Hi Everyone,
It’s been a bit since my last update, and I just noticed that this campaign ends in 9 days. Time to get my tail feathers in gear! I’m also seeing some really nice builds, it appears that of the teens, the 16 gets the most press. That said, I’d like to update everyone on the build that I’m doing for my niece as a Christmas gift.
After getting the colors on the bird, it was time to decal. I picked up a set from Easy Decal, not sure where they’re from, though it looks Chinese. Their set has decals for the prototype and production (also prototype) versions of the first F-16’s
While a good price, they don’t include all the decals needed, so, off to the decal dungeon I went. Some B-17 walkway black lines, F-101 rescue placards and things were looking pretty good.
Sadly, I discovered that the original marking measurements were off by quite a bit. So had to cover red and do some white. Over the years I’ve learned that using grey to cover the red, and then follow up with white makes life much easier.
So, masking once again!
Hit it with some grey (shade doesn’t matter).
Then cover with the white.
Had to use some strategic sanding with 4000 grit to get rid of the paint line, though things turned out ok.
Then the decal process could proceed. After cobbling a lot of
things together, it started to look like the pictures!
Following a clear coat, it was time to really get to work on the stand. I picked up some trophy things made of pine wood on my last trip home. Thing is, they need a lot of work to look good. Grey primer paint, filler, super glue and a lot of sanding!
A lot more sanding…and letting go of the dent in the wood, finally a nice coat of gloss black.
Things are looking up! Time to take some 1/4-inch diameter acrylic rod and set the rivet nail. Easier said than done. Lots of twisting on the pin-vice and some sanding.
This is where the “art” part of our hobby comes into play. I’ll be wrapping this one up soon, with hopefully a nice review.
Till next time, stay safe, wash your hands and have fun!
