CATM-9M
When doing my research for the aggressor F-16’s, I noted that they use an inert version of the AIM-9M Sidewinder missile on the wingtips. The CATM-9M missile is the trainer version of the live AIM-9M and has some subtle differences. One of those is that it does not have the gyro stabilisers on the tail fins. Tamiya provide us with a very nice AIM-9M which can be converted to the CATM-9M quite easily.
With the intake paint dry, it’s time to mask the interior. The trickiest part of this process is laying down the tape to conform to the complex curves present inside the intake.
Of all the parts on this model, the nose side sections and the radome causes me the most grief. Perhaps I was tired or the fit of my model’s parts was not 100% but it fought me all the way. In the end, I gave up trying to get them to fit like the rest of the model. Superglue filler, then sanded came to rescue once more. Panel lines had to be re-scribed etc. Of interest here is the use of stretched sprue to restore the raised detail on radome. The F-16 radome has raised “anti-static” stripes that run lengthways. The longest of these is on the very top of the radome, which is of course exactly where the model has a join seam. You can see the stretched sprue running from the tip to the rear of the radome.
Whilst working on the nose section, I decided to attach the photo etched RAM plates from the Tamiya detail parts set. To my disappointment, Tamiya has used some form of spring steel (not brass) for this set. This means it’s very hard, to get the parts to conform to a curved shape and stay there while being glued. In the end, after several attempts to hold the part in place while applying super glue, I gave up and used the Tamiya part as a template to fashion a plasticard replacement.
The plastic part performed much better than the steel Tamiya part and once thinned down a little should look fine. I expect I will have to use this option again for some of the rear re-enforcing plates as well. If someone out there has a workable method for using the Tamiya parts, please do let me know.
With the main preparation of the intake complete, it’s time to add the details. Here we see the navigation lights have received a coat of Tamiya Clear (Enamel) red and green as appropriate.
The PE re-enforcing plates have been added to the spine (just forward of the vertical tail). These plates actually worked better than the other items from the detail set. I’ve also started masking up the refuelling receptacle cover.