SPA Modeler

Managed to get whatever bench time I could spare last night. Too busy with other stuff plus taking care of a sick dog and settling him down for the night to rest after bringing him home from the vet.

Got both exhaust nozzles done for each Viper kit...



The one on the right from the Italeri Viper kit DID NOT have score lines where they are separated between the front and middle.

Viper #1 is done!! Hobby Boss F-16 A Fighting Falcon kit. No. 671 338 Sqd 2004 Tiger Meet

This kit is a joy to put together even though 1/72 scale is never was my preferred scale. Most of the decals went on easy EXCEPT.... those line decals. Oh God how much cussing I've done doing those alone. The most ridiculous one is the square with 90 degree outward stencil lines on top. That one was ONE piece!!! Oh hell no. I decided to cut them in separate pieces instead. Note to self... NEVER cut and leave a small piece of angle line. They will fold over... or worse, not come undone at all. I used a pencil to replicate the problematic decal line. Oh, did I tell you the line stencil decals break easily?













Haven't ordered the weapons set yet but once I get them, I will arm her up.

That turned out pretty nice! If you had not said anything about the walkway lines, I don’t think it would be noticeable at all. As it is, it’s pretty hard to see the places that you mentioned.

I think that is an awesome job! I remember those line decals on some of the F-16's I built as well. Yeah, they sure can be a pain!

Started the decals on Viper #2. In the process, I noticed the right wingtip missile forward facing rail broke off. (The kit’s rails were molded to the wings)

I took a step back to figure out where and when it happened. Most likely, it fell on the patio concrete but I never noticed it. So... this brings me three ways to deal with this.

1 - Forget about it

2 - Ask if anyone here has a spare junk 1/72 Viper wingtip spare to donate

3 - Make my own. If so, how to go about creating it....

I did have a junk mule Viper kit in my garage but it got tossed in the trash
I knew I shoulda kept it “just in case”

Great job on #1

Is #2 done yet how about now

Finished the last of the decals. Letting them dry out and a coat of gloss clear before adding the struts and gear doors.

Viper #1 looks excellent Tom! Looking forward to seeing #2 once you've sorted the wing tip rail.

Viper #2 is done!! This is the 1/72 scale Italieri kit.

F-16 ADF "Green Lightning" Aeronautic Militare Italiana 37o Stormo, 18o Gruppo/CIO 1000 hours Birgi AB, Trapani, Sicily, 2009












My take on this Italeri kit

It is a very eye catching, colorful F-16 that attracted me to build it. But... it is slightly a bit of a hot mess building this one. The high part count doesn't bother me at all. You really have to pay attention to the instruction guide - especially the decal number assignment placement. I've come across a couple that were suppose to be applied on the opposite side; not according to the instruction guide.

There is one decal for the life of me, DOES NOT tell me where it goes. Not even on the instruction guide. Oh well, makes no difference to me. The decals for this scheme, you really have to be careful when applying them because they are long. Especially the ones on the sides and top.

Oh, the checkered nose is a three decal set... top, right and left bottom sides. Try lining those up. After a few minutes fighting the nose decals, I came to the point I can't get it any better than what I can do. So I thought to myself; "F*** it! It's good enough for me."

Also, the front gear door is a head scratcher. Look at the last photo. See how it would interfere with the center belly tank if it were to go gear up in flight? I don't know if the tank is too big, the gear door is out of scale or the center belly tank placement is wrong. Instruction guide has the holes where it goes into. I don't know. It made no sense to me. I don't know if it's a Italeri producing an minor "out of scale" center belly tank or the fuselage was not to scale to properly make it correct. With that said, I decided I'm not going to bother with the broken right wingtip missile rail.

Would I build another Green Lightning? Yes. There is one in 1/48 scale that I'm hoping to find one day. For some reason their 1/72 scale Vipers seems wrong in my eye.

Another great finish Tom! That scheme is very striking!