"Peace Atlantis 3" - F-16V ADCUP for the PoAF

[DogfighterZen]

Well, this is my second model on this forum and surprise, it's another F-16!! I'm taking a break off my first whiff F-16W, too much PSR and a broken wing made me put it aside for a while... 
So i started this just a month after getting back into the hobby a year ago, i don't have any pics of the WIP but this was supposed to be a real world build. I never thought that it would take so long and would come to be my first finished WHIF model!! 
I've done a lot of mistakes and beginner screw-ups all over this model but i've also been learning a lot from those mistakes. When i started, accuracy was not that much of an issue to me and i wasn't aware of some of the details in the different variants of the plane so i had the F-16C tail with the F-16 ADF AIFF antennas, therefore, making it a Whiff without even knowing... When i found out that i was goofing up the real world build, i realize that it is my model so i might as well call it my own variant!! 
After several months of sitting on the bench while i was building some other stuff, it was still a twin seat D with AIFF antennas in the normal two tone grey scheme...



...but then i decided that i wanted a single seat, wild weasel with amraam capable LAU-129 wing-tip launchers... 



So, after the conversion, i started looking at the decals to see if i could come up with something cool that wouldn't be too far from the normal schemes used worldwide on the Viper. Belgian, Polish and two choices of U.S. markings, all of them pretty much standard stuff... Well, the Portuguese Air Force operates F-16s and, although most of them have even fewer and simpler markings, there was a couple of falcons on the decal sheet, that reminded me of the PoAF's 201st Squad "Falcons"!
Well, in one year of modeling, i've only managed to finish one build and it was a Mig-21 in russian markings but i've always wanted to have one using my own country's flag... One problem though, i had to buy some decals but there are only a few 1:72 Portuguese F-16 decal sheets (that i'm aware of) by Syhart, Moddel Alliance and Colorado/Carpena and can be hard to find. Anyway, i did manage to find a couple of the Portuguese brand's sheets that arrived last week so, i finally have a Portuguese F-16!   

What if scenario would be:
Following the incidents of Russian bombers being intercepted by PoAF F-16s on several occasions, over Portuguese air space in the Atlantic, the U.S. government, afraid of loosing it's "domain" over the ocean, decided to ask the Portuguese government to sign a new contract to extend the use of the Lajes air base in the Azores Islands, by U.S. forces. The contract offered to the Portuguese was integrated in the "Peace Atlantis 3" deal with a very generous offer of 46 recently built F-16C/D Block52+ all upgraded with the new ADCUP kits.
The Air Defese Capability Upgrade Program, a recently developed upgrade package,developed by Lockheed-Martin and Pratt&Witney, was optimized for air combat only.  Inspired on the ADF concept of the cold war, it materialized in the F-16V new airframes, with the latest avionics like AESA radar, new ECMs, AN/ALE-47 chaff/flares dispensers. But the main upgrade on the whole package was definitely the PW135 engine and a new thrust vectoring nozzle, much like the Isis TVC from the Eurojet EJ-200 engine, these changes have increased the f-16's already excellent capability and from April 2015 onwards, the Portuguese pilots will begin to equip their 2 squads, the 301st Jaguars and the 201st Falcons getting their new Vipers and surely, more than happy to have such a cool new toy on their hands... 







It's still in need of a few paint touch-ups from last mods and tiny bits added, a coat of varnish to seal the decals and it also needs a stand that i'll have to build...  

Hope you like it. 

[NARSES2]

 

[Captain Canada]

why AMRAAM's on the tip rails and smaller missiles (sidewinders?) under the wing?

F-16s fly in that config a lot.

Lovely build. Looks very sleek...always loved the shape of the F-16 and your paint scheme really sets off her lines. Love the weapons load as well !

[ChernayaAkula]

Nice one!  Is that an IRST in front of the canopy?

<...> Curiosity not criticism, why AMRAAM's on the tip rails and smaller missiles (sidewinders?) under the wing? <...>

They're doing this for aero-elastic reasons. Apparently with just the wing tip (stations 1 and 9) stations loaded, the AIM-120s help reduce wing flutter better than the AIM-9s do. When both the wing tip stations and the outermost under-wing stations (stations 2 and were loaded, they found in flight testing that having AIM-9s on the tips and AIM-120s under the wings would create serious flutter issues at certain speeds and g-loads, to the point that they feared for structural integrity. Which is why, at least AFAIK, the Viper tech order doesn't even list AIM-9s on the tips in conjunction with AIM-120s under the wings as an allowable load-out.

[Dizzyfugu]

Cool.

Second that. Simple, but effective. 

[DogfighterZen]

First of all, thanks guys, i'm glad you like it!  

