a lot of time by eliminating a coat of future. Panel lines were
enhanced using Mr. Detailer. Decals are a mix of Experts choice, Hobbydecal (dry
transfer) for airframe stencils, Two
Bobs for missile markings and custom decals for the Indian head and
pilot names. Note that if I am having decals made, I can take liberty on names,
I am the pilot and a buddy who actually flew the Viper in Tulsa is the aft name.
Weathering finished out the build using Tamiya weathering sticks, a great final
touch!
David
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