1/32 Tamiya F-16CJ

 Fighting Falcon On line build   Part 3    Steps 13-22

by Steve Bridges

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Steps 13-22 consist of the assembly of the gear bays, air duct and nose gear

Note: I used the Squadron Signal "F-16 Walk Around" for the color references throughout the kit.

Step 13 -- Main gear well

Step 13 consists of the main gear wells and a small tank – not sure what it is – it could be an emergency gear extension (CO2, hydraulic reservoir), or it could be the hydrazine tank for the APU.  I assembled the parts as directed, but left the tank off.  While the parts in step 13 fit only one way due to the size of the pins, it might be possible to get some of them reversed.  Parts J19 and F14 also only go in one way

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Step 14 -- Rear air intake and engine bulkhead 

I sprayed the inside of the intake MM Flat white prior to assembly and let it dry thoroughly prior to cementing together.  There are seams visible, but I applied some Mr. Surfacer 500 after the glue was dry.  I have small enough fingers to get inside the duct to sand it down.  Also, since there isn’t much glue surface, I would recommend using a solvent glue such as Ambroid for assembly, and then re-enforcing the outside of the intake with CA adhesive as there will be stress on the seam during sanding.  The picture below shows the assembly and the Mr. Surfacer on the inside of the duct.

The engine bay bulkhead is straight forward as well.  The bulkhead is painted yellow zinc chromate (available in the small ¼ oz. Testors bottles), Testors MM chrome silver for the APU exhaust, and aluminum, Tamiya Titanium Gold, Testors MM gunmetal, and Testors MM aluminum

The intake received 2 more coats of MM Flat White after wiping down with denatured alcohol to get any sanding residue out (I always wet sand).  These pictures are of the intake prior to final painting.

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Step 15 --  The engine bay and mounting the rear duct to the engine bay.

Colors on the engine bay were Yellow Zinc Chromate, Testors MM steel, and Green Zinc Chromate for the rear engine supports (these engage small pins on the engine when it is mounted).

The instructions indicate that the rear duct should not be glued to the bulkhead.  The fit is quite tight, and allows for slight adjustments when the assembly is mounted in the lower fuselage.

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Step 16 – Lower fuselage engine bay

Again, no surprises.  The inside of the fuselage is Yellow Zinc Chromate, and white where the landing gear bay and M61 Vulcan will be mounted.

For the framework on the lower engine bay, I painted the duct work MM Flat black, and the small tanks MM Flat white

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Step 17 – mounting engine bay/rear duct

This assembly is secured by 8 screws.  Since the duct is not glued to the bay,  adjustment is possible, but the fit of the rear intake to the bulkhead is tight.

 

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Steps 18-22 – Forward gear and forward air intake

Steps 18, 19

The nose gear strut will require a bit of filing to get rid of a couple of seams, but a small file will take care of it quickly. The nose gear steering unit should be attached with CA glue.

The same notes about the rear duct applies to the forward duct, but the CA glue is even more critical at the forward end if it is needed (there isn’t just much gluing surface).  While I was taking care of the seams, I left part C17 out.

Again, no surprises here.  I left off the scissors and nose gear retraction link and the will go in after assembly

Step 20 – exterior of air intake

No surprises here either (and I didn’t think to take any pictures).  The parts fit tightly and no filler is needed.

Step 21 – Assembly of forward air intake

A big note here – attach part D2 in this step.  I decided to leave it off till later and when I tried to test fit in step 22 after attaching the intake the the fuselage,  I ended up with a small step between part D2 and the forward air intake.  Doing it in this step allows the fit to be adjusted and no step would be present.  Since I’m building 2 of these kits, I’ll know better for the 2nd one.  Part F3 can be left off till later.

Step 22 – Attaching forward air intake

Attach part C26 first – the intake gets in the way a bit if that is attached first. 

Take your time on fitting this in – if done correctly, there will be almost no seam between the forward and rear ducts.  I used small quick clamps to pull the forward intake against the rear intake, and to hold the forward intake against the fuselage while the glue dried.

Steve

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Photos and text © by Steve Bridges