General Dynamics F-16 in 1/72 scale : kit review & modelling reports of KINETIC modern block F-16D kits

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[ 24 ]

The needed small style intake is correct with the F100-PW-229 engine and all are  supplied in the kit for a F-16D Block 52. Again, take care when assembling the intake as there are some surface irregularities inside that need putty and sanding. Better do that at this stage.

For the Greek aircraft in STEP 7 do not fit the lower intake fairings and stubs (parts D23, D24). 

It was decided to install the two Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT's) on the top fuselage. These are in the kit. Bending these a bit will give a better fit, white glue will close any gaps. 

For the Greek aircraft in STEP 8 use now the "not indicated part F2" (so not F3) at the lower tail fairing end. It looks like a sort of sensor. Also fit only one sensor fairing part F5 to the right side of the tail fairing. 

It was also decided to fit sensor pods at the intake sides and these are the kit and of the appropriate types AN/AAQ-13 and AN/AAQ-14. 

When the overall assembly was ready, some limited amounts of filler / putty were needed, such as on the nose, the upper spine, intake and the wing-root gaps. Very tiny gaps were filled with white glue, for example at the ventral fins. 

The model got now a coat of grey base coat with the airbrush to check for any flaws. Any imperfections were corrected. I often use Revell aqua 75 "Steingrau" that covers easily. 

As in the kit only the larger Israeli underwing 600 gallon fuel tanks are provided (not used by the Hellenic F-16's), the standard 370 gallon wing fuel tanks and pylons were obtained from another F-16 kit (good ones are in the Revell kit). 

Next, came the general camouflage colours. On photos large variations are seen: some aircraft look pretty dark, others medium grey, weathered and all mixes in between. I settled for these Gunze Sangyo acrylics for airbrushing.... 

FS36307 grey: Gunze Sangyo H70, but I did not have the paint so I used H324 "light gray" which looks accurate enough;
FS36251 grey: H317;
FS35237 blue-grey: approx. H337;
FS36270 grey on the nose radar cone: H306;

Gear bays and insides of gear doors were given a base white coat . The cockpit interior was brush painted medium grey but also with large portions of black (as the Block 52 has night vision capability and to avoid reflections from inside many surfaces are black in the cockpit).
 

Decals from this Kinetic kit #K72002 include Greece markings and were good but some stencilling was used from the Milliverse decal set MV-72004-2 as they are slightly finer. Decalling takes a lot of time also because of the long walkway stripes. 

FINISHING

I think that the Greek modern block F-16's have an overall tinted canopy. So it was decided to use TAMIYA "clear smoke" X-19. I never seem to manage to airbrush this thick smoke paint regardless how I thin it with Tamiya thinner; so painted it with a wide brush on the clear areas.

The landing gears were installed. The white painted gears and wheel bays got now a thinned black wash. Also some engraved fuselage panels got a wash simply by using very thinned black acrylic and than wiping it away with a tissue.  

 
The chaff / flare dispensers are nicely done in the kit.

The 15 static dischargers (that were first removed as too thick as mou  lded in the kit) were added made from thin fishing line, and painted dark grey when dried.

The nose pitot was used from the kit and anti-collision lights were painted red and blue. 

Stores added were an AN/AAQ-13 pod and AN/AAQ-14 pod on the intake sides and 370 gallon tanks. On the advanced wing tip launchers a pair of AIM-9M Sidewinders were installed that are not in the kit. I retrieved these from the Tamiya F-16C kit.

The model finally got a semi-matt coat..... This gives an even sheen and looks realistic. 

The ejection seats got a harness with straps and belts from painted tape and all set in place. Inside the canopy a few handles were fitted made from thin sprue. The large -D canopy was set open in place with an actuator made from a metal needle.

That completed a nice F-16D block 52+ 1/72 model of the Greece "Hellenic" air force, the 24th completed kit in the 1/72 F-16 series.. 
 

