1/32 Tamiya F-16CJ

 Fighting Falcon On line build  Part.4  Steps 23-26

by Steve Bridges

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Steps 23-26 involve fitting out of the main gear bay, air duct and nose gear

For those of you who were wondering, I've been working on this kit since right after the 1st of the year, waiting on the 8th FW decals to be released from TwoBobs.  I figured while I was waiting for the release of the decals, I'd get the model ready.   That is why there are pictures of the almost completed kit mixed in here and there to show detail that I might have forgotten to take pictures of.

This will be a short installment, as it only covers 4 steps

Step 23 -- Main Landing gear

Step 23 consists of the assembly of the main gear and wheels.  There are some mold seams on the main gear that can be taken care of with a small file. 

After sanding out the seams on the gear, the parts K5, and the drag links (parts F24) are attached with CA adhesive, and the gear was sprayed with 2 coats of MM Flat White.  

I've built quite a few of the Tamiya 1/32 jets with the metal gear, and when using enamel paint, I've never discovered the need for primer.

The wheels and brakes were painted according to the instructions, but I left them off the gear until much later in construction.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

Step 24 -- Attaching the main gear

This step consists of assembly of the battery box, and attaching the main gear door actuators, the mid-bay bulkhead, and the gear actuators.

Both the main gear actuators and main gear door actuators can be left off until after final assembly. and I would recommend that, as it will make masking and painting easier.

The battery box is 3 colors -- MM Flat white for the framework, Testors Yellow Zinc Chromate for the battery box itself, and MM Aluminum for part F54

Note that there is a small scoop (part C5) that gets attached here.  I missed it in the instructions the first time.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

Step 25 - Attaching main gear compartment parts

 

Before attaching part F12 (the fore-aft divider for the gear bay), attach part F53.  It will be a tight fit, and press down hard.  You may need to trim a bit off of the top so that part C27 will fit.  The goal is to have C27 fit flush at the aft end.

F12 was painted per the instructions.

The ventral antenna (B1) and field arresting hook mount (B25) were both attached at this point.  I left the arresting hook off as it is a loose fit so that it can be lowered if you want to remove the engine.

I also left off the PE flare/chaff dispensers and will put them on as one of the final steps.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

Step 26 - Ventral fins

There are some ejector pin marks on B18 and B19 (the ventral fins) that will need to be filled.  

Alignment of the ventral fins is good due to bevels molded into the fuselage and the fins themselves, as well as the attachment points.  These could be left off till later to make handling, painting, masking easier, but I decided to put them on here.

I would also recommend leaving off C23 for now in case you need to clean up the seam where C27 mates with the lower fuselage.  Mine just needed some minor sanding.  After that, I attached part C23

I also left off the PE flare/chaff dispensers and will put them on as one of the final steps.

Click on image below to see larger image

Steve

Photos and text © by Steve Bridges