Revell 1/144 F-16 RAF

[srkirad]

Hello everybody!

This project of mine is something I did just for fun, and to get rid of "not so good" model kit, and some old decals that were rest from Airfix EF2000...

Anyway, kit is Revell 1/144 F-16 - probably Academy re-boxing!

Photos I will put in this topic, and of course in future for all of my projects, are clickable thumbnails, so click on these tiny photos to get bigger photo in separate window



Model as itself is really awful, with lot of places that needed to be filled with putty, or to get in shape...













As kit didn't have interior I decided to spice it up a bit, with adding scratchbuilt ejection seat and instrument panel...





After finishing all of those puttying, sanding and gluing jobs, I finally came to painting process...

As I didn't like decals given in box (USAF) which depicted standard USAF cammo for F-16, which, in my opinion, is very boring, I decided to do F-16 "what-if" project!

And the story says...

"During the mid-90's, the RAF needed a true fighter plane, as a replacement for Tornado F.3.  While the Eurofighter was still in the development phase, they had no choice but to lease old F-16A fighter planes from USA. The RAF decided not to arm these F-16s with cannons, but only with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, so the cannon was "deleted" from the airframe... the F-16 livery for the RAF was similar to the one to be used on Eurofighter, and actually was used on one of the Eurofighter prototypes.  A "False canopy" was also painted on the bottom side of the plane."

so I did it...









I painted false canopy with brush - I didn't want to fire-up my compressor for this tiny detail





I used decals from Airfix 1/72 EF2000





and here is the final "product"

[Sauragnmon]

Nicely done, the overall look is good - daring, to make the cockpit details in 144 like that.  I applaud your cojones.

[B777LR]

That kit is the first F-16 i ever made! Still got it somewhere

Nice job on it

[srkirad]

thanx guys, I'm glad you like it

unfortunately, these are the old photos (kit is finished in late 2007.) - I improved my photographer's "skills" during past two years  so some new projects will be definitely better visible than this one

oh yes, I forgot to mention that only detail I really didn't have nerves to change/improve was canopy, and unfortunately this details is VERY visible on kit it looks so...hmm.. flat? :-/

anyway, one old kit down... so many still to go! 

[John Howling Mouse]

You weren't kidding when you said the base kit was truly awful.  Makes the quality of your fine end result all the more appreciable.   

[Captain Canada]

Very nice work on that one...the finished product is a eal beauty ! The F-16 looks greta in RAF colours, eh ?

[Nick]

Nice work especially with the Revell kit!

I would point you to a website comparing all the different F-16 kits but it's gone from the Net . All I can say from memory is that Lee/Arii/LS are the better starting points for 1/144 F-16 kits.

[srkirad]

thanx for nice comments

All I can say from memory is that Lee/Arii/LS are the better starting points for 1/144 F-16 kits.

I'm sure that there are better 144s than this one, but this one was the only available here in Serbia - unfortunately, as regards of japanese manufacturers, they are available mostly through internet shopping....

Anyway, I hope to do few more 144 what-ifs... but we'll see what and when will be the subject

Best regards,
Srdjan

[Brian da Basher]

1/144 is a great scale because you can get away with things that would be difficult indeed in larger scales and the kit price is usually very reasonable.

This is one very slick, clean build and the false canopy is a nice touch!

Brian da Basher

[sotoolslinger]

Holy crap I can not imagine working that small

[srkirad]

thanx guys

I agree with Brian regarding to smaller scales - they're almost perfect for various experiments, especially having their cheap price on mind... but... the other side of the medal is their "size"  .. they often have details that are visible only with magnifying glass .. but, somehow that's what makes me go further - a real challenge to build!

I have in stock >20 1/144 models so, there are a lot of posibilities for future projects

[Weaver]

Nice Job, particularly bearing in mind the starting kit - well done!

[BlackOps]

Came out quite well    I agree, the F-16 looks pretty darned good in those markings.

[Sauragnmon]

You know... I think I might have had one of these as a kid, when I was young... garishly painted, flying around the back 40 of my family's farm or the junkyard of my buddy's place... I used to have the 1/144 fighters, they were low cost, and something quick and simple to assemble.