F16C/D Block 52+ Polish AF Advanced Viper

Published on
November 20, 2018
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$39.99
Product / Stock #
48076
Company: Kinetic Model Kits - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Lucky Model - Website: Visit Site
Box Art

The kit was originally release back in 2009 at the cost of 64.95 with only the 2 seater F-16D variant. This Reproduction comes in at 39.99 and 4 different variants out of 1 box F-16D 4082, F-16D 4084, F-16C 4062 or F-16C4055.

As far as fit goes for the main fuselage it was pretty good, there were mainly just a few sections that needed some putty to remove the gaps. Behind the wings up to the speed breaks left a gap from when top half and bottom came together, then where the intake connects doesn’t align correctly when connecting underneath the cockpit which I fix by doing some extra sanding. The jet exhaust also needed a little extra sanding to butt up closer to the main fuselage or you could use a little putty like I did since I didn’t notice it soon enough. Also side note on the speed breaks, you can build the model with them closed or open by just cutting the molded sections off and using the supplied part to get the open position. You get two sets of Conformal tanks for ether the C or D, but there are no locator pin holes or instructions on where to drill, I ended up just cutting the pins off and mounting after several pictures being checked to make sure of correct area position.

The cockpit was very well detailed with a little bit of dry brushing to make all the switches really pop. My only complaint comes with the ejection seats, they seemed a little lack luster to me, not a whole lot of detail compared to the rest of the cockpit. They where another area that needed some gap help as well but nothing a little putty couldn’t fix, all in all not a whole lot of extra work needed. The canopy for the 2 seater had a pretty good mold line going down the middle but easily removed with a modeler knife and polish stick, and installing was pretty nice with ether a closed or open option.

With the landing gear bay I was very happy with, the detail was really nice and the build for it was straight forward without any extra work in this area to make it fit right. You get 2 different sets of landing gear for ether the f-16c or the d both sets are a 3 piece build which makes painting so much easier.

You get a nice supply of weapons for this kit all the build where straight forward with only extra work needed was some flashing.

  • 2 x AIM-120C AMRAAM, 2 x AGM-65 Maverick, 2 x GBU-31 JDAM, 2 x GBU-38 JDAM, 2 x Mk.82
  • 1 x AAQ-33 Sniper XR, 2 x AIM-9M Sidewinder, 2 x AIM-9X Sidewinder, 2 x AIM-120B AMRAAM, 2 x GBU-12 Paveway II, 2 x GBU-24 Paveway III, and 2 x CBU-87.

Instruction book was the biggest let down for me with the kit, there were a lot of numbers missing for parts you had to go hunt down and find along with a few areas being left out such as weapon mounting and Conformal fuel tank mounting. But I did the love the paint guide, they give you multiple paint brands color codes from Ammo mig, Vallejo, Tamiya, Humbrol and Mr color.

The picture detail was clear and detailed. I wish it was in color for the paint guide in the back to better see the different paint schemes, but you can few the instruction pdf from Kinetic website to few the color instructions.

On the decals I had a little accident with a soda can on my set and didn’t get to use most of them. But the ones I did use where easy to set and well detailed the color on the tiger stripes are very nice and clear. And if you have an accident like I did… replacements are just a email away, the customer service reply was quick and easy to get a set of replacements sent out which at the time of this review have not arrived.

This was my very first 1/48 scale aircraft and first jet and I think it came together nicely, I enjoyed the whole build. Overall I would recommend this kit if you are in the market for a F-16 c/d with the option to build one of four variants, the amount of accessories, the detail of the kit, you get a good value for 39.99.

Thank you Kinetic, and IPMS USA for allowing me the chance to review the kit.

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