Part
II – Engine assembly
The GE F110
engine in this kit is a kit all unto it’s own.
I decided that
for this F-16, I’d build it with the engine permanently mounted in the
airframe, but not until I had painted some the detail parts.
Step 7
covers the assembly of the fixed stator blades and the 1st
stage of the compressor. I
sprayed both parts with MM Aluminum, and used Tamiya Sky (XF-21) on the
compressor blade hub (part H24). After
assembly, I masked off the front and back, and sprayed the outside with MM
Titanium.
The
gearbox assembly was painted per the kit instructions. For the center
section of it, I used Testors Gold (in the ¼ oz bottle). |
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Step 8 consists
of attaching the inner parts of the engine nozzle, and the final turbine stage
and flame holder.
I didn’t
follow the painting instructions on the flame holder – I just sprayed it
Desert Storm Armor sand (like I did on the Academy F-18), and sprayed the final
compressor stage burnt iron.
Looking back at
it, I probably should have followed the instructions on the flame holder, but I
like the way it looks.
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The combustion
chamber of modern jet engines is always a challenge to get to look right.
I finally
figured out a way to make it look decent.
I first
spray the combustion chamber flat white.
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After
that is dry, I lightly airbrush Testors Jet Exhaust over the white, just
enough to change the color a bit.
After that, I try to streak the engine nozzle petals with some burnt
metal.
A note on
the sink marks that are on the engine parts – they aren’t visible once
the engine is assembled! I
put everything together with tape to make sure, and you can’t see any of
them on the outside of the parts once the kit is assembled There are a
couple of the inside of the
engine between the flame holder and final turbine stage that you won’t
be able to see without a bore scope inspection of the engine. |
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After the
interior of the engine is assembled, it’s time to assemble the outside.
The parts all fit tightly, and if you do want to finish the engine
for display, the seams won't be much of a problem. |
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The
after part of the fuselage went together well, but I had a couple of small spots
to fill with Mr. Surfacer 500
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When I first finished the
exterior of the engine nozzle, I sprayed over all titanium, like I had done on
the dozens of 1/48th F-16’s I built, but it didn’t look right, so
I re-did it.
Here was
the sequence of painting.
I painted
the exterior of the inner engine nozzle parts (parts K3) with MM Burnt
Metal before fitting the "turkey feathers".
I
then sprayed the exterior of parts K8 (the “turkey feathers”) MM
Stainless steel. Once that
was dry, I masked off the turkey feathers with Parafilm-M, and carefully
cut away the parafilm from the recessed areas on parts K8, and sprayed
them MM Titanium. Once that
was dry, I masked off the engine nozzle with more Parafilm-M, and sprayed
the small ring at the ends of parts H9/H10 with MM Aluminum. |
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Once that was dry, I masked that
off with more Parafilm (we are up to 3 layers now), and sprayed the rest of the
natural metal area with MM Titanium. Once
that was try, that area was masked off with more Parafilm to protect it during
the rest of the assembly.
Steve
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