Tamiya 1/32 F-16CJ FINISHED!!! (build photos)

I had a recent "chat" with you on this model on a recent post.  I'm doing the 1/48.  Im finding the 1/48 scale takes a little thought as far as building sequence but it's a really nice kit.  I'm sure it's big brother is similar.  Looking forward to seeing yours completed.

Looking forward to seeing yours as well, wpwar11.  So far, attaching the landing gear after the painting, decaling, and weathering was done is working out well.  That intake/main gear section is definitely something I hesitated to deviate from the assembly instructions on...tried it once and pretty much had to start over with all new parts.  Good thing there was Ebay.

Yes I've been there my self. Looks real good I like that motor

Thanks Crown!

Finally got the LEFs, TEFs, and stabilators painted, weathered, and attached.  Also gave the M61A1 signs of life with a powdered graphite smoke stain.

Finally got all of the external stores and equipment hung.  Just a few more "fiddly bits" to finish and this one is done.

BIG and beautiful..........

Thanks Disastermaster!

Got the last of the "fiddly bits" attached to the bottom of the jet, so it was finally safe to install the seat and the instrument panel/glareshield/HUD assembly.  Just have the radome to finish, and the speedbrakes and vertical stab to put on.  It'll be basically done, but I'm working on scratchbuilding the MTU for JHMCS system.

Stabilators, speedbrakes, vertical stab, and canopy on.

Got the JHMCS system scratchbuilding done on the MTU and its bracket.  Got the assembly secured to the canopy rail.  Next, I have to run its cable and paint everything black.

Over the past few days, I finished the canopy rail details and added canopy assist handles, along with wiring and connectors for the JHMCS MTU.

All done...just needs paint.

And here it is all painted, with the canopy permanently attached.

And tonight I finished it.  The only thing that is curing overnight is the epoxy I used to seal in the tungsten putty I packed into the wheel chocks to make them heavy.

Very nice! Love the markings and just a crisp, clean build all the way around

Well done !!! some more pics.

Just beautiful.  I'm almost finished mine too.  The stencils below the canopy are hard to see.  The ones like "rescue" inside the arrow.  Is it just the light?  
Congradulations on getting it done.  I hope I can get mine to look that good.

Thanks guys! 

wpwar11, yup, its got something to do with the lighting and exposure settings on my cameras.  I've got a Nikon D90 and Sony DSC-RX10 that I normally use for nature photography, so I haven't quite got the hang of doing close-up work indoors just yet.  The serial number stencil on the tail is very visible in-person, but in the photo it looks like I forgot to put it on or something.  Only happened after the flat clear coat went on...must diffuse the light from the flash and mask the color or something...weird.  Just keep working at your Viper a little bit at a time and you'll get there.  This one was started 3 years ago, before I got sidetracked by trying to do multiple builds.  Heh...the year-long fight for my life that started in 2019 didn't help either. 

Here's a shot of the bird, with the completed chocks on the wheels, spending her last night on the construction shelf.  Planning on taking it to work with me tomorrow to put it on display in my office.

Wow.  That comment about the fight for your life caught me off guard.  I read in another post you are my age, 51, or close to it.  I don't need to know the details that is your personal business I just hope you are healthy and living the best life you can.  I need you here on the forum to teach me pointers on building better models. LOL.  

Mine has been a 4 month odyssey so far with mostly time devoted to weekends.  I did start a Spitfire last month just to break up the monotony of a single build.  I was getting tired of all that grey on the Viper.  Gunship grey, haze grey, light ghost grey, grey, grey, and more grey.  Had to mix in a kit with brown and green like the Spit.

Once again you did a wonderful job.  It looks like it took years to build. 

Yup...just turned 50 a couple of weeks ago.  I feel healthier than I ever have I think.  When things were at their worst, I lost 30 pounds in less than 2 weeks...pretty friggin' scary.  All of the radiation, chemo, and surgeries definitely took all the wind out of my sails for a while.  Glad to be back to doing things that I loved doing, and with a completely new perspective on everything.  I hear ya on the grey theme, especially in the cockpit area.  Building a Ukrainian Su-25 now, and the cockpits are really colorful.  Heh...still chose to do the digital camo scheme though...which is something like 6 shades of...you guessed it...GREY.  LOL

I turned 51 on Jan 20.  Happy belated birthday to you.  Looking forward to seeing many more of your builds.

Wow!  Mine was Jan 19th.  Happy belated birthday to you as well.

Very nice build.  Glad you are back to feeling healthy!

Mike

Thanks Buckeye2!

Just found this from your link in another thread, not sure how I missed it.

You did a great job on this kit, and never having tackled a Tamiya 1/32 jet, you certainly make it look look intriguing to say the least.

Very nice,  more pics 

Hey! What do you think you are doing?

      Just because You built a beautiful Boidy ya dint have ta let it almost kill ya. Man! I am glad you are feelin bettah! Seriously, I didn't know you were fighting that fight my friend. I am glad you won out!! Now, your modeling shows an acceptance of patience, A lot of it.

Thanks for the comments guys!

Greg, the F-16CJ was a great, fun build, as was their 1/48 F-14A.  Those both were newer kits though, and the consistency of the quality is definitely much better than their earlier kits.  My first foray into modeling after a 25 year hiatus was the old Tamiya A-10A, and that thing was kind of a nightmare...and not very detailed.  Got one of their new 1/32 WWII aircraft (a Mk XVIe Spitfire) and did a little work on it recently.  The quality and precision of the engineering on it, so far, is amazingly well-executed.

TB, I think it was my work on 1:1 boidies for the past 28 years that almost killed me.  The stuff I work on mostly (ATC transponders) puts out all kinds of high-wattage microwave radiation that was supposed to be "safe".  The problem is, nobody has ever done a study about risk factors that went on longer than about 2 years.  Definitely taking precautions now with lead aprons, antenna shields, and lots of "social distancing" when the transponder is being interrogated by my tester.