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I picked up this kit when I first
got back into modelling a few years ago after a 20 year layoff for my career,
model trains, marriage etc.. The highlight of the kit are it's extremely fine and
crisp recessed panel lines and crystal clear canopy.
I picked up a F-16 Superscale decal sheet from Squadron for $.99. The wolf
markings for the North Dakota Air National Guard are real eye catchers so I
decided to build that version. I was able to find a couple reference photos on
the net and a USAF yearbook to confirm the markings and paint scheme.
The kit went together very well with little need for putty. I did have 1
disaster in that my initial primer coat of auto primer decanted and sprayed
through my Pasche H airbrush didn't stick very well to the plastic. I had washed
the kit carefully, so this adhesion problem was a mystery to me.
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Luckily I was
able to strip off the primer with a soak in Pinesol and a scrub with a
toothbrush under hot running water. I sanded the entire kit with a 3M Microfine
sanding sponge thinking that the primer needed a little "tooth" to
adhere to. My second attempt worked better, with the primer sticking to the
plastic. For the 3 tones of grey I used Polyscale acrylic paint, lightened with
white for the scale effect, which airbrushed very
well at 35 lbs. I used Tamiya masking tape and Post It notes for the masking. A
light sanding and a couple coats of Future gave the model a glossy finish
suitable for decaling. I did not glue the air inlet to the model until after the
painting was done.
The only modification to the kit was the addition of a True Details ejection
seat. The stock seat is pretty simplistic, but would be OK if you added belts
and left the canopy down.
I attempted to tint the canopy using Future and food colouring. I failed
miserably, so into the Pinesol went the canopy. I will have to try other
techniques to get a good canopy tint in the future (no pun intended).
Prior to flat coating the F-16, I ran a wash of lighter fluid and artist's oil
paint into the recessed panel lines. The excess wash was removed by lightly
sanding with the 3m Microfine sanding sponge. I also used the wash on the
landing gear and wheel well areas to bring out the nice detail.
I used the much vaulted Aeromaster flat acrylic for the finish coat. I bet
Polyscale's acrylic flat is the same thing as they were both made by the same
company.
Don
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