Yoav's F-16A, 1:33, with landing gear - Page 5

**Texman** · #41 01-28-2020, 12:34 PM

In the USAF, the landing gear, and bays, are kept clean. This is so it is easier to
notice fluid leaks in those areas.

**YOAVHOZMI** · #42 01-28-2020, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texman

In the USAF, the landing gear, and bays, are kept clean. This is so it is easier to
notice fluid leaks in those areas.

We also do it in the IAF....
but i meant more about drawing some of the noticeable pipe system and various components that are there, or even build some of them.

And it is best to do it now before assembling the the landing gears.

About cleanliness ....
No matter how we clean the area, there is always a certain amount of dirt between and behind the piping and the components, which cannot be reached, even if washed in a strong current.

YOAV

**Erik Zwaan** · #43 01-29-2020, 01:50 AM

Yoav, Texman,

Thanks for your feedback, all very valid.

Rest assured, the Dutch Air Force also takes good care of their F16s landing gears

.

Up so far I haven't really been thinking about this as I only installed the basic components required to fit the internal parts of the landing gear bays. Certainly not finished yet. Donor is the GPM F16C/F16D kit and no weathering is included, which explains for the very white surfaces. Also very few details are printed on the model parts of the landing gear and bays.

The landing gear itself looks very detailed (but also very fragile) and when my basic model is finished (before installing all external loads) I will study the landing gear/bay details more closely how to enhance the model and will likely add some degree of weathering too, to balance it better with the looks of the model.

I will search for details on the internet but if any of you has close-up pictures that might be useful, it will be very much appreciated. For instance, Yoav, you mentioned that the F16A landing light differs from the C/D versions?

The Dutch Air Force flies with midlife upgraded F16As and there's one on display at the national military museum here, written off after a hard landing, so perhaps I'll go down there to study the landing gear in detail and take a lot of pictures.

Regards,
Erik

**Mike1158** · #44 01-29-2020, 03:13 AM

For the wiring in our Chieftains, we used a paint brush to get to that tiresome muck that gets into the various nooks and crannies. For the silver jubilee in 1977 the interiors were just as sparkling as the outside. Mad as that nobody saw that but that's life folks.

**YOAVHOZMI** · #45 01-29-2020, 11:12 AM

Eric
You can look here at some examples of some landing gear bays, like....

F-4E of GPM
landing gear bay for my KFIR that my friend YARON made.
MD-450 OURAGAN landing gear bays i made for my friend.
and the engine landing gear bay of my VAUTOUR 1:50 scale.

The additions of the pipes and components together with weathering and dirt, greatly improves the appearance.....And it definitely fits the dirty look of my F-16A.

YOAV

**Erik Zwaan** · #46 01-29-2020, 02:18 PM

Thanks Yoav, I will check the "design group alpha" website for useful parts to borrow. I managed to do some research myself today as well and got a few very useful pictures.

Regards,
Erik

**Erik Zwaan** · #47 02-10-2020, 04:07 AM

The next logical step is to prepare the canopy. I have only done this once before, when building Yoav's Mirage in 2016. The vacuum box I built proved its value but has been sitting idle ever since.
The F-16 canopy is a challenge compared to the one of the Mirage. Based on the template I built the canopy and used putty, wall filler and sandpaper to obtain a good round shape . Finally a few layers of spray paint to get a smooth surface, which also helps to check if the shape is well-rounded. So far so good. I didn't use filler to reinforce the inside of the mould as the shell seemed very strong.

Unfortunately, during the vacuuming process, the canopy sort of collapsed, which is a compliment to my vacuum cleaner. It really sucks hard

. But bad news for the canopy and a new one is being prepared.

Herewith a few pictures of the process before things went wrong. I'm using a table grill to heat up the overhead sheet, wedged in the wooden frame.

Anyway, to keep the momentum going, I prepared the pylons and the center drop tank instead.

To be continued....

, hopefully with good news regarding the vacuuming process.

Erik