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RoR Step-by-Step Review 20130912* F-16 Air Team 1:48 Scale Revell Model Kit #85-5326 Review

The General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 Fighting Falcon was originally conceived as a light-weight supplement to the then-new F-15 Eagle. It is considered today to be an excellent all around fighter and ground attack platform. With over four thousand in production serving twenty four air forces it will see service for a long time to come. The aircraft uses a unique fly by wire control system making it very easy to fly, however without this system the basic shape of the aircraft would be uncontrollable. The fighter is also extremely maneuverable and can carry a devastating amount of ordinance to the battlefield. It is because of these excellent flight characteristics that in 1983 the USAF Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team fielded it as its primary show bird. Sporting a beautiful red white and blue paint scheme the team performs thousands of shows all over the world.

For the Modeler: This is the F-16 Air Team 1:48 Scale Revell Model Kit #85-5326. It is a skill level 2 kit molded in 77 white plastic and a clear plastic canopy pieces. The kit includes instructions and an excellent set of colorful waterslide decals. Revell's F-16 was originally pressed in the early 90's. It was released as an ADF variant with a pair of AIM-7 Sparrow air to air missiles, a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders, and a centerline drop tank. This boxing replaces the Sparrows with a pair of AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles along with the Sidewinders. Finished dimensions are: Length: 11-3/4", Height: 8-1/8", Wingspan: 8-1/8"

Covered in this Review: If you want to perfect your build; basic construction; preparing parts for better finishing; version option considerations; alternate assembly sequence suggestions for fit and ease of construction; paint and adhesive selections and application; identifying and repairing seam lines; cockpit detailing; the importance of test fitting; expanded 1:1 history of the aircraft; instrument panel suggestions; masking the airframe for painting; metalizer techniques; decal preparation, application and special handling; detailing the landing gear; sealing decals with floor polish; sequential construction of the fuselage halves to ensure fitment; masking methods; techniques for making a standout canopy; alignment of stabilizers, decals, and frames; using decal solvents to facilitate conformance; touchup methods for matching paint to decals; making realistic exhaust with metalizers, dry brushing, and weathering powders; are all fully examined in this pictorial 16 page, full-color Step-by-Step review.


Fig 0a & 0b) Here is the kit’s contents and box art. The kit is molded in white styrene. The surface detail consists of a combination of raised and recessed panel lines. The plastic itself is very smooth and shiny. A good starting point for a Thunderbird aircraft, however it makes painting a bit tricky without priming. There are 77 parts all together and many of the details are molded together to ease assembly. Some of these parts are the landing gear and aft bulkhead, single piece tail planes, and wing/fuselage join.

Fig 339 & 365) Probably because of the age of the molds there is a minor amount of flash but only just. In fact most of it flaked off after a bit of handling. That says a lot for the quality of the molds. As is typical with re-releases the markings are different than the original. You get a beautiful set of full markings for a Thunderbird from a generic season (there are minor differences as new airframes are acquired) and a tactical Falcon from the 526th TFW circa 1986 with a handsome looking lion on the tail. The cockpit details are also provided as decals and I will discuss this further shortly. Construction:

Fig 357) I always start a kit by first studying the instructions. There are 12 pages including a marking guide, color chart, and a brief history of the airplane. After I am confident about a plan of assembly I wash all the parts in warm water with a mild dish soap. I use a toothbrush to gently scrub all the surfaces and then rinse them thoroughly. I then let them air-dry. Resist the urge to dry the parts with anything because it may leave bits of paper or dust. If you are using a sink make very sure to cover the drain in case any parts pop off the sprue. You risk losing them to your plumbing forever if you don't.


Figs. 361 & 365) I began construction by cutting out all the parts for the cockpit. This includes the aft bulkhead, cockpit tub, seat, instrument panel, and side stick controller.

