RNZAF 75th Anniversary A-1B+ Kārearea (Falcon), 2012 COMPLETED

[NARSES2]

Really nice scheme!

Agreed and a "greens" scheme fits well with New Zealand in my brain 

[AeroplaneDriver]

A few more decals on last night.  The "75 Years" decal I had is smaller than I thought.  I thought it would fill a good part of the fin, but as you can see it's a good bit smaller (from a 1/72 Tornado F.3).  Still I like it and gives a good reason to go with full color markings instead of lo-viz.  The serial number is actually the first one allocated to the cancelled F-16A purchase, so I think it fits well.  The yellow diamond on the tail is a hand cut decal and it's a little thin so I've added another layer to make it more yellow that orange. 

I also had a Kinetic F-16A kit arrive yesterday with a great weapons set, meaning the loadout will now be two AIM-9Ms, two tanks and two AGM-119 Penguin Anti-Ship Missiles for the Maritime role. 

[Old Wombat]

Good load-out!

She's looking very nice, btw.

[kerick]

I like everything about the this!

[DogfighterZen]

Looking very good indeed!

[AeroplaneDriver]

Slow progress thanks t oa busy month at work, and a bit of a modeling disaster to boot. 

I'm not very happy with the yellow diamond decal on the red stripe on the tail, so I was experimenting with painting it on the other side...but idiot that I am I layed some masking tape over the "75 Years" decal and it peeled right off.    dammit.

So I have bitten the bullet and ordered decals for the actual 2012 RNZAF 75th Anniversary.  I got the 1/144 C-130 set as they seemed the best fit.  Unfortunately they are coming from NZ so ir may be a bit of a wait. 

So here is progress so far.  Some stenciling done, and the Penguin ASMs painted and awaiting decals. 

[Old Wombat]

...but idiot that I am I layed some masking tape over the "75 Years" decal and it peeled right off.    dammit.

Well, that was a bit silly!

[buzzbomb]

Like this a lot. Scheme really fits

[silverwindblade]

This is looking fantastic. Love the colours and the choice of armament too.
I want a set of Penguin missiles for some of my builds - it still amazes me that nobody produces them in resin as an aftermarket set. The only place I've seen them is in the same Kinetic F-16 yours came from.

[NARSES2]

There were some Penguins in one of the Hasegawa sets, but that was 1/72. Not sure about 1/48

[silverwindblade]

None in the 48th Hase sets that I'm aware of, unfortunately.

[sykotik]

Love that scheme! Reminds me of home 

[AeroplaneDriver]

I was surprised too how hard it was to find Penguins.  I got lucky because while I was researching for this build I decided it would be fun to do an "as ordered" RNZAF F-16 to go with it.  Turned out the best option for that kit was the NATO Kinetic kit which coincidentally had Penguins. 

[AeroplaneDriver]

With work, travel, and waiting for decals from NZ this one has taken a bit longer than usual, but tonight it's officially close enough to post first pics.  Still a couple of fiddly bits to stick on and take better pics tomorrow, but it's near enough to proclaim it "done".

The kit is the Hobbyboss 1/48 A-1B AMX trainer.  I went together fairly easily and has a pretty nice level of detail.  Biggest complaint was the total lack of anything inside the intakes, just empty fuselage.  Problem solved with intake plugs.  They will also get a little more detailing tomorrow I think. 

But for now...

[Old Wombat]

Nice!