Cool .

Curiosity not criticism, why AMRAAM's on the tip rails and smaller missiles (sidewinders?) under the wing?

Well, i had that same question when i bought Revell's F-16, it has both types of launchers, the lighter 16s210 original aim-9 launcher and the heavier LAU-129. As the Italeri kit has the 210s molded on the wing and i wasn't going to use the revell's 129s anywhere else, i just cut out the original ones and replace them with the revell ones, kind of what you have to do to Hasegawa Vipers that also have the 210s molded on the wings.

Nice one!   Is that an IRST in front of the canopy?

<...> Curiosity not criticism, why AMRAAM's on the tip rails and smaller missiles (sidewinders?) under the wing? <...>

They're doing this for aero-elastic reasons. Apparently with just the wing tip (stations 1 and 9) stations loaded, the AIM-120s help reduce wing flutter better than the AIM-9s do. When both the wing tip stations and the outermost under-wing stations (stations 2 and were loaded, they found in flight testing that having AIM-9s on the tips and AIM-120s under the wings would create serious flutter issues at certain speeds and g-loads, to the point that they feared for structural integrity. Which is why, at least AFAIK, the Viper tech order doesn't even list AIM-9s on the tips in conjunction with AIM-120s under the wings as an allowable load-out.

Yep, that's the one that comes on the revell kit for the bottom of the intake chin sensor. 
And yes, from what i've read, the 129 is heavier and is compatible with both the aim-120 and aim-9 and the 16s210 can only carry the aim-9 and other similar weight missiles. Through the studies made on the viper's wing, engineers found that flutter was decreased by having the heavier missile on the wing tip as it counters the vibration.

why AMRAAM's on the tip rails and smaller missiles (sidewinders?) under the wing?

F-16s fly in that config a lot.

Lovely build. Looks very sleek...always loved the shape of the F-16 and your paint scheme really sets off her lines. Love the weapons load as well !

Thanks Captain!   While i was deciding what to hang on the wings, i wanted aim-9Xs but didn't have any so, i messed around with the aim-9Ls that came with the kit to make them aim-9Xs but wasn't very satisfied with the result, close-up they are very amateurish...  
But the load out had to be air-to-air as this is supposed to be an interception dedicated version of the Viper... Thought about adding a set of Freightdog conformal fuel tanks but this was a messy build from the beginning so, i thought i'd save them for a better kit and sometime in the future when i'm a better modeler...   In the Backstory, the CFTs would later be added because of the range increase. As agility and performance of the aircraft remains almost the same with CFTs and drop tanks are immediately jettisoned if one is engaged in real combat, the new engine and nozzle would give it enough power and maneuverability to hang with the best fighters around. 
As this one will be completly finished next weekend, time for another one... 

[zenrat]

Nicely done.

[DogfighterZen]

Nicely done.

Thank you! Motivation is easy to come by when there are so many good builds around here.
I really have to thank most of the people that post their work here cause i don't think i'd be a happy modeler, if i hadn't found this forum! 

[McColm]

Looks very good.

[DogfighterZen]

Looks very good.

Thanks!! 

[DogfighterZen]

Well, just to close this one up for good, here are a few pics of it with the last touch ups done. It was a fun build, although i did manage to goof up the undercarriage doors and a bunch of other details. Anyway, it was not my first build ever but, it is the first whiff and the second model that i finish with the basic tools, CA glue, x-acto knife, sandpaper and hairy stick. I only used Tamiya's extra thin cement on the canopy but, i managed to use too much glue and the excess spread inside the canopy. 
I guess that's just how it goes, screw up a lot and learn... Could have done some more to it but in the end i'm pleased with the results.
I have at least 15 models that were started during the past year, sitting on the bench, just waiting for completion, so i have to move on and try to do better on the next.
Thank you all for your comments and views! 

[Captain Canada]

What a beauty. Sure looks ready for a scrap with that weapons fit. I love the way the paint scheme makes it look so sleek, even tho she's armed to the teeth.

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks, Captain!  I did want to make it ready to drop tanks, turn and burn!! 
I know that nowadays BVR missiles can do the job before the pilots even see each other but, they'll always have to dog-fight when there are more targets than missiles, right? Unless they carry more than the normal load...
Thought of mounting an AIM-54 Phoenix or a double launcher with AMRAAMs in the middle pylon, but before i thought of the back story, i had a pair of HARMs and the LANTIRN pods for the intake... That would also look good but would't fit the story so i left them off... but i'm still considering the idea of throwing them back on... maybe in a future event. 

[zenrat]

Good one.

[DogfighterZen]

Good one.

Thank you!