General Dynamics F-16a Fighting Falcon by popeye the sailor - Guillow's - 1:30 scale - WOOD

[popeye the sailor]

hey there everyone!  I'm finally back to the point where I can get back to work    it's been a crazy hiatus...........getting flooded out of our apartment {end result} in 12/23.......spending most of the summer of 24 in a hotel........ending this nightmare by buying a home.  the rents were just too expensive to continue as renters.  we had renter's insurance.......they were supposed to help us in finding another place, but they merely dragged their feet with that endeavor.  we also found that Gibbs, our dog, had a mass in his abdomen, later to be diagnosed as cancer.  we ended up having him put down in August, almost a month after moving into the new house.  then came the series of 'firsts'........first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and first New Years.  even the first Tax season............   retirement will be the next big hurdle............I hope I can get to it.

 

anyway.............Christmas is where this log starts.  I was looking up some possible gift ideas, when I saw these two kits.

both of these kits are sealed...........never opened!  they looked to be an intriguing build, never building a jet before.....and seeing that they are static kits, I thought I'd give them a go.  I'm no stranger to flying models, having built many in my younger days.  I do have one in progress.........that's the Fokker Dr 1...........I had to shelve it due to the flooding.  I will post that one when I get back to it........quite a lot of sanding needs to be done.   so, for the first one, I chose to do the F 16a.

tearing off the plastic.......opening the box.........everything had been untouched by human hands {other than the person who boxed it}.

I was hoping that this kit was laser cut.........I had heard that Guillow's was making changes towards laser cutting their kits, but I saw that die cutting was still being done.  these kits were produced around 1989.  I can see that removing these parts will require some prep work.

I removed some of the fuselage parts, to begin cutting out the rest of the notches for the stringers.  Balsa is a very soft wood.........if the die cutter is in any degree worn, the cuts may not be so good.  it tends to crush the wood surrounding the cuts, making the trimming a bit harder.  there will be repairs.  some of the parts are not cut, requiring you to do it yourself.  

the stringer wood is rough..........light sanding is required {right photo}

there is tissue, if you decide to cover the model.  there are also decals, tires, plastic detail parts and a clear plastic cockpit.  printed card stock in also in the box.........rocket fins and added cockpit detail.  the instruction sheets are very detailed outlined step by step.

the build starts.................it's good to be back  

Edited Friday at 07:37 PM by ccoyle
corrected log title

[popeye the sailor]

yep.........the parts prep is slow and tedious.  the trick is keeping an eye on the bits and edges that break off, and glue them back on before they get lost.  it gets put aside till it dries........picking up another part for the time being, until it happens to that part.  it just becomes a vicious circle until they are all trimmed out.  while I'm doing this, here are what other aspects of the instruction sheets look like.

the parts above are 1:1 in the event that a part gets damaged.  a new one can be made from cast off wood or 1/16 flat stock that is included in the kit.  Balsa modelers expect that sort of thing    something that is different about the kit, is that the fuselage is a bulkhead frame.  there is no need for a build board.  it has a center keel, just like a plank on frame ship model.  the stringer notches can clearly be seen in this last photo.  with most Guillow's planes, the bulkheads are in halves and fitted on a flat framework...........port and starboard sides, later to be joined together to create the full fuselage.  the only parts that will need a build board will be the wings, stabilizers, and rudder.  should be ready for glue soon  

 

[Old Collingwood]

Great seeing  you back  Dennis  I wondered  what had happened to you mate,    What an excellent project  I have brought my chair  and  soem goodies.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the comment, OC.  it's been a strange hiatus; I can tell ya that!  while I wasn't in the position of posting or modeling, I was able to acquire a few more kits.  never a dull moment    thanks also for those who hit the like button  

 

punching out and cutting the notches is well under way at this time.  as mentioned, a worn die cutter does not leave clean cuts.  I used a new razor blade for this work.  the instructions direct you to use an xactor knife, but take it from me.......the thinner the cutting blade, the better.

still quite a few to do yet.   I continued to do as I had mentioned earlier...........if a piece broke off, it was quickly glued back on, and another part was put into play.  

the bottom flaps of the bulkheads were evened out.........some fit tight and caused them to look crooked.  the mis ship came next.

soon, the rest of the bulkheads were in place.

more to come.

