1/32 Tamiya F-16CJ

 Fighting Falcon On line build  Part. 9

The Paint Barn

by Steve Bridges

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These photos and notes cover the painting of the airframe.

The kit instructions show a color scheme of Gunship Gray for the wings and upper fuselage, Light Ghost Gray for the undersurfaces and nose section, and neutral gray for the ventral fins.

I traded some e-mails with Bob Sanchez in the past year or so, as I was confused about the color scheme.  The Hasegawa 1/48th F-16 show the same scheme as the Tamiya instructions, but Bob confirmed to me that the color scheme on the decal instruction sheet is correct (Neutral Gray and Gunship Gray). I believe this is for post Desert Storm F-16s.  Evidently the Air Force was trying to simplify the painting scheme.

A sharp eyed reader (Duncan Lake) also pointed out to me that I painted the radome too dark.  Well, he was right.  From looking at the decal instruction sheet, it looked like to me the radome was a darker gray than the rest of the nose section.  It's darker, but not Euro-I gray!  I took a closer look, and to my eye, F-15 Dark Gray (part of the Mod Eagle scheme) is closer for this specific airplane.

I'd also like to thank everybody for the great e-mails I've received with tips, suggestions, and comments.

Once the series is done, I'll post a final article with a lot of their tips and suggestions and comments.

I asked Bob about the radome color last year, and since the radome is a composite structure, the colors will vary depending on what color it was painted, exposure to the elements, etc... so my word of advice, is to check the references for the specific airplane you are building!

So, even though the radome appears very dark in these photos, I've already repainted it F-15 Mod Eagle Dark Gray.

Ok, to the painting!

 

Masking the airframe

The first step was to mask off all the areas that weren't going to be gray.  I actually started on the masking after the fuselage was assembled.  I used Tamiya 10mm tape to cover the wheel wells, gear, and cockpit, and then slathered Ambroid Liquid Mask over the paint to seal it.  The photos to the right show the masking that I did.

The engine nozzle was still covered with Parafilm from when the engine nozzle was painted.

I put cotton balls inside the engine nozzle to protect the paint job on the inside, and did the same (with tape as well) to protect the interior of the intake.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

Painting the "trim" colors

I started off by painting the radome (with the wrong color) and the tips of the RHAW "beer cans" on the leading edge flaps.  After that was done, I masked off the radome with Parafilm, and the "beer cans" with tape.

The engine nozzle was still covered with Parafilm from when the engine nozzle was painted.

I put cotton balls inside the engine nozzle to protect the paint job on the inside, and did the same (with tape as well) to protect the interior of the intake.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

 

Painting the camouflage scheme

Now it's time to do some serious painting!  This is a big kit, so it takes a while.

 

The first step was to paint the overall airframe Neutral Gray.  I left it dry for 24 hours, and then made sure there were no errant cat hairs that got into the paint.  There were a couple, and some fine sandpaper and a quick touchup took care of the problem.

 

I masked off the black portion of the canopy at the same time and sprayed it Neutral Gray at the same time.

 

I sprayed the bottom of the horizontal stabilizers at the same time (both sides to get the edges)

 

I then masked off the neutral gray sections with Parafilm and tape (it took a lot to cover the bottom of the airplane, the vertical stabilizer, and the bottom of the horizontal stabilizers).

 

I removed the horizontal stabilizers from the kit to make them easier to paint.

 

The curved demarcation between the neutral gray and the gunship gray is always tricky to do.  The best method I've found is to:

1.  Place the canopy on temporarily

2.  Put a piece of Parafilm where the demarcation will be

3.  With a Sharpie Marker, make 3 dots -- at the canopy sill, the mid point, and at the LEX

4.  Draw a curved line connecting the 3 points

5.  Cut the line lightly with sharp #11 blade on the demarcation and where the canopy meets the sill (so it can be removed, the inside masked off, and the Gunship Gray portion sprayed)

 

I then sprayed the gunship gray (on the horizontal stabilizers, canopy and airframe), let dry and removed the masking. 

 

I was very pleased with how well it came out, and don't worry, I've corrected the radome, and will have a picture of it during the decaling phase

 

The pictures to the right also show some of the detail of the underside after painting.

 

A note on the tires -- they are easy to remove -- I just wanted to see what it looked like with them on

Steve 

 

Click on image below to see larger image

Photos and text © by Steve Bridges