1/48 Italeri IAF F-16C Barak WIP

With the decals on, this looks even better than before and I know that it'll be even more impressive once you're finished with the weathering process.   This is a top-shelf effort!

Amazing! :O

Looking really good. May have to try one of these some day. Those colors sure do look nice on that plane.

bvallot

Just beautiful.  The ordinance is still quite impressive.  Glad to see you bounce back. =]

Dre

With the decals on, this looks even better than before and I know that it'll be even more impressive once you're finished with the weathering process.   This is a top-shelf effort!

Aviator93

Amazing! :O

dflu78

Looking really good. May have to try one of these some day. Those colors sure do look nice on that plane.

Thank you, dflu78!  Yeah, the IAF colors are really nice looking.  Its nice to get away from overall grey aircraft every once in a while!  I pulled the trigger on an Academy F-4C so the SEA camo on that one should be fun!

Ok, here's where I'm at now...

I've applied clear flat to the model and applied the first 2-3 filter layers.  Here are the horizontal stabilators and the pylons.  These are pretty straight forward:

Here are the fuel tanks.  Now I really wanted to get these dirty!  Reference pics I looked at showed these to be very filthy, especially the bottoms...and especially the bottom of the center tank:

In the pics above I tried to show the difference in the level of filthiness between the tops of the tanks and the bottoms.

And here's the upper side of the F-16.  I've added one filter to the camo and added some grease streaks at the hinge points:

And here's the bottom.  I've applied 2-3 layers on this side and applied some streaking.  I've tried to replicate the dirty area behind the main wheel well like I did on the F-15E:

The filters are very subtle and the flash is drowning them out a little bit.  I really need to learn to take quality photos.

Here's the Voyager replacement pitot tube attached and painted:

Absolutely great weathering going on here, Fly.   It doesn't just look dirty, but believably dirty.

Truly a masterpiece!

Yup. This is just phenomenal actually. The weathering is gorgeous. Are you using oils for the streaking? If so what color exactly?

I can't wait for your F-4 build....that kit is in my near future as well.

Fly-in-high: Are you applying this weathering with a brush or airbrush?

Dre

Absolutely great weathering going on here, Fly.   It doesn't just look dirty, but believably dirty.

Truly a masterpiece!

Thanks for the nice compliment, Dre!  I'm glad you think it looks believable because that is exactly the look I'm trying to achieve.

dflu78

Yup. This is just phenomenal actually. The weathering is gorgeous. Are you using oils for the streaking? If so what color exactly?

I can't wait for your F-4 build....that kit is in my near future as well.

Yes, I used oils for the streaking.  All of the weathering since the decals/flat coat has been with oils.  The oil paint I use is Mig Productions 502 Abteilung.  That particular color was Engine Grease.  I had never used it for streaking stains behind hinges before and I think it looks pretty convincing.  

The 502 Abteilung oils are really nice.  They have a very fine pigment and make great washes as well.  The color range is incredibly useful although it is more armor focused than aircraft..

I'm still waiting on the F-4.  I bought it online and it hasn't arrived yet.  But...it will be a few models down the list.  I've got some stuff that's been on the bench for a while that I need to wrap up so I will probably be joining the GB a little late.  I'll be looking to you guys for build tips and ideas.  I'm looking forward to it, though.

bvallot

Fly-in-high: Are you applying this weathering with a brush or airbrush?

I think that those grease stains are what gives this that 'real' look- I've never thought to detail that sort of thing (but now I am thinking about it for the future).   Likewise with the heavy staining behind the main wheel well and on the drop tanks.

It's apparent that you've spent some time thinking about where and how to weather this.

I like that scorpion!

Dre

I think that those grease stains are what gives this that 'real' look- I've never thought to detail that sort of thing (but now I am thinking about it for the future).   Likewise with the heavy staining behind the main wheel well and on the drop tanks.

It's apparent that you've spent some time thinking about where and how to weather this.

Jim Barton

I like that scorpion!

Its a decal but there is a company that makes masks for IAF F-16s that includes several of the squadron art on the tails and the Star of David insignias on the wings in case you want to paint them (and some other markings, as well).  I thought about buying them but earlier in the build I decided not to put too much into this kit because it was being such a PITA and I didn't think it was going to turn out well at all.  But now I kind of wish I had done it.

Ok, here's the F-16C with some stuff hanging from it.  I've attached the wheels, the main gear doors, the pylons, targeting pod and the fuel tanks:

I added one more streaking filter to the botom of the center fuel tank.  I think it was one too many.  Its just a bit too dark now and it lost a little of the random spottiness.  Oh well.  

I noticed in several pics that it was just the bottoms of the fuel tanks that were the filthiest, so I tried to make them dirtier than the rest of the plane.  I may have overdone it a little bit.

Despite all the setbacks and the kit itself fighting you, this has turned out just great.

Watching this come along has been far better than watching Bob Ross make happy trees.

That looks far better than almost all other 1/48 F-16s I have seen built, it shows you don't need a high price Tamiya kit to have a really great model.

Dre

Despite all the setbacks and the kit itself fighting you, this has turned out just great.

Watching this come along has been far better than watching Bob Ross make happy trees.

Dean30

That looks far better than almost all other 1/48 F-16s I have seen built, it shows you don't need a high price Tamiya kit to have a really great model.

Update:

I should have some final pics here soon.  I've attached everything now except for the GBU-31 (I still need to weather it) and the clear parts.  I also need to cut out the glass for the HUD.

Alrighty guys, I'm calling this one DONE!

Before I post any pics, let me say that I really aprreciated the compliments and the words of encouragement.  Thank you!

Anyway, after a long hard battle with this kit here's the finished product (Well...I might touch up a couple of things...).  I'll post a couple of pics here and a bunch of pics in a new thread.  Hope you enjoy!  And BTW, I apologize for the amateurish photos.  I'm better at building them than photographing them.

This one is a bit blurry.  I had to hold the camera above the model and didn't use the tripod.  You can also see that the right main wheel didn't set correctly on the strut.  Oh well.  Considering the obstacles I had to overcome with this kit I can live with it.

I need to adjust a couple of the static wicks on the wings but that will be very easy.

I really like this build.  The colourful camo scheme, the shading, the weapons - it all comes together so well.

Congrats on a great build. I hope you keep posting more of your WIPs in the future too, I certainly learnt a few things by reading along.

Thanks for sharing and going to the trouble of providing ongoing updates for us all to enjoy.

cml

I really like this build.  The colourful camo scheme, the shading, the weapons - it all comes together so well.

Congrats on a great build. I hope you keep posting more of your WIPs in the future too, I certainly learnt a few things by reading along.

Thanks for sharing and going to the trouble of providing ongoing updates for us all to enjoy.

The next build will be a 1/144 Revell C-17 that I was working on for the Mighty Mini GB.  The GB is basically done, though.  Unfortunately I didn't get 'er done.  It is assembled, primed, pre shaded and just about ready for the base colors so it should be finished fairly quickly.

The next build after that I think will be a 1/48 Hasegawa F-22A Raptor.

Excellent Fly-n-hi - i'll be along to watch both.

I'll be particularly interested in a Raptor WIP. I've avoided buying a Raptor so far, a the painting schemes appear to be quite complicated.