This is the Kinetic
1/48 F-16I Sufa built to represent a F-16D Block 52+ of the Republic of
Singapore Air Force (RSAF). It has essentially the same shape as the Sufa with
the only visible difference being the WAR HUD in the cockpit.
Construction was
relatively straight-forward, but the fitting of the intake halves proved to be a
challenge. This was solved with some sanding and lots of dry-fitting.
The camouflage was
painted with Gunze acrylics 305, 306 and 308. Exhaust parts were painted with
Alclad Jet Exhaust and Pale Burnt Metal. Weathering and panel-lining was done
with Tamiya enamels.
The RSAF only has
one squadron which flies this advanced Viper; 145 Sqn “Hornet” based at
Changi Air Base East. The only available accurate decals for this particular
squadron come from Isradecal’s initial F-16I Sufa sheet. This was the option I
used. I chose to model ACFT 666 as seen at the RSAF Open House in September
2008.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The centerline
fuel tank, AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN Navigation pod, AIM-120C AMRAAMs and AIM-9M
Sidewinders came from the kit as were their decals. The AN/AAQ-28 LITENING
pod was from Dr. Pepper’s excellent line of resin items. The GBU-10
laser guided bombs were from Hasegawa’s Weapon Set D. Finally, the 600
gallon tanks were “donated” by a Hasegawa F-2B kit.
Additional details added include Royale Resins’ wonderfully casted F-16 Block 52+ wheels, scratchbuilt WAR HUD, Tamiya photo-etched seatbelts and the static discharge wicks which were made out of toothbrush bristles. Tamiya spares provided some clear parts which were omitted from the Kinetic kit like the fin-tip and tail lights.
Happy 44th National Day, Singapore!
Regards,
Mark Chen
Click on
images below to see larger images
|