Next up - Viper

[heywooood]

I have been doing this a while now so getting the pieces lined up and glued together is not a problem.
I use a medium viscosity cya adhesive along the seam then press and hold - once it is together I paint the outside of the seam with Tamiya liquid cement..it essentially erases the seam.
Then a light sanding with fine sandpaper when its dry and you are ready for paint.
I had considered buying a full size 1/32 scale pilot (1/24 would not have fit into the cramped cockpit) but the least expensive one was going to be more money than I could justify spending and little pilot busts are easy to fit
in plus - you cant really tell its not a full figure unless you look in there

[heywooood]

So the progress is slow but steady. I have created some of the aircraft markings but still have a ways to go.
And I am still working on the aux. fuel tanks and hard points.

[woundedbear]

Way to go heywooood! Looking good and a little I am currently looking at some carbon fiber tubes on eBay that are of small diameter 2 mm. up to 8 mm. to use, to hopefully make some scale, functional oleo strut landing gears. I have often read about how carbon fiber is lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel I don't know we'll see Trying to figure out which tubes will fit into the other and have room to slide in and out is difficult for a math flunky like myself."you know the whole telescoping thing". Maybe aluminum tubing from K&S would do a better job

[heywooood]

I would not be able to select the right tubing without having a brick n mortar store to walk into and physically check and compare the tubing by hand.
Fortunately I have a great hobby shop close by that I can do just that.
I have made working suspension in a model using aluminum tubing and the springs from a ball point pen, it can work well enough but I soon realized that, for a display model that just sits on a shelf or hangs from a ceiling its
really kind of a wasted effort. It is a decent challenge though - to get the stance right and ensure the simulated oleo strut has the correct length and travel...but it is kind of a waste of effort in all other regards.
If you are building a flyer it might be a challenge not only to make it work but to make it strong enough to endure repeated landings...

[Bill Gaylord]

Nice job on the F16!

Way to go heywooood! Looking good and a little I am currently looking at some carbon fiber tubes on eBay that are of small diameter 2 mm. up to 8 mm. to use, to hopefully make some scale, functional oleo strut landing gears. I have often read about how carbon fiber is lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel I don't know we'll see Trying to figure out which tubes will fit into the other and have room to slide in and out is difficult for a math flunky like myself."you know the whole telescoping thing". Maybe aluminum tubing from K&S would do a better job

A few nice things abouk K&S tubing are that it cuts easily, has telescopic sizes, and doesn't fray at the ends while also being easy to drill. I use it for spring slide latches regularly, using a spring inside two telescoping sizes. If you use CF, you can always glue aluminum tubing rings around the ends, to keep it from cracking, as well as creating an area that can be drilled for mounting axles.