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

the stringers are 1/16x1/16.......I try to make them a tiny bit longer, by cutting off most of the uncut ends and separate them {the end cuts are uneven}.  bulkhead #8 is made up of two bulkheads, glued together........the stringers make it easily to this junction.   I started at the bottom from the intake, back.

more were added......

it got a little confusing here..........the stringer notches were not lining up.

the black squares on bulkhead #5 are termination points for those stringers

so, that's what I did in that case.   it can be seen where I ended that run and then continued it the rest of the way to the nose.  the wing plates were added at the ends of #6, #7, and #8.

later on, the more I handled the fuselage, the more fragile these wing plates seemed to be.  for fear of breaking them, after knocking one loose, I began thinking of a solution to make them stronger.

as I finally got a grasp on this, I found that this is where the cockpit will be.  other parts are going to be added later.

the wings are to have two 'tabs' that will go into these holes on the wing plates.  from the backside of bulkhead #8, the tail section will be framed.

more to come  

 

[Old Collingwood]

Excellent work Denis,  boy  its looks  fiddly  with the placement of all those stringers  and bulkheads.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

there is more to go.  I just loaded up more pictures from the camera, and I seem to have deleted some by accident.  I also made a couple of changes to a few of the weaker areas.  here is one last picture of the wing plates.

the change I made to these plates, was to add short strips of strip to the inner surfaces of the front and rear sections.  the strips are 1/16x1/16 and are of a harder wood, like beech or walnut.  I will point them out in future pictures.  I made sure that they will not interfere with the wing installation.

[popeye the sailor]

once the rear part of the fuselage was framed out, the two plates that the stabilizers are attached to, were reinforced with the parts that will box them in.  I saw a gap along the ends and the inner sides facing the thruster nozzle, so I filled them in with some cast off wood.  I did some sanding in this area as well.

the added strips can be seen here in this picture.  it stiffened them up quite nicely    the front and rear cockpit shims were added here.

 I did some sanding to smooth out the frame.  I may need to do more to the forward wing root.

better shot of the reinforcements for the wing plates.  here's looking under the nose where the intake will be.  I had cut out the intake, but I see it was one of the pictures I lost.

here is an overall shot of the fuselage

[popeye the sailor]

I don't have the build board any more........don't know what happened to it.  it likely got thrown in the dumpster the guys were using for the apartment renovation.  that's alright.........I still have this one  

once clamped to the table, the wing section instructions were laid down, and clear plastic wrap was laid over it.  parts were punched out for the stabilizers and the rudder, and cemented in position over the templates.

the next concern I had was the ribs in the wings.  in most planes I've built, the ribs usually lap over the trailing edge, later to be tapered down with sanding.  these do not.........they butt up against it and that's it.  I will add short pieces of stripping to box in the ribs, giving them a stronger anchor.

the stabilizers are done, and the rudder is laid down.  the stabs are out of there.

the wings were framed out at this point.  the rudder stringers were added as well, with a small addition.  the stringer near the base is an added part.  there is a dotted line there that shows where the tops of the left and right bottom rudder root part go.  they make the bottom of the rudder appear thicker........I'll show you what they look like.  to not put this stringer in place, would leave a gap............it will fill it in and give it something to cement to.

time to notch out the wing ribs.

[yvesvidal]

These are not easy kits, far from it. Extremely delicate. instead of the fabric, paper tissue on them, why don't you try some very thin plastic card or even heavy paper. For a modern jet, that would make for a nicer finish.