Fig. 382) I then assembled the seat. This is a four part assembly with the two sides, seat back, and pull ring. This last part is tiny so be cautious. I find it best to assemble everything and paint it all as one piece. After I added the side stick to the tub. Do not add the aft bulkhead (part 39) to the tub. This will be added after everything is to be glued to the fuselage. I then painted all of these parts with light gray primer. I like this color because it closely matches the Dark Gull Gray color found in most modern cockpits.

398 400 After the primer had dried I coated the cockpit tub in gloss coat to ensure no silvering of the decals provided. These decals make up the consoles and instrument panels. Be careful here as if you ruin the markings you are on your own in terms of detail in the cockpit. On the instrument panel I painted the center and lower console black to add more depth.


Fig. 420) The seat was then detailed. I painted the cushions, side pads, and top flat black. After that had dried for a while I picked out the harness in dark gray and added some aluminum to the buckles. I then painted the ejection pull handles Insignia Yellow and added hash marks with a drafting pen. On the side of the ACES seat an oxygen tank is mounted. It is molded on and I painted it Testors Dark Green. Lastly I traced the connectors and fittings with my drafting pen to make them more noticeable. Turning my attention to the cockpit tub I first painted the control stick flat black. I used a toothpick to hit the molded on buttons in dark red. After this I started adding the decals. This was finished in short order as the decals were very well

behaved and settled right down. Be aware that there is a cut-out around the base of the control stick. Use this to line up the decal on that side. Care will be rewarded here and the end result is actually quite convincing. The same went for the instrument panel and none of these required any solvents to conform them to their respective surfaces. This was also a great indicator of how the rest of the markings would behave on the exterior of the plane. After everything dried I hit all the cockpit parts with flat Model Master flat coat enamel to seal everything and eliminate the shine. I glued the seat into the tub and that completed the cockpit.

Figs.. 421 & 422) I sprayed the cockpit area of the top fuselage piece (part 1) in the same primer I used on the cockpit. This matches the interior to the cockpit and ensures that no white plastic is visible in there. One added advantage of using primer is that it is also quick-drying. It will also go on very smoothly. Once that dried I glued the cockpit in place and added the aft bulkhead thus completing interior assembly.


Fig. 406) After that I finished masking I attached the HUD (part 43) to the front glare shield and painted the aft turtle deck flat black. This was a bit tricky as I didn't want to get any paint on my previous work in that area.

Fig. 424 & 425) With this kit, once you have done that you can glue the entire fuselage together as there is nothing else that needs to be fitted. This is always a nail biter for me as everything needs to line up as to not interfere with the rest of the assemblies. Nothing is more disappointing than a crooked airplane. You will also need to make sure you can fix or adjust anything as you go. I find that if I work slowly and glue one section at a time I can plan ahead and eliminate many pesky seams. One key to all of this is dry-fitting. Should you find a seam you can't close with regular assembly, you will also remember t. As an aside I should mention here that I prefer to use Tamiya's excellent thin liquid cement. It is applied by brush into the seams and gives a very strong bond quickly allowing you to control the application and drying time, which is fast. It is a solvent type cement so be careful and work in a ventilated area.

Fig. 376) I decided early on to make this kit with the canopy closed. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that as molded, Revell's canopy is all one piece and posing it open would require

some very careful surgery. It also has a glaring inaccuracy in that the canopy hinge cuts off at the bracing bar. On the real aircraft this hinge extends further back and has a stepped shape to it. Second, I love the shape of this aircraft and feel it looks its best clean and buttoned up. The next step is to prepare the canopy for paint. To do this I first dip in Future Floor Polish. A lot has been said about this stuff as it seems to be made for modelers. It is an excellent product and has a ton of uses on my workbench. I can't recommend it enough.


Fig. 377) I begin by cleaning the canopy very thoroughly by running it under cold water and drying it with a polishing cloth. This eliminates any surface contaminants. It is crucial to avoid handling this part once it has been cleaned as to avoid any fingerprints.

