F-16A Block 10B, FA-39 Belgian Air Force 2nd Squadron (Comet)
Hello everybody,
This project is complete since a while but completely forgot to post it. I chose this F-16 because this one a something special for me.
The aircraft
On the 23rd of March 1999 this aircraft crashed in a close by village from mine, in Hamois (Namur) killing his pilot Captain Frédéric Desirotte who unfortunately did not eject. I was 16 yo by that time.
The kit
For this build I chose the Kinetic kit (KINETIC K48004 1/48 F-16A/B NSWAC Agressor) which can offer a version A closed to what the Belgian Air Force is using.
The assembly is straight from the box except the decal which I purchased from Model Makers.
I did not encounter a lot of difficulties (if I remembered well) during the project. The details are really nice.
The decals were pretty easy to apply, unfortunately the ‘special' squadron markings are absent.
For more details regarding the build here under the link for the WIP
Hope you enjoy and don't hesitate to give comment.
Looks great, Yann, the outdoor photographs show off the colour scheme particularly well.
Thanks a lot George @chinesegeorge for your nice comment. I was pretty pleased with the colors, it was the first time I used Mr color paint. Unfortunately the referenced color did not match the actual plane, I mix them with other grey or white to get this result. I'm happy you like
Nice work, Yann. That’s one of the more challenging F-16 kits.
Many thanks John @j-healy, to be honest it was a very fun kit. I just remembered to struggle for the 2 halves fuselage assembly.
Great work on this Yann! Very sharp looking aircraft with an interesting but sad background. Looks like you got good results from the kit- I've never built a Kinetic kit but I have an F-18 in the stash waiting to be built. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much David @dbutlr. You are right that's why I chose this aircraft to honor his pilot who is gone too fast. Oh a F-18 it's on my wish list! I'm just hesitating between Hobby boss and kinetic.
Nicely done - a lovely Falcon.
Thanks a lot Greg @gkittinger for your comment.
Great job on your F-16, Yaan. The color schemes look really good and I like your outdoor photos, very nice touch. That is a sad and unfortunate loss of Captain Frédéric Desirotte, hopefully no civilian losses from the crash. We seem to be on similar tracks as I finished a Tamiya F-16 last year and now I'm diving into a Meng F-18E Super Hornet.
Many thanks Joe @jroamer. No hopefully the plane crashed in a field. A F-18 from Meng, that will be lovely, I just think they are a bit expensive. Eager to see your result on the F-16 and F-18.
Fantastic job, Yann! This is a great looking Falcon!
Thanks my friend Spiros @fiveten.
An excellent build, Yann @yann
I should do a Dutch Falcon soon, keeping yours as a reference.
Thanks John @johnb. Are you planning to make it in 1/48 and from which maker? To be honest I heard a lot of bad thing about Kinetic, but for me it was a fun kit to make.
Nice work Yann. An interesting connection to the original.
Thank you very much Tom @tcinla. I always tried to find a connection when building the kit.
Well done, Yann (@yann). I have heard that this is a difficult kit to build, but it looks like it came out perfectly. I had two Belgian pilots in my pilot training class back in 1976. They were both going back to Belgium to fly F-104s.
Many thanks George @gblair, I really enjoyed to build it, yes the fitting is not perfect but with some filler and sanding nothing is impossible. 1976 my uncle was graduated at that time, but he did not go to USA. I believe that the trainee where sent to US if they were going on F-104 and the other stayed in Belgium if they were on Mirage. If you remember the name I will look up for them.
Hi Yann (@yann): It is interesting that future F-104 pilots came to the US for training, and that Mirage students stayed in Belgium. The two Belgians in my pilot training class were Stefan Braem and Michel Singele. I heard that Michel went on to become a general, but I haven't heard anything about Stefan. Stefan was a free spirit, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he left the service after his commitment was over to chase other dreams. Please don't go to any trouble to look them up. Cheers.
Nice kit and tribute Yann.