Okay, first things first, I bought the kit yesterday at Hobby Lobby.  I went in for some paint and walked out with this kit and the Tamiya 1/48 P-47M for 35$ and change.  Now, I have done some research on forums, both here and other places.  I know that the profile of the large mouth intake is wrong due to Academy forgetting the splitter vane on the top of the intake.  I also know that the anti-glare coaming(spelling?) is the wrong shape.  I plan to maybe look at AM cockpits to fix that as the price of one of those would not even begin to push my cost close to the Tamiya kit.  I also understand that the base of the fin needs some help in correcting the shape as well.  From what I have read, sanding can bring that close enough for a shelf sitter.  I also am aware of the wing root seam that will need help.  I have a plan for that.

Mainly, I plan on building this as a shelf sitter, not a competion model.  Are there other foilables I need to watch out for.  I have searched for some build threads, but have only found a couple.  I know for serious F-16 fans the Tamiya kit is the one to go with.  For the price, less than 25$, I couldn't pass it up.  I have seen posts where people suggest to build it with the small mouth intake, but this would limit the decal possiblities.  I may look at sectioning the big mouth intake to fix the profile and the shape issues.  Of course, that would mean a lot of rescribing.... something I am not too great at.

So, do I have most of the problems covered?  I am looking for something that will sit on the shelf and look the part.  I think that I can accomplish that with this kit.  Of course, the paint and what not to finish it will most likely run more than the kit, but isn't that always the case?

 

TIA

That was what I was planning on doing.  Unfortunately, I am one of those people where if I know it is wrong and don't fix it, it bugs me forever.  I have to admit that after seeing photos of the Tamiya big mouth side by side with the Academy, I can definitely see the difference.  I may let it go,  I have to see just how much work would be involved in sectioning the intake. 

I have one of these kits as well in my stash, along with the Tamiya offering.  True, when compared with the Tamiya kit this one seems a little soft on the details, and there are a few areas that don't look quite right.  Still, it looks like an F-16 to me.  There are a couple of places on the surface where the panel lines are not consistent, like there was a problem with the mold. 

The kit sure does give you a lot of options, like the ability to model a Block 40, 42, 50, or 52.  There is more ordnanceoptions, and the extended tail used by some foreign users. 

I would say correct what you can, and enjoy building it for what it is.  Enjoy!

Here you have a good review if you want to correct some of the kit flaws:

 

http://strony.aster.pl/vodnik/pages/F-16CG_CJ/f-16cgcj.htm

 

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project. Best regards.

 

José.

Cgarman wrote:

Devil Dawg wrote: I just GOTTA know - how did you get a 1/32nd Academy F-16 kit at Hobby Lobby for less than $25?? All the ones I've seen at my Hobby Lobby are regularly $99.99, so even half price wouldn't come close to $25. Good Luck with the F-16 and the P-47. Man, you got one heck of a deal on both!!   I have no earthly idea how it happened.  I went in to a Hobby Lobby that I hardly ever go to.  I was over in the area doing errands and thought I would grab some paint.  While I was looking at the paint rack, I decided to check the clearance stuff.  Low and behold, there they were.  The Viper was marked at like 23.75$ or something and the P-47 was nine something.  There was no way that I could leave either there at that price.  I asked a worker who was in the isle(model isle) restocking stuff, if it was the right price,  She said yes, so I went to the register.  Trust me, this is the first time I have ever got a deal like that.  Although, the same store had the 1/35 Sea Stallion for around the same price as well.  I may go back and check if it is still there.   I usually see the 1/72nd Tamiya stuff for 9 bucks or so on clearance, but I have never seen the 1/48th stuff at that price before.  The car models sometimes get marked way down as well.  I picked up two 1/8th Monogram 32 Fords for less than 30$ a piece as well.

Guess I'm moving to Oklahoma City!! I will definitely be checking out my local Hobby Lobby to see if they have the F-16 on sale. I did find the 1/48th CH-46D marked down to $19.99 about 6 months ago at a Hobby Lobby in Gadsden, Alabama, and, like you, I could not pass it up. I think it was the last one they had (I didn't see any others on the shelf), so I guess they were just trying to get rid of it.

And you definitely need to buy that Sea Stallion. I haven't seen that one yet at my Hobby Lobby - just the 1/48th Academy Super Stallion.

Cgarman wrote:

I have no earthly idea how it happened.  I went in to a Hobby Lobby that I hardly ever go to.  I was over in the area doing errands and thought I would grab some paint.  While I was looking at the paint rack, I decided to check the clearance stuff.  Low and behold, there they were.  The Viper was marked at like 23.75$ or something and the P-47 was nine something.  There was no way that I could leave either there at that price.  I asked a worker who was in the isle(model isle) restocking stuff, if it was the right price,  She said yes, so I went to the register.  Trust me, this is the first time I have ever got a deal like that.  Although, the same store had the 1/35 Sea Stallion for around the same price as well.  I may go back and check if it is still there.   I usually see the 1/72nd Tamiya stuff for 9 bucks or so on clearance, but I have never seen the 1/48th stuff at that price before.  The car models sometimes get marked way down as well.  I picked up two 1/8th Monogram 32 Fords for less than 30$ a piece as well.

Hey, did you manage to buy that Sea Stallion?