For
Israel Independence Day 2004, I submit my Monogram/Revell 1/72 F-16C Fighting
Falcon (kit # 85-5309), built as a Block 30 F-16C Barak of the Israeli Air
Force. Plenty of reviews have
been written in regards to this kit, so I’ll move on to the build-up of the
model. I’ll just say that this
is THE kit to build for anyone wanting to add a 1/72nd single
seat F-16 to the display shelf. Refer
to the end of this article for links that contain information and reviews for
Monogram’s excellent little Viper kit.
The first F-16C/Ds arrived in
Israel
in 1987, and were assigned to the First Jet and Knights of the North Squadrons
(what D models these two squadrons operated were later transferred to the
Valley Squadron they transitioned from the Kfir to the Viper).
These were early Block 30 Vipers, with GE engines and an NSI intake
(sans the D models, which had the MCID inlet).
Exterior modifications included adding extended parabrake housing,
Rapport III RWR/position light pedestals, and enlarged RWR blisters to the
nose.
Construction
As is the case when modeling most IDF/AF aircraft, some
scratch-building will be necessary. The
real aircraft are fitted with indigenous made EW equipment and thus, there are
extra lumps and bumps not found on their USAF counterparts.
In regards to the Block 30 Viper, the modifications aren’t as
extensive as the Block 40 Israeli F-16, where there many more lumps and bumps
(not mention the base mods to the variant like the enlarged MLG, bulged MLG
doors, LE RWR cans, MCID intake, etc.).
Tall
Tails…
The first modification to address is the extended parabrake housing at
the base of the vertical stabilizer. The
housing that comes with Monogram kit is meant to fit the “A” tail and thus,
will need to be modified to fit the “C” tail.
Remove the housing from the “A” tail base extension, just ahead of
the vertical panel line. The back
end of the “C” tail base needs to be removed as well (behind the vertical
panel line). Sand away the excess
plastic from both parts until the fit is flush.
For added strength, insert a styrene lug into the base of the tail before
joining the housing to the tail base. There
will be a bit of a difference in thickness between the housing and base; I used
layered CA glue to build up the thickness.
Afterwards, the tail base was sanded flush, and the panel lines
re-scribed. Styrene bits were used
to replicate the small details at the end of the parabrake housing.
The last detail to cover was removing the air scoop from the top of the
base, and adding an air scoop to the right side of the extension/base (the small
scoop on the port side was carefully removed and relocated to the right side).
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Putting
It on a Pedestal…
Next item to attend to are the Rapport III RWR/navigation light
pedestals. The Monogram kit comes
with the housings, but IMO, the shape just doesn’t look right for the Israeli
Barak (not to mention, they’re awfully thick).
I sourced a set of housings from a Hasegawa Mitsubishi F-2B.
Initial fitting trials revealed that the housings were too narrow.
Sheet styrene was added to extend the housings out a bit then the excess
plastic was sanded flush.
The
Nose Knows…
The last exterior detail to deal with is the enlarged RWR blisters common
to Block 30/40 Israeli Vipers. Sheet styrene was used to make the blisters.
For a point of scale reference, use the tear-shaped RWR blisters that
come in the kit. The general shape
was cut from laminated sheet styrene then sanded to shape.
Afterwards, the blisters were added to the nose, behind the radome.
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Go to the Office, Mister...
The cockpit in this kit is quite nice, with a separate control stick and
throttle (plus raised details on the side consoles and instrument panel-perfect
for detail painting). The kit
cockpit tub was used, while the seat is a modified Hasegawa ACES II seat.
Canopy breakers were made from plastic bits and added to the sides of the
head-rest. Eduard photo-etched seat
belts and ejection seat handles were added to dress up the seat.
A small length of guitar string was used to replicate the oxygen hose,
which was added to the right-side console.
The
rest of the basic build-up was built per instructions.
After all construction and prep work was completed, it was time add some
color…
Painting,
Markings, and Final Construction
One of the most appealing aspects of the IDF/AF’s Viper fleet is the
four-color camouflage scheme. Even
more appealing are those schemes that feature squadron emblem art on the
vertical stabilizer (which is integrated in the overall camouflage scheme).
The colors used in the IDF/AF F-16 scheme are; FS 33531 Middlestone, FS
30219 US Dark Tan, FS 34424 Green-Gray, with an overall bottom of FS 36375
Compass Light Gray. These colors
help to blend the aircraft into
Israel
’s varied landscape (which cover the desert areas of the south, to the greener
areas of the north). The paints I
used to finish my Viper are a combination of Humbrol (Hu121, Hu119) and Model
Master Enamels (RAF Sky type S, Light Ghost Gray).
