Schnemat
I've started to work on the Tamiya F-16C. So far it's an amazing kit, fit is really great! I'm still thinking about doing some kind of an "inflight diaorama", that's why I started with the pilot to see if I get that into an acceptable state, and I'm so happy with the result! Any ideas how to accomplish an inflight scene? Are there any good looking model stands available? Or any tips on how to do it myself?

Maciej Bellos
Following!

Schnemat
i might end up with a small step where the two top half of the fuselages meet. if i could do it again i would rather join the two top parts first and then glue it to the bottom part...

Daniel
Cool! Dude looks great, he's from the Box? &does his hand fit with the canopy?

For inflight poses I normally use brass tubes ~3mm as they are sturdy but still bendable, you can also solder stuff to them. I rough up the glueing surfaces and use super glue or hot glue, normally to wooden bases. In the plane I glue a thick plastic support and then drill a hole through that for the tube.
On my inflight viper though I attached a bicycle spoke through the centerline fuel tank and glued the whole finished plane on top later - with a very good surface joint o.c. (looks like this: TOPGUN 04 climbing | Album by halohead (1:48) ) Also already survived one move to a new house 😉
So you can get really creative with stands 🙂
Following!

Schnemat
@ Daniel: Yes, the pilot figure is from the box and good point with the canopy. It actually also came to my mind lately, haven't checked so far...

Schnemat
just a quick question to anybody who already has built this kit. i've seen a few yt build videos where they use screws to tighten certain parts. my kit did not come with screws and they are also not mentioned in the instructions... did i miss sth?

Patrick Hagelstein
Hi Schnemat! Your question intrigued me as I recall that the kit comes with screws and a tiny screwdriver. The screws are used to secure the tail fin base inserts to the fuselage. Step 6 (Kit 61098, but all Tamiya F-16s basically go together the same way) shows where they go. Tamiya designed the tail fin to be stuck on with pins and polycaps and those pins are held in place by tiny oval plastic parts that are screwed to the spine. There are also pins in the fuel tank pylons. If you haven't used those screws, don't panic: the tail fin can be glued on like in any other kit and I would figure that the tail fin mounting tab would exert enough friction to just have it stuck on without glue or cement. Hope this helps...

Patrick Hagelstein
Your picture 10 has a toothpick stuck into the belly tanks hole. That belly tank also has a plastic pin that fits into the pylon. In picture 12 you see two flashed over holes in the part that goes between the main landing gear doors. Those holes are used to mount the 1) plastic pin from the pylon and 2) metal pin that is pushed through that piece AND the pylon.

Patrick Hagelstein
The four studs in picture 8 is where those screws go in. The slot in the middle will hold and center the tail fin just fine though.

Schnemat
Thanks Patrick... It seems that i either displaced the screws or they were not in the kit. I will just glue the tail fin to the fuselage as you suggested. I think i also forgot to insert these pins to the drop tanks... But i will anyway use magnets as i did with the eurofighter. I just got remotivated for that project and i'm pushing forward now!

Konrad -
That looks really nice👍!
Count me in here as well!
Have that kit 3times in my stash so looking very closely to your progress.
The exhaust looks really candy👍!

Schnemat
For the exhaust i followed a bit this video: Youtube Video

Patrick Hagelstein
You're welcome! Enjoy the build as it is a great kit, whether you like the F-16 or not. Very well researched and well fitting. Joining the upper fuselage parts first would be a good way to dress up that seam as it disappears when doing som

Schnemat
Yes, that with the two upper fuselage parts i also figured out, unfortunately too late...😉

Patrick Hagelstein
😄 Isn't retrospect a b....? 😉

Schnemat
Fuselage is done! There is one spot near the exhaust which needs a bit of correction, but otherwise than that, should be finished now. The nose cone color looked a bit off at first, but the longer i look at it i think it's ok.

Jos Jansen
Missed this Viper totally...Iam in!

Schnemat
@ Jos: What do you think about the nose cone color?

Konrad -
Very nice!
My personal opinion on the nose color is that I prefer more darker colors. But in your case it looks very convincing. There is no correct or false color to choose.
So yours is a brand new one and that's absolutely ok.

Patrick Hagelstein
By the nature of how those nose cones are coated, every shade between bright grey and (almost) black works. The cone is coated in a dielectric rubber compound that tends to collect dust and grime over time. They start out bright grey when new (or replaced) and turn darker as time passes.

Jos Jansen
Schnemat, what Patrick says...totally true. Almost every shades of grey is 'allowed', my advice take a good look to your reference pic for this build...👍

Slavo Hazucha
Evasive F-16 build 🙂 Happy to have found it before final delivery - looking good in all aspects 👍

Ricardo Reis
Have this plane in my stash. Looking good, following!

Remco van Haren
Great work! That looks like a perfect build.

