viper questions

[markmarples]

hi guys im doing a bit of research for my f-16cj tamiya kit not ive bought some afterburner decals for a operational bird



2003 operation iraqi freedom

now my questions

1. what are the colours for hte main grey and top grey, i make then to be xtraclyix med sea grey and extra dark see grey respectivley, is that right?

2. whats the centre line pod? alq -131? if so where can i get one in 1/48

im sure there will be more questions

[jamesv9820]

I am unsure about the centreline pod but the colours are:

FS36118 - Dark Grey
FS 36270 - Light Grey


Stil those in the paint conversion chart and they will give you the Xtracrylics versions Mark... I think on my 32 Viper I used Vallejo Paints (No. 50) and Tamiya XF-24, with 15% white added if that is any help!

[markmarples]

thanks mate, ive asked on BM as well and it is a AQL-131 and i think ive got one on the way from joel he only lives down the road from me

now to source the paints

[jamesv9820]

i have 3 spare of those, (just remembered what they are now) so if Joel doesnt come good let me know as I have a spare from the A-10 and two in the F-111 box...

Paints should be easy to find, just type in the FS Numbers.... GO ON, try the Gunze stuff from MDC, you will never look bacK!

[markmarples]

i have 3 spare of those, (just remembered what they are now) so if Joel doesnt come good let me know as I have a spare from the A-10 and two in the F-111 box...

Paints should be easy to find, just type in the FS Numbers.... GO ON, try the Gunze stuff from MDC, you will never look bacK!

thanks ill nip and see joel next week and take it from there, we shall see about the paints i need to check codes and see what i actually already have i think i may have the tamiya ones already

[markmarples]

ok i need a deep ALQ-131 not the shallow one, where do i get that from! arghhhh, im beginng to wish i want hung up on detail

[markmarples]

hi mark fs 36270 neutral grey xa1133 fs 36118 gunship grey xa1130 cheers simon

thanks mate

[markmarples]

no problem

checking my recent purchases list i have ordered tamiya xf20 /24 so by my reconing i have the paints on way, ive just never airbrushed with tamiya?

[jamesv9820]

Tamiya Airbrushing is really easy... get about a 60/40 paint/thinner split and off you go...

Did you sort your ALQ-131 pod out?

[Thunder]

The Colours above for the main scheme are correct, however bear in mind that the Drop tanks and all Underwing pylons are FS36375. The Wing tip pylons can be either 36270 or 36375

The radome can be any shade of Grey from Neutral through to Dark Grey as they tend to discolour very quickly due to the material they are made from


HTH

Scott

[markmarples]

im not sure is joels pod is a shallow or deep, i need the deep

[markmarples]

ok new questions

can i have a mixed load on my 2003 viper


winder - aim120 - jdam - tank - aql-131- tank - harm - aim120 - winder if that makes sense

why is it that such as good kit is spoilt with a seam in the canopy! im going to have to micromesh it, wish me luck

[viper3111]

Sorry Mark, I cant answer the load question but dont worry about the seem removal. I was amazed how well the micro mesh removed them and how easy it was to do

This is really starting to sound like a good project,

[markmarples]

thanks shaun, i just want to get it right, and learn stuff along them way at least i have 2 chances with the canopy i.e. tinted / clear!

with regard to loads i wanted to mix it up a bit, the decal mission markings show both harms and jdams so i fancied both

[jamesv9820]

Mark,

In reality, I am not too sure if you can have a JDAM/HARM loadout but I could be am probably am wrong.

If you were loading the plane out for a mission, the HARM and JDM vary in weight considerably and I am not too sure if this would affect the plane and therefore not be viable. However, we are talking about a model here, and you can do as you wish with it.

Also would the JDAM and Harm be two different mission types?

I'll try looking on the net at some point to see if I can find various wepons load outs that are used on the F-16CJ. Have you also had a look on BM to see what people have done on there?

[Thunder]

In theory it would be possible, in reality probably not. It would depend on what mission was being flown as to what loadout would be carried .

During the early days of OIF in 2003, the Block 50 a/c common loadout was

3 x AIM120B/C's (on Wing Tip Stations 1 and 9 and on station 2)
1 x AIM9 (on Station 8)
2 X AGM88 (on Stations 3 and 7)
2 x Tanks (on Stations 4 and 6)
1 x ALQ-131 (on Station 5 Centreline)
1 x HARM Targeting Pod AN/ASQ-213A (Left Intake Station)

At a later date during OIF 2003, the AIM 120 on Station 2 and the AIM 9 on Station 8 were dropped and these pylons would be seen empty.

In the SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Defences) role the F-16's would fly as a two or four ship and would carry 2 x AGM-88 HARM's or maybe(not seen often myself) a mixed load of 1 x HARM and 2 x AGM-65 Mavericks on the other wing.

In the DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Defences) role again the F16's would fly as a two or four ship and half the formation would carry HARM's and the other half GBU 31/38's

Block 50 a/c are not capable of carrying LANTRIN so GBU12/16 PaveWay's could not be carried.

It's was more common to see mixed loadouts on a/c over Afghanistan back in 2003-2006 this was due to the distance that the a/c had to travel from the bases in the Arabian Gulf region and Carriers in the Indian Ocean, so it made sense to have one a/c capable of carrying out a number of tasks, but again I can't recall ever seeing an F16 with a HARM/JDAM mix.

HTH

Scott

[markmarples]

thanks guys it does help but the afterburner sheet has a loadout section which isnt clear and it surgests a mixed load for 2003

so as i understand it,

the load i surgested is possible but not likley

more likley either harms on both wings or jdams not both

ok we shall see

ill open a wip section at some point as im about to start

thanks all for your help

[POL]

I would assume it's usually 2x HARM, rather than the 1x HARM and 1x training pod thingy: http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 1780577/L/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; & http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 1801143/L/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[markmarples]

I would assume it's usually 2x HARM, rather than the 1x HARM and 1x training pod thingy: http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 1780577/L/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; & http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 1801143/L/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks chris, both them photos have harms that are inert (i.e. training rounds) the blue stripe means its not live

i think your right though it may be either 2 harms or 2 jadams so i may save the jdams for the hornet

[POL]

Of course, I did try looking for some "live" aircraft, but I couldn't find any, Red Flag is the next best thing I suppose!