CDW

Heretofore, models of the F-16XL have been few and far between. Monogram did one in 1:72 scale a long time ago, then a company in Korea, Kangnam, did one in 1:32 scale in the 90's. According to experts (not I), neither kit was accurate and there was a massive resin correction set available for the 1:32 model that seemed cost prohibitive. Seems like Kinetic did a good job on their molds for the plane, again, that's according to experts and not me. I just think the molds look really nice. Engraving and detail looks super. I've read the four-color camouflage is hypothetical. That being the case, I may decide to fly by the seat of my pants and create my own hypothetical paint scheme. I've got some nice decal graphics that are begging to be used.

The F-16XL-2 is a derivative of the F-16, with a "cranked arrow" delta wing. This delta wing configuration allowed the F-16XL-2 to carry twice the ordnance load of the F-16 with a 40% greater range. The wing configuration provided 27 hard points for ordnance. The aircraft was entered into the United States Air Force Enhanced Technical Fighter (ETF) competition, but lost to the F-15E Strike Eagle. Subsequently, the two prototype models were turned over to NASA for research. Both aircraft were retired in 2009 and are stored at Edwards AFB. I plan to build this model pretty much box-stock. The only aftermarket items I have purchased for it are a pair of Aires Aces2 resin ejection seats. I may add some home made plumbing/wiring here and there to give the model an enhanced appearance but I don't want to go crazy with extra details that bog down the progress of the build. This is a project I would like to finish within 2 weeks, maybe 3. Provided here are photos of the kit box and the instruction pages. As I'm building the kit, I will refer to the step #'s I'm working on so you will have some point of reference.

This may be the final photos I do for the Triumph. Just need to decide on whether or not to add the saddle bags and/or the helmet and sub machine gun. I kinda like it as it is and may leave it like this. Either way, it's been a fun little project and this is the way I like them...short and sweet but satisfying. This model filled the bill. Remarkable quality for a kit that's been around for so long, more than 40 years. Thanks to everyone who followed along, and especially for your likes and comments. See ya soon with something new.

Thanks for the kind words Gary. I'm trying to put the finishing touches on the model today. Very close, but still some more to do.

Thanks OC. It was a great day today. All my children and grand children were here (and some are still here) to visit, talk, laugh, and eat the great food my wife and I prepare for these holidays. We got up real early this morning and I am now ready for some sleep.

Made a little more progress while going through steps 12, 13, 14, and 15. Ran into a couple of issues with the front and rear axles. Seems as though the axle provided for the front wheel is a bit too short. Styrene rod to the rescue. Will transplant some hex head nuts on each end of the rod and it will be good to go. The green filter changes color a bit when viewed from different angles depending on the light source.

Hatch on top totally makes sense to me. A hatch on the bottom of the hull? Wow, never heard of a deal like that before now, and I would do just like you, search for a more viable alternative. She's looking great! Can't remember where, but I once followed a complete build of this boat and that's what convinced me to buy one for myself. It is a stunning, beautiful boat when it's finished. The build I followed was a static model and not for R/C. I would like to build one with an engine bay and a mock-up of the engine. Static scale.

Excellent! On the fuselage inside...did you use inks for that wood grain tone?

Thanks Denis The tubing has not been a problem. The vinyl the chain was cast from was much different...a hard grade of vinyl and not very flexible. As for the paint, a little masking tape here and there; low air pressure on the airbrush, and paint reduced for better flow at low pressure. With some practice, you can get the airbrush to put paint where you want it without over spray issues. You just have to be aware of your angles when shooting the paint and use masking where over spray is definitely going to be an issue. My airbrush can spray a line of 1/16 of an inch if the air pressure is right and the paint reduced correctly. practice, practice, practice. experiment with air pressure and paint viscosity, then practice some more. 🙂

Cruising the internet, I ran across some very good photos of the stock Triumph Tiger 80. If I had seen those photos first, I may have built and painted this model as the civilian version instead of the military one. That is a gorgeous old vintage British motorcycle. https://www.tomcc.org/Triumph/Model/31

Here the green filter has been applied. The contrast between the parts that received the filter and those that didn't is very noticeable. For me, it gave what I wanted, a slightly lighter shade of green than what I started with.

