Finishing touches
Painting of the seat is now complete. I have applied a light wash of Artists oils to highlight the details. I’ll dry brush the seat (to simulate wear) before gluing it into the cockpit later.
The final flat coat (Polly S) has been applied and I am very happy with the panel lines. The choice of wash colors seems to have been good. Mostly final details left now, like attaching of the undercarriage, drop tanks, stores etc. Definitely the home stretch.
And we’re there
Well, she is finished. Overall I’d score this model from Tamiya as an 8.5 / 10. The engineering is fantastic (except for the ejection pin marks) and the fit is just about perfect. I have a few Hasegawa F-16 left in my stash, but it’s gonna be hard going back to build them after this beauty. My favourite feature of this kit is definitely the canopy attachment method. No glue, just drop it in place. Brilliant!!
Four weeks from start to finish is a speed build for me. I doubt I could do it with any other model manufacturers’ kit and maintain a standard I am happy with.
Gary W.
Gallery
Below are a series of images of the completed model. Click on a thumbnail to see the enlarged image.