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[ 25 ] The next KINETIC F-16D Block 52 model #K72002 was made as a Pakistan air force model. Decades earlier in the 1980s some 40 F-16 Block 15 were supplied by the USA and recently these were upgraded. But in 2006 followed advanced F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft and probably 18 have been supplied from October 2009. They have a thick dorsal spine running from cockpit to tail, the small intake and fitted with the F100-PW-229 engine. The basic assembly follows the same approach as described above and on page 7.    For the Pakistani aircraft in kit STEP 7 do not use the lower intake fairings and stubs (parts D23, D24) for the Pakistan version. In STEP 8 use the indicated part F3 at the lower tail fairing end. And fit both sensor fairings parts F4 and F5 to both sides of the tail fairing.      It was decided NOT to fit the Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT's) on the top fuselage. It seems that initially advanced pods were not supplied by the U.S.A. to Pakistan and that French type pods were used by the Pakistan F-16's. It is noted though that smart bombs are probably used and I installed the AAQ-33 sniper pod as per kit (indicated as AAQ-32..).  Limited amounts of filler / putty were needed and after sanding the model got a coat of grey base coat with the airbrush to check for any flaws. Any imperfections were corrected.  Next, came the general camouflage colours. I needed to do a bit of research for the Pakistan F-16 colours and though I am not completely sure, the following Gunze Sangyo acrylics airbrushed look good: Most areas: H324 "light gray" which looks accurate enough; FS36118 using Gunze Sangyo H305 for mid upper areas.  Gear bays and insides of gear doors were given a white coat. The cockpit interior colours are probably standard medium grey with large portions of black as these are night vision goggles capable aircraft. The cockpit was brush painted with raised panel details dry-brushed.   Decalling was next before installing the landing gear. But the model got first a gloss undercoat before applying the decals using my usual technique... Kit decals provided most of the stencilling which is a bit of educated guessing. The Pakistan roundels and flags were found in the 1/72  K-8 Karakorum kits of Trumpeter. I used the "very light grey walk way lines" (similar to the Poland scheme shown in this  Kinetic kit). The aircraft codes were separate number decals from the spare decal box.  Kit completion with details was similar as described above for the Greek model. So similar "smoke" tinted, canopy, detail in gear bays and the static dischargers. Stores and weaponry only involved adding the large fuel tanks and GBU-38 JDAM 82 bombs from the kit. On the wing tips a pair of AMRAAMs were set, I used those from a Tamiya F-16 kit which are a bit finer than those in the kit .  The model finally got a semi-matt coat..... This gives an even sheen and looks realistic.  The ejection seats got a harness with straps and belts from tape and set in place. Inside the canopy a few handles were fitted made from thin sprue and installed.  So a nice F-16D block 52 model of the Pakistan air force is in the collection.

..    Pakistan became an independent Islamic country after the collapse on the British empire at the India sub-continent in 1947. As of today, large tensions exist with neighbouring India and both countries have nuclear weapons. Also, wars and conflicts are still there at the borders such as with Afghanistan and Kashmir. Current population of Pakistan is approx. 200 million with armed forces over 600,000 personnel.  The Pakistan air force "Pak Fiza'ya" has operated a wide variety of aircraft since the 1950s, most from British origin like Canberra's. Various wars were fought with aircraft like first U.S. supplied F-86 Sabres and F-104. France also supplied Mirage III/V aircraft in the 1970s.  A limited military cooperation with the Chinese defense industry as common interest were in the Himalaya mountains region. Chinese MiG-21 like Shenyang / Chengdu J-7 like aircraft were co-developed. Because of the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s some 40 F-16 Block 15 were supplied by the U.S.A. and recently these will be upgraded. But in 2006 more modern F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft were ordered as well and probably some 18 have been supplied in 2010. Other fighter types used are Chinese Chengdu FC-20 and J-10 fighters (additional J-10C are to be delivered in 2022). Typical other types are Hongdu K-8 Karakorum trainers and the CAC/PAC JF-17 which is a local developed multirole aircraft. Current Pakistan air force aircraft fleet is probably over 400 aircraft.   Pakistan F-16D-52-CF,  Block 52 coded  "10801" delivered probably in October 2009            ... at Shahbaz Air base, Pakistan...

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