Figs. 378 & 380) I then dip the whole thing in the floor wax. While it’s in there I move it around a bit and slowly draw the part out. The goal here is to get a nice, even coat over the whole thing. I then dab the corners of the canopy rail on a paper towel to wick away any excess polish and leave it to dry on a hard, dust free surface. A good thing to do is cover the canopy with a bowl, or container to avoid any dust or accidental impacts. The Future takes a few hours to dry and I like to leave mine overnight just to be sure. This will help with painting and masking as well as give the canopy an excellent, clean shine.

Figs. 445 & 449) Once the canopy was completely dry I masked the part using Tamiya's thin masking tape. I really like this tape as its more flexible than regular masking tape and won't leave any residue. I taped side to side trimming as I went using the cutting action to get a nice, tight line. Extra care here pays dividends later on as any stray paint can be chipped off with a toothpick without harming the surface and you can get an excellent demarcation easily.


Figs. 453 & 455) I then secured the canopy in place with liquid cement making sure I covered the entire gap. This seals everything nicely and gives a very strong join preventing the canopy from popping off while painting. I then masked around the entire canopy and sprayed the area flat black. This makes the visible parts on the inside match the rest of the cockpit. I set this aside for a while and let the paint fully cure.

Fig 386) I then set the fuselage aside to allow it to completely cure. Then I began putting together the intake. On any F-16 kit this has proven to be a challenging area. Revell provides you with two intake sides, a front lip, a blade vane, and a partial tunnel that terminates into the top. One great thing about an all white aircraft is that the inside of the intake tunnel is also white. This is common on all U.S. fighter planes. In real life this visually indicates anything in the intake more easily such as debris or liquid spills. This allowed me to complete the assembly quickly and without much hassle.

Figs. 391 & 393) I assembled the two intake halves and then inserted the tunnel, flooding the joins with the Tamiya cement. This gave me a very strong join to attach the front lip to. I had to sand the bottom of the tunnel as it is housed partially in this front lip.

394 I also ended up with a pretty visible gap around the sides of this join. I then painted the blade vane Model Master Gun Metal and inserted it through a hole between the front lip and back half. This is a fragile part and must be handled with care. Once completed, I set it aside to cure.


Fig 483) Once I was finished there I glued the tail halves together and joined it to the now dry fuselage. Make very sure to line this up well as any errors here will be extremely noticeable. I then added the radome, tail planes, and wingtip missile rails. The Thunderbirds don't typically carry any weapons so I didn't add anything else as far as armament is concerned. If you were to build the tactical version you would then add the under wing pylons (parts 55 and 66) to the underside of the wings. I also removed the molded-on stubs designed to more easily add the wingtip Sidewinders as they look more accurate that way.

Fig 484) Once all this was dry I could turn my attention to the belly. In hindsight to make it easier to assemble everything down there you could add the tail later. I didn't have much trouble doing it my way but I had to be more careful as too much pressure will snap the tail right off and alter the join there. As it was I simply placed some supports under the tops of the wings to work under the aircraft. Now she is really starting to look like a fighter plane. On the F-16 all of the landing gear bays are integral with the intake housing. On our model this is also true. I added the front and aft bulkheads to the gear bay housing, making sure the fit here was snug. I was very straightforward with no gaps to be found. I then added the center divide (part 37) followed by the intake. The intake sides make up the walls of the main gear bay and join to the back half of the aft bulkhead. There were some large gaps here and I was able to fill them with plastic card trimmed down to match the curvature of that section.

Fig 484a) Once the intake was fully installed I added the bay cover (part 31) and that pretty much finished off the airframe. One thing to know here is that the main landing gear legs are molded onto the aft bulkhead. This is a solid part but be very careful to not warp or snap off the legs as you are handling the model. I could then start to look at surface preparation for painting. Before doing this I like to rub down the entire airframe with an old T-shirt or polishing cloth to remove any finger oils or any other contaminants from the surface. While it may not get everything, it will get a lot.


