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F-16 in 1/72 scale : building HASEGAWA kits
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Another Hasegawa F-16A PLUS kit #601 was made, now in the scheme for the Romanian Air Force that is one of the latest countries that put the F-16 into service.
Assembly of the Hasegawa kit was done the same way as described in e.g. page 5....
[36]Romania became a NATO member after the fall of the iron curtain and big reforms in Eastern Europe. The Romanian Air Force obtained under the US "Peace Carpathian" program some second hand 9 F-16AM Block 20 and 3 F-16BM Block 20 two seaters that were upgraded MLU ex-NATO F-16's from Portugal (that in their turn got these in the 1990's). These F-16's were to replace Romanian MiG-21 "Lancers". The first F-16's arrived end 2016 in Romania.
So this F-16AM Block 20 was made in the Romanian Air Force scheme. It has the small air intake and Pratt and Whitney F100 engine. It was modernized to MLU standard but basically the airframe is an old Block 20 but with added structural re-enforcements such as stiffener plates.
The colours are standard F-16 NATO but in another pattern. I had a good ModelMaker "F-16 in Romanian service" decalset (#D72097) which has very nice decals.
The colours are not stated in the instructions but confirmed through mail by a Romanian modeller Tudor, modeller and member of IPMS. Thank you Tudor!
So the NATO standard F-16 colours but in a different pattern with Federal Standard FS36375 overall first (and on under surfaces), than FS36270 and FS36118 at some upper areas.
The Romanian F-16's are up to MLU standard and have "stiffener plates" on the fuselage spine and wing roots. I obtained ModelMaker foil set #CV72001 for these, but the stiffeners can be found also in other Hasegawa F-16 kits or can be home made.
The acrylic colours airbrushed thus were: FS36270 with Gunze Sangyo H306, FS36375 using Gunze Sangyo H308 and for FS36118 Gunze Sangyo H305.
Masking was done between colour airbrushing. The nose cone is FS36320.
The result..... Note also the old style wing tip missile launch rails.
Decals were applied, the paint surfaces were already glossy. The walk way lines are dark and nicely provided in the ModelMaker decal set.
Most Romanian F-16's look rather "new" and not weathered a lot as they are well maintained. The RWR bulges on the nose have a lighter grey colour. A special feature is a "spot light" on the left side of the cockpit below the RWR bulge. This was suggested by applying a punched metal foil disk, done with a Waldron Punch and Die set.
The remainder of the model details were finished in a similar fashion as described on previous made F-16 Hasegawa kits such as landing gear, static dischargers etc. The model was kept "clean" so without fuel tanks or other "stores".
ROMANIA
[ area: 238,400 sq.km | capital: Bucharest | population 19,2 million | GDP per capita EUR 13,000 nominal ]
Romania obtained under the US "Peace Carpathian" program some 9 F-16AM Block 20 and 3 F-16BM Block 20 two seaters refurbished and upgraded MLU ex-NATO F-16's from Portugal (that in their turn got these in the 1990's). They were to replace Romanian MiG-21 "LancerS" which MiG-21 were Romanian aircraft with system upgrades. The first F-16's arrived end 2016 in Romania and are based at Baza 86/ Fetesti with no. 53 Escadrila. Due to the Russian threat, unrest in Moldova and Ukraine War, they are crucial for defense.
For more information about the Romanian air force... look at my MiG-23 page here...
... and at Fetesti air base, Romania
[37]Another 1/72 Hasegawa two seater kit F-16B "PLUS" # 814 was made, now in a scheme of the Royal Thai Air Force of Thailand. Thailand operates Block 15 aircraft and these have the normal air intake and Pratt and Whitney F100 engine. So the Hasegawa kit can be built almost out of the box. The basic construction is the same as noted above for the Hasegawa F-16A and also as shown on page 5...
MODELLING NOTES:
Roundel
positions vary on Thai F-16's, some are situated on the aft fuselage,
on other aircraft near the canopy. Also,
canopies can be tinted, on the large two seat canopy often the forward
section only. Some are, others not. Also, some Thai F-16's have a spot light on the left side of
the nose below the RWR bulge, but others do not. Also, radar nose cone
colours vary as on many F-16's. So study photos if possible.
I obtained special decals from Thailand: SIAM decal set for F-16B 40,000 Hours Anniversary no. 103 Squadron of the Royal Thai Air Force.
The standard F-16 colours are applicable for these Thai aircraft. So lower surfaces Fed.Std FS36375 (airbrushing Gunze Sangyo H308 acrylic), FS36270 (using Gunze H306), and aft upper areas FS36118 (using Gunze H305) with the airbrush. White inside bays and on undercarriage parts.
The F-16B with the special markings has a colourful vertical tail. I airbrushed the tail area first Revell 52 Aqua dark blue. This will be a nice base for the large decal.
Before adding the decals, the model got a few gloss varnish coats (I used Johnson Future) to prevent "silvering" before putting on the decals.
The walk way stripes are provided on this fine decal set.
The radar nose is darker on this particular F-16B aircraft, this was painted dark grey. Also on this aircraft a canopy is fitted with a yellow tinted forward section. The canopy kit part was "half" dipped in Tamiya X-24 clear yellow; the frames were than painted in the camouflage grey colours.
The model was for the rest completed in a similar way as on most other made F-16 models such as landing gear, static dischargers. Two fuel tanks with their pylons were also fitted.
The USA supplied starting in 1988 under various "Peace Naresuan" programs until 2003 at least 40 F-16A and 11 F-16B Block 15 aircraft. In 2005 7 additional aircraft were donated by Singapore. It seems night-attack capability was enhanced with the delivery of Thomson CSF Altis II and Rubis pods to deliver GBU-10 and GBU-12 guided bombs. It seems a MLU upgrade program was started in 2011 to extend F-16 service life. Thai F-16's fly with no. 102, 103 squadrons from Korat and no. 403 squadron from Takhli.
For more info about the Royal Thai Air Force look at the Fantrainer page here...
F-16B Block 15 OCU4, serial 10302, Anniversary 40,000 hours of no. 103 squadron "Lightning" , based at Korat AFB, Thailand
.... at Korat base...
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Created this page
October 2, 2019