Here it is… the very item that swiped me from a P-47 Bubbletop build for the WW2 Aircraft GB. It is the infamous Academy 1/32 F-16. I’m building a RoKAF block 52 bird for a little variety and because you don’t see many in this scale. There are ups and downs to this kit, more to like than dislike, I think. The variety of aircraft that can be built is awesome. However, some of the details are goofed- some quite glaringly(heheha). I haven’t made much progress in four weeks, at least not as much as I thought I would. I’m only using a True Details resin seat for the aftermarket but be reminded: you’ll need to scratch build some seat rails out of Evergreen styrene because the rails are molded as one piece with the seat. Not a major deal but it slows you down. I’m saving the superdetail work for an Academy 'Bug and Trumpeter Flanker, so it’s been pretty much OOB. It’s cheaper than the Tamiya Viper, but once you get going you figure out why: fit not anywhere close as good, innacuracies, no PE or white metal goodies, did I mention fit? It’s certainly not up to the Legacy Hornet series that Academy has really nailed. But to draw it simply, it’s less expensive. I would certainly recommend it, most of us here should be able to make a nice kit if you take your time.
The ‘Ups’:
*fantastic cockpit detail
*lots of options
*awesome weapons selection
*nice surface detail
*excellent gear well detail
*killer decals from Cartograf
The ‘Downs’:
*detail innacuracies
*intake fit is not so nice
*fit of gun bay cover not so nice
*it’ll take some work for correct dihedral
So here we go…
The white I sprayed around some seams to see if they need more work: they do
Main gear well detail is great but double check the fit, again, and again…
Cockpit turned out nice- I haven’t added the rails I built yet- coming soon…
Ahhhh- no intake seams!!!
Gun cover fit- no good- I’ll fill with thinned putty and wipe the excess with 91% isopropyl alchohol… thanks Masa Narita (www.naritafamily.com) excellent tips!
Other side of the cockpit- still need to add the throttle when I close it up.
That’s all for now- I’ll post more when I can land some more bench time.
Thanks for looking and critiques!
regards,
armorman
Hey Jon. Long time no see. Glad to see you’re getting some bench time. Great looking work in the pit there, BTW. I’ve been contemplating getting this kit for myself. I’m currently working on Academy’s Bug in between all the GBs and this kit has it’s share of issues as well. When you get around to building it I’ll be delighted to share with you what they are.
Anyhoo, can’t wait to see more progress pics. This looks like it’s going to be a sweet build.
Looking good so far. I’ll have to keep a watch on this build as I picked up one
for $50 and it’s on its way. Be interesting to see what problem areas you have
so I will know what to look forward to.
Mark(ipms33206) YES, it is certainly better than their Tomcat… few problems aside, it’s a great kit. Thanks for the good words!
Flyingraptor- it’s not as good as the Tamiya, but it is 70 bucks less! That 70 bucks buys you a couple nice 1/48 kits to add to the collection.
Jerry- thanks, the only problem areas I had were intake fit (never easy, no matter what kit) and the main gear well is a tight fit into the lower fuselage. Test fit a lot before you glue. And last but not least, the gun bay covers- In trying to eliminate a step seam, I sanded down the recessed lines. So I’ll have to rescribe them. If you go slowly it’s no problem.
Noelrn- Thanks very much for the compliment. My cockpit steps are:
airbrush interior gray… FS something…with enamel
mask and spray black panels with acrylic-touch up w/ toothpic dipped in Windex
dry brush knobs and other buttons with light gray
then detail paint the raised buttons.
Voila. It’s not difficult but it takes me about a day to do it. The results are worth it.
