REVELL 1:72 LOCKHEED/G.D. F-16B FIGHTING FALCON

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 7 September 2008

Kit Details

Aircraft: Lockheed F-16B
Scale: 1/72
Kit: Revell #04355
Parts: 119 light grey parts of which 19 are not used, plus 6 transparent injection molded
Surface detail: finely engraved
Decals: 3 options
Accuracy: good
Price: 11,95 euro

Aditional items used

Decals: Siam scale #72023

History

It’s an F-16… ‘nuff said. If, in the highly unlikely case, your bookshelves turn up no info on this aircraft, try any of nearly 35 million hits you get from googling for F-16.

The kit

Packed in Revell’s familiar, reasonably sturdy, end-opening blue box you will find 4 light grey sprues. The single transparent sprue is packed separately in its own bag. The parts are sharply formed, with no apparent sink marks. There are a few ejector pin marks but they won’t be visible after construction. A tiny amount of flash is apparent on the smaller parts. The canopy is very clear and commendably thin. Surface detail is finely engraved but becomes a bit indistinct on the fuselage back. The parts generally fit very well. The kit comes with two nicely detailed pilot figures, which will surely please the wheels-up crowd. The 16 page A-4 size instruction booklet consists of a short history with technical data, a parts location diagram, 39 easy to follow construction steps and finally three 4-view colour schemes showing where all the markings go. Colour details are given throughout construction, and are listed in general names and Revell paint numbers only, with the inevitable mixing recipes. The sharply printed decal sheet shows no registry problems, and colours are sufficiently opaque. The decals look nicely thin but very matt.

Accuracy

Dimensionally the kit is very accurate. Nowadays there are hardly any F-16’s that are still in the same state as they were when they were delivered. Most have been updated/modified at least once. There for the number of detail variations is almost infinite. Good references of the machine you want to portray will be needed. The kit cockpit is only suitable for an F-16B MLU and not for the older B’s. However, only a true F-16 aficionado will notice the difference. Also most older F-16 airframes have been fitted with external strengthening plates that are bolted to the outside of the skin. These plates are not present on the model. Despite these minor criticisms, this Revell kit is still the most detailed and accurate F-16 two seater around.

Construction

As usual the cockpit is the starting point. The tubs are very nicely detailed with raised detail and I carefully dry brushed this to make the most of it. I added the instrument panel, throttle and stick, but left the seats out for now. I then fitted the completed tubs in the forward upper fuselage. After this had dried I joined this section with the rear upper fuselage half. Revell only provides two tiny tabs, and dry fitting showed these are not enough to ensure correct alignment. So I added a few more, larger, tabs. This helped but it still took quite a bit of time to get a decent fit. In the end the join was good enough to do without filler, but still not as invisible as I had wished. Next the air intake was tackled, and here too I needed careful adjustments, to achieve a good fit. The wheel well went in without problems. Now the top and bottom fuselage halves were joined. These fitted very well, but I advise you to take up Revell’s suggestion to use clothes pegs to keep the airbrake flaps together while the glue dries. After the fuselage had dried, the realistically deep exhaust section was added. I filled the nosecone with weight to make sure I wouldn’t end up with a tail sitter. The main landing gear was rather fiddly to put together, and I found the instructions less than clear. But with the help of some detail photographs I figured it out. The result is a highly detailed and accurate representation of the original. The nose gear presented no problems. Note that there are at least 4 different types of fairing with navigation lights on the sides of the air intake (the kit provides 3 of these), so check your references. The tail planes, vertical and ventral fins were added next. Several weapons pylons were then installed. As the 3-piece seats that come with the kit are pretty detailed for this scale, I didn’t replace them with more detailed resin items. They are a very tight fit though. Of the stores provided I only used the belly tank and the wingtip sidewinders. After installing the last of the smaller details, the canopy went on as the final part. It fitted so well that I didn’t need to glue it.

Painting and Decals

If you have read any of my other reviews you will know I hardly ever build anything from the box. This time it is no different. I had a Siam scale decal sheet for an F-16B with special markings to commemorate 15 years of service with 103sqn. This machine has a striking painted tail section. The machine is painted in the early standard camouflage greys. I used MM2034 for the top and MM2035 for the bottom colour. The nose and intake top were painted 2036, and the radome MM2101. The vertical tail and ventral fins were painted bright red XF-7. With their single seaters Revell provide a yellowish canopy, but luckily the dual kit has an uncoloured canopy. I’ve seen several teints on F-16 canopies. Some are brownish, others are greenish, while most are yellowish. The front section of the canopy does not always have the same tint as the rear section. The machine I wanted to build has the front part in the yellowish tint while the rear part is not tinted. I achieved this effect by painting the inside of the front part with diluted X-24. As usual the Siam scale decals performed without a problem. I was less happy with the few Revell decals I used. These were prone to silvering and even with a strong decal solvent they were reluctant to conform properly.

Conclusion

Well there you have it…. I have built a mainstream kit of a mainstream type. Quite a shock eh?. In my defense I can say that it has highly unusual markings though. Joking apart, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed building this kit. Apart from the few niggles mentioned above I think Revell has presented us with an excellent kit, and I can recommend it to all.

For those who, like me, have an interest in less well know air forces, I can whole heartedly recommend the excellent Siam scale range of decals.

As far as I know there is only one dealer outside of Thailand and that is: http://www.aviationmegastore.com/

References

Battlefield, F-16 special (Thai magazine)
Verlinden Lock on #2 F-16A/B

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