Figs. 492 & 494) Once the paint on the canopy had dried I used a "chunk" of paper towel to mask the intake and sprayed the whole airframe with primer gray. This allowed me to see all the flaws around the model and fix them as I went. I had quite a few gaps to deal with. Especially around the tail, nose, and wing flaps where all the major joins were. I addressed these with Durham's Rock Hard acrylic putty. Durham's comes in powder form and you simply add water to it until you get the consistency you want. One container will last a long time, runs for around $8, and dries very hard with little to no shrinkage. It is an excellent product. Once mixed, I applied the putty to all the seams I could find and let it set for about 15 minutes. After, with a damp finger tip I removed the excess by wiping it in the direction of the seam. I then cleaned up any residue with a damp towel. The putty will dry in about 3 hours and fully cure in 24. I suggest leaving it over night. Once fully dry I sprayed the airframe with primer again and was happy to find all the seams eliminated with no need for sanding. I could now move on to my base coats.

Figs. 496 & 497) Before doing any painting I wiped down the model with an old T-shirt. This took care of anything stuck to the surface or dried to the primer. It also has the benefit of "buffing" said primer to a nice satin sheen and smoothing everything out. I then pulled out my Gloss White spray paint. One of my best finds in spray paint is RustOleum’s quick color series. It is thin, wonderfully opaque, and gives an excellent high gloss finish with little effort. I use this gloss white for a lot of things. In this case, it was to be my primary coat color. I misted on several coats over a few hours and got a flawless white finish. Take your time here and work methodically. The paint will dry relatively

quickly if applied in thin coats and has a few self-leveling characteristics. However because it goes on thin you will get runs if you aren't careful. My results came from about six coats over 3 hours with the model mounted on a piece of rod through the tailpipe. While it dried I clamped the pipe to my bench vise in a vertical position and put a fan nearby. I don't always recommend doing this but I dust my workbench and painting areas frequently to avoid any buildup. Once I was satisfied with the base coat I set the model to dry for two days to ensure that the paint had fully cured. If you do this the paint will act as a protective shell and can be handled without worry. One trick to determine if the paint is still tacky is to paint a piece of scrap sprue in the same manner as you paint your model. When the sprue is dry, so is the model.


498) Now we get to the real bread and butter of this kit; the Thunderbird decals. Revell has come a long way with their decals. While they may not be Cartograph good, they are well done, in register, and opaque. There is a lot of planning when undertaking markings like this. There are many decals and they all have to line up or it will be very noticeable on the finished model. I started off by adding the wingtip and tail stripes top and bottom. Take care here as the decals are slightly oversized to allow them to "fold" over the leading and trailing edges. Work slowly and do one surface at a time. I did the tops first making sure all the decals conformed as they should. Once dry I trimmed any excess and moved on.

499) I then added the insignia, AF markings, and slot numbers. Next up was the tail. These decals are printed as one piece and cover the entire tail surface. Great care is needed to avoid misalignment and wrinkles. I tried applying one side as a whole decal to see what would happen and met with near disastrous results. The decal ripped and the base of the tail and folded over on itself at the top and bottom. I remedied this by moving it around and unfolding the top with a toothpick. I then "massaged" the rest with a Q-tip soaked in Microscale's Micro Sol decal solvent. This set to work almost immediately melting the decal to the

surface. Learning from my mistake I trimmed the other side in half where the tail meets the base and applied it in two stages. This yielded much better results. It settled right down and looked good.


& 506 & 521) I then moved on to the nose scallops. The red scallop is divided into two halves side to side. I worked carefully to get a good line up on the nose but was left with a horrible lip on one side. After it had dried for a while I trimmed off what I could and touched up the rest with Model Master Insignia Red acrylic. I then added the top of the blue scallop also being careful that it lined up with the nose LERX extension.

503) That completed the top of the aircraft. After everything had dried I moved on to the bottom.


