Italieri F 16 1/48
This is my latest build , it is the Italieri F16 , I have to say the pictures make it look better than it is, there are quite a few fit issues with this kit which required filler, also the air inlet which on this aircraft is the focal point is virtually none existant hence the scratch built cover , the decals are poor and I made a couple of annoying mistakes during the build but all in all not a bad job. I am thinking of doing the Kinetic version of the same aircraft, does anyone have experience of that kit?.
The Spitty by the way is the Revell Mk9 with aftermarket decals, I think I read somewhere that this moulding is actually a Hasegawa and I think you can tell as it is a fantastic kit and highly recommended unlike the F16 which will probably end up on Ebay.
Special thanks to Danny Attree for his advise on the colours.
N.
WOW ,can I just say a big thank you to everyone who commented so positively about this posting, I really did not expect anything like this - I nearly didn't bother posting it at all !
Cheers N.
well done Chris, its a tough spray job but it looks great.
try putting silver foil in front of the camera flash. this bounces the light up and off the ceiling giving a real natural light.
Regards
Danny Attree
Sorry about that Neil, dont know where Chris came from 🙂
No probs Danny , thanks again for the help.
N.
Neil...The builder always knows where the warts are. Your model looks pretty darn good in spite of any problems you had to solve.
Thanks.
N.
Great work Neil - 2 for the price of 1 :). ICM do a 1/48 Spit in Israeli markings, dunno if you've seen it? F-16 LOOKS GREAT in those colours, and its nice to see a bare metal Spitfire too.
I agree with Jack, your model does indeed look pretty dam good!
Good looking model Neil. I alway thought of the F-16 as a small aircraft but the Spit puts it perspective how small the aircraft flown in WWII were. I have noticed that you do IAF aircraft. I am currently doing a Mossie. What do you use for the painted silver planes in their service?
Hi Al, I just checked out your gallery and I must say your work is first class so I can't wait to see your IAF Mossie, this is one that is on my "to do" list, if it was my build I would use Humbrol 11 and finish it with a matt varnish as I have read that the wooden construction Mossies didn't actually do well under the harsh Israeli sun, some of them started to come apart as the glue began to soften.I would love to see an IAF Beaufighter as well
N.
I was not aware they had Beaufighters. Does anyone do that in 1/72nd? Thanks for suggesting the Humbrel. Would not have thought of that. After looking at my postings you can see that my builds are all over the place. Never know what's next. Thanks for the compliment.
One of the things I like about the IAF is that you can acquire almost any post war aircraft kit and chances are the Israelis flew them . After the second world war the U.K. refused to supply aircraft to Israel (we backed the wrong pony that time!) , however an agent employed by Tel Aviv and posing as a film maker bought a small number of Beaufighters from the british government claiming to be making a war movie about Canadian squadrons and being filmed in Norway however they promptly flew directly to Italy for a fuel stop and then on to Israel. What a cool story.
N.
Al! Beaufighter in 1/72 was done by Hasegawa in the mid-nineties. For some strange reason it seems to be out-of-production most of the time but I think you should be able to pick one up somewhere!
Here is one masterfully done by Chris Wauchop!
Regards
Magnus
Al ,you can pick up an Airfix Beaufighter easily enough off Ebay in 1/72 but I suggest the Tamiya 1/48 it is a fantastic kit that I can't recommend highly enough you will love it.
N.
nice job Neal I agree with Jack we can always pick out our own flaws looks nice like the spit
Neil! Doesn't look all that bad! I think you have done a good job on that rather substandard kit!
Kinetic F-16: I do try to avoid complaining too much about errors in models this and that but the Kinetic kit has a very strange droopy nose. Apart from that it is said to be top-notch!
Regards
Magnus
very nice Neil...and i love the eagle on the tail
I would say from my experience (not much of a lawn dart fan) that the Hasegawa kit has the least niggles I know of. The Kinetic kit has some fit issues (that nose being one) and there's a bunch of aftermarket out there for it, a sure sign for the cognoscenti that it's not all there in the box.
Forgot to mention it looks nice to this non-expert eye. The Spit looks very nice, even if it is the kit Hasegawa pooched more than any other they ever released (goes to show just because a book series, in this case Aero Detail, looks nice doesn't mean it is - the Aero Detail drawings in the Spit IX book are the only ones that make this model "right").
Neil,
I like them both and think they look great. I believe in the "here it is and I know where the flaws are but I'm not going to point them out to you" philosophy. That way if no one says anything about flaws, so be it. You know where they are and I will bet on the next model you do you will have learned by your boobooo:s and will have corrected them yourself. You have done the IAF proud.
You're fortunate. My builds ALWAYS look worse when peering through the digital eyeball. Very nice work-on all of your builds.
Great job on F-16. Couldn't agree more with Mr. Fridsell. Love the Spitfire! Looks simple and elegant. Very nice pics!
Well done Viper Neil, as had been said already, I don't see any flaws. I see and IAF F-16 in it's splendor. I have the Italeri F-16C, aware of the issues, irregardless I will build it. This is the fun of it isn't it. A little putty, patience and well look at yours, that's the end game. Nice job on the Spit as well.