 

Yves

[popeye the sailor]

these are the smaller parts for the leading edge of the wings.  the small diagrams left and right of the rudder profiles, are the added parts of the rudder, and what areas need to be tapered.

these are the additional parts for the rudder.  once the rudder is dry, I can add them.

with this drying, I can start on the wings.

[popeye the sailor]

hello Yves  ........welcome!  one reason why tissue is used, is weight.  for planes that fly, the added weight might disable it, especially if it is rubber powered.  if equipped with a gas engine, this might be enough thrust to give the plane the lift it needs.  now..........there are other types of coverings that can be used.  the plastic that is used for mylar balloons could likely be used.  tissue is shrinkable........once the model is covered, a light spray of water will cause the tissue to shrink when dry, leaving a smooth appearance.  most folks use a product called 'dope' to glue on the tissue.  the stuff smells the high heavens, and if done in a closed room, can get you high as well.  I don't like to use it.........instead, I use a 50/50 mix of white glue and water to start.  I go 60/40 with the second and third coat {if it needs it}.  now it can be sprayed with paint...........it may go limp again, but it will stiffen up when dry.  I have a story on how I got turned on to this medium.........it involves an English teacher and a book report.  Mr. Miller was a cool guy.........he was also the boys Basketball coach.  in class, he gave us our assignment, a book report on a favorite book.  a few days later, I guess he noticed that I wasn't engrossed in a book, cuz he wanted to see me after class.  home life.........heck, I didn't have time to read........I was too busy doing chores and farm stuff.  besides......someone else was reading the book I would have chosen.  I don't know how he thought of it, but he told me to see him tomorrow.  the next day, he handed me a brown paper bag.  in it was a Comet Piper Cub plane kit, and a bottle of white glue.  he wanted me to build it..........writing down every step to make it.  I was to fly it and describe everything it did, how far it flew, along with any other aspect of the experience.  well sir...........I did it.........I built it.  it was blue and yellow tissue, and I actually had fun building it.  it lasted for several flights..........of course there were the repairs and tissue patches.  the day the book report was due, I brought him the report and the plane.......unflyable, but proof that I did it.  I got a passing grade    I built a few others but only achieved limited success.  I didn't pick it back up till I moved to Florida.  my best one was a Fokker D VIII.   it seems I've picked it back up again, but I haven't flown one.  we have quite a few open areas here at Medville..........I may try it one day.

[popeye the sailor]

I've started on the starboard wing here........the main ribs are in place.

the stringers were added, but I didn't box in the trailing end of the ribs until later {I hadn't thought of it at this time}.  

I only put in one of the wing tabs.........I used the harder wood for it and will use it for the others.  I'll add the others later when the wings are complete.  the reason behind it is ease of sanding, to eliminate stringer stubbles.

the port side

here's where I boxed in the trailing end of the ribs

[popeye the sailor]

this will catch the progress up on the build so far.  it's starting to look like a jet  

more to come.  drat...........it's snowing this wet gunky stuff!  might be a tough drive to work tomorrow  

[Old Collingwood]

Really interesting work Denis, there  is  somthing to behold  with  wood  planes  built up this way.

 

OC.

[Dave_E]

I’m late. 🥤🍿 Man you post a lot of photos in a short amount of time! 👍😀

[Egilman]

On 1/31/2025 at 8:29 AM, popeye the sailor said:

hey there everyone!  I'm finally back to the point where I can get back to work    it's been a crazy hiatus

Hey Dennis!! GOOD to see ya back!!! And with another great build as well...  WE missed ya! Happy to see that you made it through the travails...

 

9 hours ago, Dave_E said:

I’m late. 🥤🍿 Man you post a lot of photos in a short amount of time! 👍😀

The boy can build can't he..... {giggle}

[Canute]

Denis, welcome back. Like EG says, we missed you. And with another cool build. Too bad about Gibbs; tough to lose a well loved pet.