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David Porter
6 articles

1/32 Scale F-16C Arctic Aggressor

March 19, 2015 · in Aviation · · 17 · 4.5K

I bought the Two Bobs decals for this scheme ages ago and managed to obtain the Tamiya Thunderbirds kit needed to build it from Wifey for one Christmas a few years back before Tamiya discontinued it. It's hard to find now though occasionally pops up on eBay. It's a truly great model kit (as is the Block 50 incarnation) and every jet fan should have one. I would go as far as to say that it's the best model kit I have ever attempted to build. In this case I have combined both the Block 50 kit with the Block 32 Thunderbirds kit to achieve this result.

This kit is a fairly straight forward no hassles build, though I added Aires resin to the wheel bays along with plenty of wiring, an Aires seamless exhaust, metal pitot tubes and detailed the cockpit with a Quickboost ejection seat. What vexed my for awhile was the colours but I settled in the end for my favourite Mr Color range C2 + 10% C1, C69 + 40% C1 and C306. That seems to look like the real thing. I finished it off with Alclad Mr Klear Kote Semi-Matte which makes it the first model that I have painted almost completely with lacquers (apart from the enamel washes and Futured canopy).

I built this one without weapons which is unusual for me as I normally load them up heavily. I just love the in its naked appearance, its shark like appearance looks awesome. Overall I am happy with it, and it might take up some display space for awhile. If you have questions then let me know, or alternatively if you want more pics then I have some on my website otherwise feel free to enjoy.

Reader reactions:
12  Awesome

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.


17 responses

  1. Great nice colors for this falcon !
    Congratulations

  2. First rate build. I haven't seen one if these for a while, maybe Model Airplane International a few years ago.

    Great attention to detail and finishes. Congratulations.

  3. Thanks people! My first post here actually. Thought I'd give it a go. Pretty painless process, although the picture seems to blur a bit as the website compresses it to fit. Doesn't matter once you click on it, but I might try a smaller resolution next time and keep experimenting.

  4. Terrific build, David!

  5. Awesome F-16, with my favorite camo scheme on this aircraft.

  6. Great job mate, love that camo.
    I built Tamiya's latest F16 in 1/32 a couple of years back, it was a great kit. Some lovely detail going on there, the cockpit is fantastic!

  7. Lovely build there David..
    I have had the F16 in my stash for 10 years now and still have not started it though who knows now.
    Well done sir.

  8. I can only concur with the masses here, David...stunning work all around!

  9. Love it! Great detail work especially. I love clean lines on aircraft, which is one reason I build all mine wheels up and in-flight, and the F-16 is one of the most pleasing in that respect. (next to the ominous look of a Rhino coming at you head on, I'd say it's a solid number two!)

  10. wow. Great job David!

  11. David,
    Very nicely one and I really like the scheme.

  12. Magnificent David. This is undoubtedly the nicest F-16 I have seen in a long time. You have perfectly captured that beautiful colour scheme. Well done!

  13. Thanks gentleman. Now I might just have to use the remaining bits from the build to put together a Block 42 or 52 version!

  14. I love the slightly silky sheen of this model.

    • Ah yes, that would be the Alclad Klear Kote semi-matte finish and a bit of sanding and smoothing the finish along the way. It comes in a massive bottle but I hardly used any.

  15. Beautiful! that Arctic Agressor is the best F-16 scheme there is. Looks wonderful.

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