Hi everyone ; I was cleaning out some storage box’s the other day and came across this old Revell 1/72 scale prototype F-16 Fighting Falcon . I had originally hand brush painted the F-16 and when I got my first airbrush a few years ago , I stripped back the brush paint finish on a few aircraft kits to re-paint and I never got around to doing the Falcon . I checked out Squadron.com to see if they had any after market decals , like the photograph on the box top shows but I could only see they had decals for production - in service F-16’s . I’ve seen Academy’s 1/72 scale YF-16A Fighting Falcon in a few hobby stores and I took a peek inside the box and saw that the decal sheet was very small with only a few markings , so I wasn’t sure wether to buy it or not , so I put it back on the shelf . The other thing is I’m not sure if the fuel tanks that revell supplied are correct for the prototype F-16 ; I do have a Hasegawa F-16N Top Gun Falcon in my stash , I suppose I could borrow the tanks from that kit , seeing you dont use them for the Navy Aggressor version . I guess I’m just wondering what paint scheme to do and what decals should I buy . I greatly appreciate any thoughts and comments anyone could suggest . Kind regards John
Hi Monsoon , I was checking out Squadron.com again , I looked through their list of 1/72 scale decals and came across a Aeromaster AN72228 Insignia blue USAF block lettering in different sizes and also Extratech ETZ7207 full color ‘stars and bars’ . both those sheets could be a good start . However from what I could see with the other F-16 sheets was all the stensilling was done in the low viz gray , I would probably need to find some Hi-viz markings ??? Thanks for the comments [tup] , I’ll keep thinking and looking . John
That kit is a blast from the past! That was the very first kit I ever built! I think it was like 17 or 18 yrs ago. I was 11 or 12, I think. I got it as a birthday present and have been building ever since aside from a break I took for the past 3-4 yrs. =)
Revell Germany still re-issue this kit from thime to time, so if you felt the need to build a pre-production F-16, finding one wouldn’t be too difficult, Myself, I’d go for a spot of what-iffery - look in your decal bank and see if you can come up with something silly.
I found this paint diagram while searching on the internet . A Charcoal Lizzard scheme . Some F-16A’s and B’s tried this scheme for a short while . The Tail Codes were the letters “HL” , AF008 .
Hi Gerald , That’s an interesting suggestion you have put forward . As it happens I also have in the spares box a Italeri F-104A Starfighter , which I also stripped off the sliver hand brush finish along with a Hasegawa F-4E and Hobbycraft F-15B/D . Your idea has got me thinking about a small collection of QF Target Drone aircraft . I’ve seen some pic’s on the net of an overall orange QF-104 Starfighter , along with a QF-4E with a Euro One camouflage , orange tail fin and outer wings . I’m not to sure about the color scheme of a QF-15B/D Eagle and also how much orange to airbrush over the F-16 . Also I would need to think about the Tail Code markings , would they all need to be similar , like having “ED” , say from Edwards Air Force Base for example ??? . MMMM lot’s to think about . Kind regards John .
The QF programs are flown out of TY and HO If you Google QF-4 you should find ample images…also check on airliners.net they too have a pelthora if images. I believe the only ones marked are those that are piloted. Such as the lower pictured one taken at Oshkosh.
You know, from the engine and the cradle it sits on and a couple of other pieces, that particular kit has to have been around a lot longer than that box gives away. My dad still has an F-16 that he built in the mid 70’s that has the same features,[%-)]. Yep, it has to be it; I remember that guy with his hands up getting straffed multiple times. Wow!
