Soft euthanasia for a YF-16/†F-16 SD

[Tophe]

In 1976 (aged 12 years old) I built a Monogram 1/48 YF-16 with much happiness (a 1/72 model was not yet available and the F-16A was still a future dream). In Red/Blue/White like this prototype was, so beautiful, and so badly scorned in my country because it defeated our Mirage F-1E for the Century Sale of NATO.
Then, after building my whole model collection at 1/72 (with 1/32 at the ceiling), in 1976-78, this (very imperfectly painted) 1/48 piece was shocking and I considered destroying it. I asked my brother if he wanted it instead, and he said yes. As a gift for him, I painted it again, in unreal improved colors (I was already a what-ifer, ignoring I was not the only one in the World...), and added pretty decals from a Matchbox 1/72 F-86 Sabre.
In 1982, my brother growing adult left home and he let this model back for me. I put it in a box, forgetting it for years. In 2005, my wife took it out and displayed it:

[Tophe]

After several feminine cleaning, the model got "simplified" (no more fin, no more port wingtip rail, no more jet exhaust, broken nose wheel, discarded starboard undercarriage). I smiled: one more "victim of love".

[Tophe]

Now, to make room on the wall for my brand new LO-1Bb Lightning 1/32, I have decided to destroy it at last. However, to shine in its last minutes to live, I decided to what-if it into something brand new, enriching the beloved F-16 family.
No fin is half-tailless, so let me remove the tailplanes as well, and as a long tube aft (without jet exhaust moreover) is ugly, let me cut it away... This is creating the F-16 Simple Delta (SD is not Standard Deviation here), forefather of the double delta F-16XL...
And now, the †F-16 SD is (burried) in the garbage, having died in acute happiness... (what-if way)...

[Tophe]

This was the boxart, source of my love:

[Devilfish]

In 1977 I had the 1/72 Revell offering of the YF-16.  The one that came with an opening canopy, tow tractor and tow bar and every single piece of ordanance that the aircraft had been cleared to fly with at that time (or at least it seemed that way)




I never actually built it tho as my dog ate it while it was still in the box.......