563) This would be tougher as most of the belly is covered in decals. There are some gaps in the markings where you will have to paint and then decal. This requires that you match a paint color to the decals. I used Model Master Insignia Blue enamel and Insignia Red acrylic respectively. These were the closest match and are actually the federal standard colors for the real thing. I worked my way from back to front with the decals to make sure the biggest ones lined up with each other. The markings are again split in half and cover from nose to tail making up the distinctive Thunderbird shape. The biggest of these being the wing markings.

564) After getting the fuselage lined up these went on with little trouble. One trick to these is applying a generous amount of water to the surface being decaled. This will allow you to move it around if you need to and simply wick up the rest when you are done. To this point I hadn't needed to use any more decal solvent. Except for the wings! On the underside there are hard points molded into the wings where the pylons would attach. I thought about grinding them away but decided not to and made the decals conform around them. They aren't really visible if done correctly.

545a) After the wing markings were done I added the scallop under the nose. These surround the nose gear bay and required some trimming when done. I then painted the fuselage strakes Insignia Blue and added the striping decals and attached them to the fuselage. Once all the marking were dry I painted the field arresting hook (part 19) Insignia Blue and installed it. I then set everything aside to dry overnight.


499a) All that was left was a few touch ups around the model with said Insignia colors and finally a seal in Future Floor Polish to seal and protect everything.

468) I really like painting exhausts. I feel it is a fun challenge and can really make a model stand out. Revell gives you a burner ring, and an exhaust nozzle molded in six parts. I started by cutting all of these free from the sprues and sanding all the edges.

477 & 480) I then painted the burner ring Model Master Titanium metalizer. After a few minutes I buffed it to a shine with our old T-shirt. After, I dry brushed some aluminum, clear blue, and steel around the raised details and then painted the center in Polly Scale Dirty White. I added just a smudge of clear blue to the white to give it depth.


515) I then painted the afterburner tunnel in the MM Titanium and attached these to the model.

518 & 522) I then turned to the petals. The tops of these were painted with Tamiya Gold Leaf and the insides painted flat black. I then dry brushed some dirty white and used various pastel powders to highlight streaking and soot marks on the petals.

522a & 524) After it was all dry I added the attachment ring in bright silver (red arrow) and then all the petals (blue arrow) to the back of the model. This is an excellent area of the model and adds a nice visual break up to all the white around it.


535a) All that was left was the wheels and tires and a few odds and ends. The tires as provided are split into three parts each. Two parts for the tire and a hub. This makes painting a snap as if you clean up the edges the fit together very well. I sprayed the tires flat black and the hubs gloss white (with arrows). While I had out the white I sprayed the remainder of the gear parts such as the strut supports, interior of the gear doors, and nose landing gear(red arrows). I picked out the oleo struts on the landing gear in Model Master Silver Chrome Trim, added the nose gear and tires and let it dry.

551 & 533) She was now fully on her feet. Lastly I added the nose probe (part 33) followed by all the gear doors. The doors themselves need to have the exterior painted in Insignia Blue and gloss coated. I carefully, removed the masking from the canopy and once that was done; I called it a day.

Figs. 530 & 538 Here are some alternated views of the model.


Conclusion:

999) This is a very good kit. Considering it's age it has held up very well and while there are a ton of other options out there, even in this scale, it has a lot of value. I feel the markings alone are worth the price of admission. I got the chance to brush up on a lot of techniques and learn some new ones as well. I also got to use some of my favorite tools. While some areas were challenging at times I think this would be a great introduction to jets for anyone. A good modeler can turn out an awesome replica and with the other options in the kit a very handsome early tactical Falcon can be constructed. It has a few inaccuracies but it certainly looks like an F-16 to me. I wouldn't mind picking up another and trying to "beef it up" a bit given a little more time. I can highly recommend this kit to all skill levels and am happy to have the finished product on my display shelf.

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