Undeterred, some few stick with the hobby and slowly gain the experience needed to build models that approximate the real thing. This experience-combined with proper technique, detailed research, the right tools, money, and time-makes the difference mess between a gray plastic mess and aircraft facsimiles suitable for public display.

Plastic model kits are approached in two basic ways. A neophyte or occasional builder follows instructions, generally, and build a kit as-is out of the box. A more experienced hobbyist often deviates from instructions to improve a kit. Jim Barr, who built the F-16 model pictured here, falls into one extreme of the latter category. Barr is an award-winning model builder and Lockheed Martin employee. Code One observed him and asked questions as he built this display-quality F-16C Block 50 model with markings of the 388th Fighter Squadron from Hill AFB in Utah (the reigning Gunsmoke Bombing Competition champions, as a matter of fact). Some of Barr's techniques and advice may help you the next time you build a Fighting Falcon.

Parts Picking
We chose to build a Hasegawa 1/48th-scale F-16C kit with landing gear down, no pilot, and a more highly detailed cockpit. We added several aftermarket items, including a Verlinden cockpit detail kit, a True Details ejection seat, a seamless wide-mouth intake by Bob Brown, and AIM-9 missiles from a separate 1/48th-scale air-to-air weapons kit by Hasegawa.

The Cockpit Super Detail kit by Verlinden contains an assortment of tiny, delicate brass parts that accurately adorn the pilot's office. The $20 kit includes an ejection seat, instrument panels, sidestick controller, throttle, head-up display, armrest, and almost all the other bits and pieces that constitute a well-stocked F-16 model cockpit. The True Details ejection seat is a step above what comes with the Hasegawa airplane kit (and, according to Barr, better than the seat in the Verlinden kit) . The crisply molded resin seat offers accurate buckles, cushions, and other hardware associated with the ACES II ejection system. Bob Brown's seamless intake costs about $10. Brown markets a line of seamless intakes under the name "Seamless Suckers." His two-piece resin-formed F-16 molding not only creates a smooth and accurate intake, but also saves some time and trouble. The AIM-9 Sidewinders in Hasegawa's bountiful air-to-air weapon kit (about $15) have significantly more detail than the missiles contained in the aircraft kit.

Before ordering these aftermarket additions, our expert offers some preliminary words of warning and fiscal responsibility. While these accessories contain more detail than that provided by the basic F-16 kit, they are geared for the more experienced modeler. The tiny brass parts in the Verlinden kit, for example, require a lot of patience and some miniature tools to bend and form. One wayward drop of glue will ruin a part. One sneeze will launch smaller pieces into the oblivion of your shag carpeting. Also keep in mind that the attributes of an after market ejection seat won't compensate for a crummy paint job. Nor will the finer details provided by intake and weapons kits. In other words, these extras will only, improve your work if you know how to build a sharp model in the first place.

Those seeking higher levels of quality and accuracy are probably better served by investing in some proper tools and supplies. An airbrush tops this list in terms of both usefulness and expense. Nothing improves a model more than a good paint job, for which an airbrush is essential. Some other ingredients to consider: a hobby knife, a supply of No. 11 hobby knife blades, a pin vise, detail paint brushes, clippers, sandpaper, body filler putty, masking tape, vinyl tape, toothpicks, pins, water colors, white glue, superglue, epoxy, decal preparation solution, and paint. A good how-to reference also comes in handy. Roscoe Creed's How to Build Plastic Aircraft Models (published by Kalmbach Books) is a good choice.

Dry Fitting
Our model project began with what's called a dry fit. We cut the wings, tail surfaces, and fuselage halves from the plastic trees with a pair of clippers and sanded off the plastic nubs where the parts met the tree. Removing the parts with clippers (miniature wire cutters) avoids any twisting or pulling that can extrude the plastic and deform it. Any thin residual plastic from the molding process, called "flash," was removed from the part with the dull side of a hobby knife blade. The static dischargers were sanded from the wings and fins because they're inaccurately oversized.

We checked the fit of the fuselage halves and wings, making sure that the seams were tight and straight and that the locator pins fit well into their associated receptacles. (Some modelers file off the locator pins and align the parts by hand.) Everything fit fine. If it hadn't, any warped part would have been unwarped by soaking it in hot water (180 degree F) for a few seconds and then straightened.

