This is the Kinetic 1/48 F-16I Sufa built to represent a F-16D Block 52+ of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). It has essentially the same shape as the Sufa with the only visible difference being the WAR HUD in the cockpit.
Construction was relatively straight-forward but the fitting of the intake halves proved to be a challenge. This was solved with some sanding and lots of dry-fitting.
The camouflage was painted with Gunze acrylics 305, 306 and 308. Exhaust parts were painted with Alclad Jet Exhaust and Pale Burnt Metal. Weathering and panel-lining was done with Tamiya enamels.
The RSAF only has one squadron which flies this advanced Viper; 145 Sqn “Hornet” based at Changi Air Base East. The only available accurate decals for this particular squadron come from Isradecal’s initial F-16I Sufa sheet. This was the option I used. I chose to model ACFT 666 as seen at the RSAF Open House in September 2008.
The centerline fuel tank, AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN Navigation pod, AIM-120C AMRAAMs and AIM-9M Sidewinders came from the kit as were their decals. The AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod was from Dr. Pepper’s excellent line of resin items. The GBU-10 laser guided bombs were from Hasegawa’s Weapon Set D. Finally, the 600 gallon tanks were “donated” by a Hasegawa F-2B kit.
Additional details added include Royale Resins’ wonderfully casted F-16 Block 52+ wheels, scratchbuilt WAR HUD, Tamiya photo-etched seatbelts and the static discharge wicks which were made out of toothbrush bristles. Tamiya spares provided some clear parts which were omitted from the Kinetic kit like the fin-tip and tail lights.