The camo pattern was applied free-hand with scourge-of-the-airbrush
world, a Testors Aztec A470 (still don’t get why this airbrush gets such a bad
rap). After all colors were applied
and given time to dry, a couple of coats of Future were applied in preparation
for the decal and weathering process.
I
Knight thee…
The markings used for my Viper are those of the Knights of the North
Squadron. This squadron in renowned
for it’s participation in 1981’s Operation Opera; the raid against the
Osirik Nuclear Facility in
Iraq
. Col. Ilan Ramon served in this
squadron and flew in that raid. In
October of 2003, two aircraft of this squadron (along with two Vipers of the
First Jet Squadron) attacked an Islamic Jihad training camp located inside of
Syria
, in retaliation for an earlier homicide bombing in the port city of
Haifa
. F-16C #381 of the Knights of the
North was one of the Vipers that participated in that strike (#383 being the
other KotN Viper). The markings on
my Viper are produced by Isradecal (IAF-15).
The eagle head motif for the vertical stabilizer is available on the
decal sheet, but I chose to airbrush the artwork on myself via a couple of
masking tape stencils (the decal did not quite match the Middlestone paint I had
used on the model). The decals were
typical Isradecal quality; excellent and very user friendly.
A thinner wash of Burnt Sienna (with a smidgeon of gray added) was used
to accentuate the panel lines. Model
Master Acryl dull coat was applied to tone the works down after the decals and
weathering processes were completed. All
the fiddly bits were added to the airframe at this time (landing gear, LG doors,
fuel tanks, and weapons).
Open
Arms…
The main inspiration for building this model came from a picture that had
been posted on Key Publication’s discussion board (thanks to James A for
sending me the link!). It was a
photo of two Knights of the North Vipers flying over the
Negev
Desert
. They were both loaded with two
AIM-9 Sidewinders, two Rafael Python IV AAMs, and, two GBU-31 JDAM satellite
guided bombs (one of the IDF/AF’s recent acquisitions).
While the Sidewinders and JDAMs are commercially available in 1/72nd
scale, the Pythons are not. I used
an AIM-9 for a point of scale reference and went from there. The Python is
a bit larger in diameter, but is around the same length. I
used a length of .080" styrene rod for the missile bodies. The fins
are the tricky part-considering there's twelve, plus the two control veins
(to add to the fun, there is a break between the wide and narrow portion of the
rear fins). After a lot of trial-and-error, I finally had some fins that
looked about right. A template was
made from the test fins, then I commenced to making all the fins (made from
.010" sheet styrene). The
markings for the Pythons came from Sky’s F-15 Baz decal set (future build-up
and article …).
The missiles were then hung on the under-wing missile rails (stations two
and eight).
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The Last Tidbits and
Conclusion…
With all the weapons added, it was time to wrap this puppy up.
The canopy was tacked into place (as was the HUD), and the small scoop
located under the right LERX was added. AOA
probes were made from stretched sprue then added to both sides of the radome.
To add a little more color (and hide the infamous intake seam from hell),
an intake cover was fashioned from aluminum foil.
After the general shape was formed, the cover was trimmed to fit, painted
fluorescent orange-red, and then secured to the model.
Some fluorescent orange thread was used to simulate the straps used to
keep the “bag” in place. With
that last detail out of the way, the model was completed.
I am very pleased with the way my Barak turned out.
Having a great kit to work with and a lot of references makes all the
difference. Now I just need a
1/72nd Block 40 F-16D of the Scorpion Squadron to compliment my F-16A Netz and
Barak….
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Acknowledgements
Special
Thanks to Yoav Efrati for the helpful information and
encouragement.
Thanks
to James A for providing the link which inspired me to build
this model.
Thanks
to Mike O’Hare for the advice on scratch-building the Python
IV’s.
References
-
Aircraft
of the Israeli Air force No. 4; F-16C/D Barak- Ra’anan Weiss, Alon Koren;
Isradecal Publications
-
IAF
Magazine; August 2003 issue
-
Building
an Israeli F-16C Barak- Yoav Efrati; Dec 1995 issue of Fine Scale Modeler;
Kalmbach Publishing
-
Viper!
- Lou Drendal; Squadron/Signal Publications
-
Walk
Around: F-16 Fighting Falcon- Lou Drendal; Squadron/Signal Publications
Links
Albert
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