1/72 Hasagawa F-16A

by Everett McEwan

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I received this kit for free from a fellow IMPS club member last X-mas, mainly because he didn't want it because it was so old. It is actually a YF-16A prototype (nose shape is different) but I picked some Superscale decals for $.89 and decided to
 build it for fun.

    Construction was very easy and basic, the cockpit was pretty simple so I left the canopy closed. I did use some masking tape seat belts, but left the decaled pit alone. I also left off the weapons because they were out of date (2 LGBs and 2 ECM pods
 that were wrong). I did add the two small bulges on either side of the nose that production F-16s have, but I did not bother to correct the nose shape (it's for fun anyways).
   

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   Most of my time went into painting it, I used model master paints and masked the pattern using Tamyia tape. On the subject of the tape, I recently discovered this tape, it really makes a difference because it is low tack and very thin, For example if you mask a canopy with it, and hold it up to the light, you can see the lines and with a light tracing with a fresh blade it gives a great mask. The camo pattern was a little messed up in areas because the tape was too firm and created a hard edge, should have done a softer edge mask, but at this scale it's not that bad. The bottom color was Light Ghost Grey and the top was the standard IAF colors (Pale Green, Sand, and Dark Tan).

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  I sealed with Testors Flat Acrylic and applied decals, and in hindsight I should have have used a gloss coat (Future) because decals silvered a bit, I was in a rush and it showed (Fun though right!). The decals went on fine, but were a little big (I think
 kit was smaller than 1/72nd not decals) it is really noticeable with the nose rescue stencils, Oh well.
     The project was really just for fun, and as a break after my recent A-6E Diorama which was a lot more serious. I have since given the model to a friend at work for his Son, they are Jewish, have been to Israel and are fans of the IAF, next I will build them a F-15C in IAF markings. Although it is simple, I hope you enjoy it.

Everett

Photos and text © by Everett McEwan