Alexander
Agreed, looking really great. Waiting patiently for the final takeoff. 👍

Ricardo Reis
The decal looks good, nevertheless! 👍

Schnemat
progress is very slow at the moment, there was a bit of back and forth over the last two weeks, every time i tried to fix a small problem i had a bigger problem afterwards (paint peeling off, etc.). And in addition there is a 2m RC acro bi-plane to be finished, that also takes some time😉 But nonetheless, the fuselage is now finished and gloss coated, decalling has started and the bucket with finished parts is slowly growing. The gloass coat again looks a bit rough, but it's not that terrible as it looks on the picture. Going to very low pressure on the airbrush has really improved my painting.

Ricardo Reis
Looking nice. Regarding the roughness of the gloss coat, sometime it also happens to me. When I find it too much, I go over it with some of my sanding pads from Albion Alloys (a kit that has from 3200 to 12000 grit) or with my Micromesh polishing cloth set (again from 3600 to 12000) and it works fine. First I was afraid to ruin the kits, but it work well. Just be careful not to go over raised details. 👍

Schnemat
all decals are on the plane. the first two decals i put on the wrong spot, when i realized i got so angry that the next ones i put the wrong way... after that, everything went smooth. i also put some magnet into the wings for the pylons, i really like that so that i can change the loadouts from time to time. i hope i can finish it over the easter weekendè

Patrick Hagelstein
I don't see what you used as a gloss coat. I predominantly spray with lacquers (and brush paint details with acrylics), even my gloss coats. When the surface is a bit too rough to my liking I go over it with a misting coat of Mr. Leveling Thinner. This smooths out any roughness while the paint is curing.

Juskifo
Jolie travail
Le cockpit est incroyablement bien détaillé et la peinture donne un beau rendu
J'utilise aussi la Vallejo, pour le gris sombre il s'agit de la référence 71275 ou 71277 ?
?

Schnemat
We're getting closer to the finish line! I used again the flory models dirt wash and i was again very happy with that stuff. I could remove it without any troubles. I think my airbrush skills have definately improved and the surface is much smoother than with previous builds, which helps to remove the wash. I'm still debating with myself if i should go over it with a satin or matt finish... It looks to me a bit too glossy atm...

Alexander
Looking good! 👍 I would say, that it is mostly fine, safe for some areas at the front (though it may also look like that because of the lighting). In my opinion, a satin finish is the most realistic depiction of a painted, once metallic surface and all the natural light that is reflected by the curved surface areas.

Schnemat
Unfortunately i didn't find the time to finish the model over the weekend. I spent quite some time on weathering the model to give it a bit of a worn look. Until now, my models were more or less in a "brand new" state, so it was a bit of a learning experience, and i had my lesson... From some angles it looks good, but in some (mostly in bright conditions) it's a bit too much for my liking. I'll give it a satin coat, let's see if it tones it down a bit.

Alexander
Looks fine on the pictures and accentuates the details even more.

Schnemat
Now it looks to me like a finished falcon! Well, four parts are missing, which i somehow forgot to paint...

Alexander
Looks great already, can't wait for the final photoshoot. 👍

Patrick Hagelstein
The last pictures surely look good! 👍 I agree with Alexander; when up close to an actual modern jet the paint looks dead flat, from a distance however, it seems to be a tad more shiny leaning towards a semi-gloss. In 1/48 scale the viewer is 'at a distance' to the subject and a semi-gloss would look more realistic. Although, the most important part is that the overall appearance is balanced to the observer's eyes.

Patrick Hagelstein
Even the header picture shows this slight sheen when the F-16 is seen in flight at a distance. 🙂

Schnemat
Yes, overall ím very happy with it. ím just so disappointed that i frogot those clear parts to paint and i need to find the motivation to do so...

Patrick Hagelstein
My guess is, you're talking about the two identification lights near the stabilator tips? Wouldn't a drop of masking liquid and a quick squirt of silver and dark grey do the job? 😉

Schnemat
Exactly, those two and the nav lights near the intake... But now, it's really finished!

Schnemat
Does some one know some 1:48 kits for airfield personnel, infrastructure (eg. Barrels, carts, etc)? I would like to add some stuff to my "dioramas".

Alexander
Kinetic, or rather Skunkmodel Workshops, has a few of those - or had may be more correct, some seem to be discontinued. Verlinden also had a few, but well, try to find Verlinden..

Alexander
Oh and the Viper looks great! 👍

Neuling
It does look great and therefore deserves more photos!

Schnemat
I will do my usual Rollout album ? and thanks for your comments!

Patrick Hagelstein
Definitely looking good! 👍

Daniel
Looks pretty awesome, one of the coolest us viper liveries

James C
Fantastic looking F-16 👍

Slavo Hazucha
turned out pretty cool - time to look for that rollout album!

CaptGPF
Lovely build!