This is a 1/144 Mini
Hobby Models F-16XL kit. I would expect the usual similar kind of issues as
would other Mini Hobby Model kits that I have built so far but I was taken
aback. The main upper and lower halves left a gaping hole on both sides near to
where the cockpit was when I did a dry fit. It seemed as though there were some
defects with the mould or the plastic injected was less than desired.
Rather than giving up and thrash the kit, I decided to go about fixing this
serious defect using lots of plastic strip Tamiya putty and lots of glue as a
form of hardener for finishing and scribing later on.
The corrective work
on this kit wasn't easy. The nose cone had to be re-shaped with putty and sanding
down. The oversized canopy had to be replaced with an oven-formed canopy.
This
was followed by the usual filling and sanding on the upper and lower surfaces
and re-scribing done for in-flight mode. I then added the relevant external
probes and antenna blades to give it an enhanced look.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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I
used all the armament that came with the kit viz., the 4 x AIM120, 2 x AIM-9 and
6 x Mk82 bombs although there were 12 pylons provided. Had them painted in
training colour codes.
The
decals provided was that for the prototype bird but a little skimpy in details.
I searched for additional info on the F-16XL. I came across the single seat
#75-749 kept at Edwards AFB that was given a fresh coat of Heater-Ferris camo
but in a different colour order from previous paint work. This was in 2019. I
used self-mix Tamiya/Mr Hobby acrylic colours to get the best shade to match.