During this early stage of the project, we removed and set aside parts that would not be used in the model. These parts were being substituted with aftermarket kits (cockpit controls, ejection seat, engine intake, and some missiles). We also set aside the pilot, boarding ladder, clear canopy, and Pratt & Whitney engine.

Assembling
Experienced modelers approach each subassembly as its own separate model. They keep an eye out on how what they do in one step affects subsequent steps. We had two basic reasons for deviating from the prescribed steps in the instructions-aftermarket additions and finishing (puttying, sanding, painting) considerations. For example, the intake was attached to the fuselage before the wings to make filling and sanding the intake seams easier.

The cockpit was assembled first, using only the cockpit tub and the instrument panel from the airplane kit. All of the Verlinden parts were painted and installed except for the head-up display, ejection seat, and the canopy latching mechanisms. The head-up display, which sits above the canopy rail, was put aside for the final assembly so it would not be damaged after the cockpit assembly was placed inside the fuselage. The extremely delicate and difficult canopy latching mechanism and handle bars were left off our model because of the time and trouble they require. These canopy parts are essentially hidden by the canopy frame anyway.) The True Details seat was painted but not installed until the final assembly.

We installed the seamless intake into the lower fuselage half. The installation required some cutting, and the resulting seams had to be filled with putty and sanded to make a smooth surface. We checked the smoothness by airbrushing the surface with neutral gray and then looking closely for imperfections and necessary reworking. Next, the cockpit tub was installed into the lower fuselage half, and the two halves were glued together. The speed brakes were left in the closed position. They can be cut and left in the open position in this model; the kit includes a pair of speed flap actuators that are installed between the open halves of the speed brakes.) We painted the inside of the seamless sucker white and the lip around the inside of the intake gray. After the paint dried, the intake was taped shut to protect its painted interior from overspray in subsequent painting.

At this point, we installed the forward engine ring, but omitted the exhaust nozzle petals so they could be painted separately and installed in the final assembly.

The wing halves were glued together. We then glued the wings, the vertical tail, and the gun port to the fuselage. The wing and tail seams were filled with putty and sanded to a smooth surface. The horizontal stabilizers were painted separately and installed in the final assembly. The stabilizers are free-moving surfaces and, therefore, create no seam to be filled. Several seams had to be puttied and sanded-two between the wings and the fuselage, one between the intake and the lower fuselage, one between the vertical tail and the upper fuselage, one between the radome and the forward fuselage, one between the engine ring and back fuselage, and two between the ventral fins and the lower fuselage.

We installed the ventral fins and the radome, omitting the one gram of nose weight called for in the instructions. Normally, the extra up-front weight keeps the aircraft from dropping on its tail when displayed with landing gear down. However, the denser plastic resin of the aftermarket intake makes the counter weight unnecessary.

All of the small bumps, pointy bits, and other protuberances to the airplane were added as the final step before painting major surfaces of the airplane. These pieces included the navigation lights, pitot tube, radio antennas, inlet and exhaust ducts for the aircraft self-protection jamming system and engine compartment, air temperature probe, radar homing and warning antenna covers on the nose, and the "beer can" RHAW antennas on the wings. Some of these parts were made from scratch. The pitot tube was fashioned from a pin inserted into steel tubing. The angle-of-attack sensors were cut off pin points. The RHAW antennas were made from sprue (plastic from the tree that holds the pieces together).

Painting
Before firing up the airbrush, we scrubbed the model's surfaces with a toothbrush dipped in warm soapy water and dried the model with a clean towel to remove dust, fingerprints, and any residue from the molding process. Since darker colors cover light colors more easily, painting normally proceeds from lighter to darker colors. Accordingly, we painted the white of the wheel wells first. After they dried, the wheel wells and the cockpit were the vertical tails, and the outside surfaces of the ventral fins are a neutral gray (FS 36270). A drop of the dark gray was added to the neutral gray to get the right shade of gray for the radome. The areas requiring the most time and care to paint were the three places where the grays overlap-the side of the fuselage below the cockpit, the side of the inlet, and around the lower part of the vertical tail.

