The Aircraft

This is the second release of the 1/72 scale F-16CJ [Block 50] Fighting Falcon now with parts depicting underside equipment used on the aircraft! The versatile F-16 Fighting Falcon's adaptability to both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions makes it one of the cornerstones of the U.S. Air Force today. With over 4,500 F-16’s completed since it’s introduction in 1976, there have been numerous models of this aircraft in most model scales to date. Block 50 evolutions of the aircraft were deployed from 1991, F-16CJ fighters being fitted with radar countermeasures. The aircraft's capabilities have also been extended to include night fighter functionality.

Master Model continues to offer modelers the opportunity to add exceptional turned metal parts to their models. A number of model builders who add aftermarket gun barrels to their aircraft models are finding Master Model’s excellent multi-piece sets offer a high level of detail without a great deal of work.

This set mirrors those that Master Model already markets for builders in 1:72, 1:48 and 1:24.

From the kit's Hasegawa web page:

Returning to roost

Moving the space shuttle is one jumbo task, fortunately, the eggheads of Boeing hatched the B747-one of the largest commercial aircraft ever to spread its wings. The bigger birds made dozens of flights yoked together with the shuttles. Had the shuttles scrambled on their own, they would have risked frying their engines or cracking flight surfaces. After the space shuttle program was put on the shelf, the 747s ovoided their due date by serving the shuttles to their final roosting places. Limited edition kit features a shuttle carrier and shuttle with decals for Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.

A bit of explanation here. I try to do full-build reviews with photos taken through most of the process. When I hooked my memory card into the USB port on my computer, it said, “there are no files”. And there weren’t. It had erased my photos, so all my pictures are GONE. It did the same to another memory card. I am quite unhappy.

On with the review.

Scale Aircraft Conversions does white metal landing gear for a lot of aircraft kits. Some are necessary because the kit parts aren’t correct. Some you need because the plastic kit parts aren’t strong enough to hold the model. And then there’s this case. I finished the Victor kit, and it was a tail sitter. OK, I glued it to a piece of foamcore board, and the glue held the nose down. When the opportunity came to get the SAC gear, I jumped at the chance.

If you are looking to improve the appearance of the nose on your 1/72 scale EMHAR F-3H Demon, I would direct your attention to this new release from Pavla Models. Recommended for the EMHAR kit released in 1991, this replacement nose is a clear advancement over the old plastic nose provided in the kit. Modelers with some experience in using resin parts should have no issues with utilizing this part.

As I stated in another recent review, from my perspective, Pavla Models continues to quietly add new items to their product lines in order to add detail to existing kits; many of these lines are intended for aircraft modelers, but there are some AFV items as well. Pavla Models provides replacement canopies that are vacuum-formed as well as cockpit sets, ejection seats, and general detail sets for aircraft.