You get a gold star for this suggestion, Lou. I used a mandrel to properly shape the chain for the rear sprocket, then clamped some hemostats to the opposite end of the chain and let them hang down to give the chain a stretch and put it in a correct shape. Next I heated it up with a hair dryer and that did the trick. The vinyl chain held that shape.

Yeah, this stuff is not cheap, but dang, it's a really nice touch if someone is going all out to super detail a model. My Triumph is not worthy of this. I'm happy with out-of-the-box on this one.

Yes you can, but I don't know of any in this scale 1:9. I have some for my Tamiya motorcycle kits in 1:12 scale. They are a real challenge to assemble. Very small photo etch links and pins. It comes with a tool/jig to assemble the parts.

For a kit of this vintage (the molds, because this is a re-pop of the original), it's surprising the level of detail provided. Here we can see the seats, front and rear, seat frameworks with springs. The seat covers are molded in a soft vinyl. I've given the model a good coat of clear gloss sealer, an acrylic one that will provide the base for the enamel filter I will apply tomorrow. Without applying the sealer, the solvents in the enamel would damage the flat green acrylic and cause undesired results. A sealer like this needs a full 24 hours or more to cure before applying the enamel filter. Here we can see the painted vinyl seat covers installed over the seat frameworks.

Good suggestions, thanks for that. I'm going to try warm/hot water first and then the hair dryer if the water doesn't work.

it's just getting better and better every post.

Step 10 provides one challenge; the kit provides a vinyl "chain" that was molded in a round shape. Because vinyl has memory, I can't get it to behave properly and lay down the way it should between the drive sprocket and main sprocket on the rear wheel. I'm going to need to play around with this chain a bit to figure out how I'm going to deal with it. Need to remove that memory from the vinyl somehow.

Not a heck of a lot to show with step 9, but something is better than nothing. In any case, there was some fiddly work in this step.

Excellent! I love your model.

It sure is fun watching you turn this old model into something remarkable. A real pleasure to see.

Walmart has it. Like Chris said, it's a waterproof glue with a flexible bond that dries completely clear. I believe it's a form of contact cement and works well as household use, particularly well when repairing a cracked or broken ceramic item where other glues don't work so well. Bonds well to just about anything I have tried using it on. Here's what it looks like:

Today I made a trip to my local hobby paint supplier for a few things I wanted to try out on the Triumph project, some other items for future projects, and stock replacement. Spray Gunner is a huge mail order warehouse for hobby paints, airbrushes, compressors, and related supplies. For those who haven't tried them out, you will be pleasantly surprised with the stock inventory and excellent service you'll get from Spray Gunner. Fast and efficient mail order. For me, the warehouse is only 20 minutes away and sometimes I go there direct if I'm going to be in the area anyway. In the front row on the far left is a green filter liquid. This is what I plan to use to "lighten up" the black-green base paint on the Triumph. In the middle of the back row is solvent 110. That product is used to wipe down the green filter after it's dry as it is an enamel based product. The super metallic paints are buff-able and a replacement for the old metalizer paints that were once sold by Testors. Mr,. Color leveling thinner is also pictured on the back row and is something I frequently mention using to reduce Tamiya and Mr. Color paints for air brushing. Typical water-based reducers will not work with Tamiya or Mr. Color paints. There are other paints that work well with this reducer, such as the AK line of paints. As you might imagine from the Japanese and RAF color sets, I have some Japanese and RAF subjects as future projects. 🙂

I like the looks of your B-17 a lot. Very nice indeed.

No problem at all with the tubing fit here, unlike what we've experienced with other kits. I'm gluing the tubing to the pins with that E6000 glue. Works like a charm.