Following the light-to-dark rule, the light gray underside of the aircraft was painted and then the neutral gray nose area and vertical tail. After these areas dried, we painted the dark gray of the upper surface after masking off the lower, light gray side to avoid overspraying it. The final airbrush passes on the gray overlaps were done with the darker gray. After the main surfaces dried, we taped off the nose to paint the radome and masked the upper and lower portions of the aft fuselage to paint the neutral-gray side areas where the horizontal tails attach. After these areas dried, the fuselage surface around the refueling receptacle was taped off and the receptacle was painted steel gray. The engine ring was painted black. Outline areas, like the refueling receptacle, were masked with strips of vinyl tape 1/8th inch wide. Paper-based masking tapes tend to leave a ragged edge. The plastic tape also conforms better to curved areas without wrinkling.

While waiting for the paint to dry on the rest of the aircraft, the parts for final assembly were put together and painted. These parts included the landing gear, engine petals, missiles, canopy frame, inlet heater strut, wheels, and tires. After painting the landing gear, we attached small wires to simulate the brake lines. The AIM-120 launchers were reshaped and fitted with two small, flat pieces of sprue to make them look more like the real thing. With a small drill bit held in a pin vise, we drilled out exhaust nozzles for the missiles and hollowed out the front end of the Sidewinders to make room for a drop of epoxy to simulate the seeker head. The glass of the projector lens for the head-up display was simulated with a drop of epoxy as well. These detail tricks set great models apart from good ones.

Using brush-on paints to accentuate panel lines and other parts is another way to add detail. Black watercolor applied with a fine brush and an extremely steady hand, for example, was used to accentuate the leading edge flap and aileron lines. Once a line was complete, the work was sealed with a fine coat of clear flat paint. We used two common painting techniques-washing and dry brushing-to give the ejection seat and cockpit instruments a more realistic appearance. Washing adds shadows. To create a wash, modelers first darken the base color slightly by adding black. Some use watercolors for this effect; others use oils. With either media, the color is both darkened, thinned, and then allowed to flow into the crevices to produce a shadowing effect. Alternatively, dry brushing adds highlights. To dry brush, modelers lighten the base color by adding white. They then drag the color across prominent surfaces with a small stiff brush containing almost no excess paint (almost dry). Some modelers dry brush in successively lighter steps or layers. The subtle effects produced by these techniques approach fine art. In addition to the cockpit, we used these techniques on the tires, in the wheel wells, and on the engine petals.

Decaling
Decals do not adhere well to the microscopically rough surfaces of the flat paints used for military aircraft models. When applied directly to a flat paint, a decal will tend to show its clear carrier film when it dries, especially on the outside edges of the insignia. The phenomenon is called "silvering." A preliminary coat of clear gloss paint lessens this effect by creating a smooth surface for the decals. After the decal is applied, a second coat of clear gloss softens its edges. A final coat of clear flat finish restores the surface to a non-glossy state.

Silvering can be reduced further by trimming the edges of the decal. Trimming is much easier to do before dipping the decal in water to activate its adhesive carrier film. We also used a two-part softening solution that makes the decals conform to bumps and panel lines. One solution goes on the model surface; the other is placed on top of the decal. We worked with one decal at a time except for the tail code and serial numbers, which were applied at the same time so they could be aligned. Decals were dabbed with a damp rag to remove the excess water and allowed to dry before the clear gloss and clear flat finishes were applied.

Finalizing
All those parts prepared and painted away from the airplane were installed as the last step in this project. We started with the heftier items and worked towards the more delicate ones. The progression went something like this: rear and front landing gear, horizontal tail surfaces, ejection seat, engine inlet heater strut, AIM-120 missile/launcher, AIM-9 missiles, the head-up display, and the canopy. We then built a nice display stand and called it a day (well, we called it two weeks).

Going Beyond
According to Barr, our model represents about ninety percent of his best, most complete effort. That extra ten percent, however, would have required about three times the labor and pushed us way beyond the deadline for this issue. Those willing to spend inordinate amounts of time for an F-16 model project might try tackling the Verlinden canopy latching mechanism, detail sanding the more obscure areas of the airplane, adding a map light to the cockpit, attaching "remove before flight" ribbons and pins, placing a helmet on the canopy rail, accentuating panel lines, fabricating more hydraulic lines for the wheel wells, attaching the dozen or so tiny static discharge needles to the wing and tail surfaces, and seeking professional help for advanced modeler's syndrome.

Happy Modeling!