OK here we go... This is what happened at the "East Dallas plant" tonight. This is what I am temporarily calling my "Iron Werke" assembly line while I am building the multiple F-16's.
I painted on some of the smaller details on the cockpit parts. I used a Flat Black paint, then when it was dry, I used a sharpened Silver colored pencil and hit the raised surfaces lightly. The overall result looks OK to me. Good enough for Government work as they say.
The cockpit was then glued in place on the lower fuselage half... Geez that sounds odd to me because I always build propeller driven planes, and they normally have a right and left side to them.
Here is a big time "oopsie"... I failed to glue in the compressor intake blades on the previously assembled landing gear well. This part was glued to the lower fuselage half, and then hidden when the upper fuselage / wing section was glued to it.
It took a little figuring out to get this installed... but I managed. I'm glad I caught this now instead of later... I dodged the bullet this time. I used a long wooden dowel with some putty on one end to hold the compressor blades. I took a Q Tip cotton bud and cut it in half. This half section was then taped onto a long pair of tweezers. I used it to apply the glue to the end of the intake trunk.
While the glue was still wet, I used the long dowel rod that was holding the compressor blades to position the part in place, entering the model from the rear tailpipe opening.
It worked like a charm. So much for reading directions... 😉 I guess you have to comprehend what your looking at huh ?
Speaking about the directions: I have a question about this part here. Part number T-3. It looks like some sort of actuator rod that controls the opening and closing of the "turkey feathers" part of the exhaust pipe. I can't figure out how it goes in place. I looked online at various exhaust pictures of the real plane, and it's not present in any of the pictures I have seen so far.
I have to be missing something here, or it simply wasn't used on my version of F-16.
Here is a close-up of the part. The instructions tell us to cut off the locating pins. This makes it even more sketchy, as I don't see any place inside the tail cone where it would go. Does it go on the exterior ?
If anyone out there has the answer to this riddle, and doesn't mind posting up a picture or two, that would be GREATLY appreciated. Otherwise this part will end up in the spares bin. Thanks in advance.
The forward upper fuselage half was glued in place. There was a chance for the plastic seam to become misaligned, so I taped it down i hopes this would keep things smooth on the surface while the glue dries overnight. The rest of the seams were perfect. Only the one going across the fuselage on the top side was worrisome.
Then I switched gears, and following the instruction sequence, I installed the pair of metal rivets. These are held in place by a pair of receivers that are glued to the spine of the fuselage. I'm thinking the rudder / fin assembly is simply pressed into position later on, at least this is what I'm seeing in the instruction booklet anyway...
Remember the exhaust can ? It was time to glue it in place. I figured this may actually help me to determine if the part T-3 is located. So the exhaust is now a permanent part of the model.
The underside wing sections were glued in place next. The fit was spot on, and your typical Tamiya as they say.
I decided to use a pair of clothes pins that I swapped the springs around on to hold the inner portion of the lower wing surfaces in place as the glue dries overnight. It looked as if there could be a gap if this was left unattended.
So this is where we are at now... Step #8
I still have to add a few of the smaller parts before this step is completed.
The next steps will be specific towards the version of F-16 that you choose to build. Mine will be a Block 52 Viper, so it should be a little bit easier to build as the kit is molded. I also scanned the decals, because it looks like some of them may be used very soon.
I am really enjoying this build so far. The F-16 is a super sharp looking plane too, so I may just have to indulge with building another one soon. I'm thinking about it this way, in a positive manner, because it doesn't have one of those pesky propellers to paint. 😉
Take care everyone, and stay safe. Good night.
As always, comments are encouraged.
Thanks for stopping by.
