After the respray, I decide to back off on the weathering I had in mind and moved onto the decals and final assembly.
I’m using decals from the latest IPMS Canada decal sheet. In this case, a set is designed for a CF-5. This will work well for the time period and role I want for the aircraft.
The decals went down very well with the exception of one that decided to wrap around my finger and tear. Fortunately, it is one I describe as optional. The landing gear and gear doors were then added and the masking for the canopy was removed. The canopy was pre-tinted and meant as I predicted not much detail in the cockpit would be seen.
This was the final step and I’m pleased with the result. It was mean to be a simple build of an older kit with not a lot of time spent on correcting any errors or adding detail. This would not be a contest winner but that was not its role.
Backstory:
In the late ’70s the CAF had decided to accelerate a replacement for the CF-104 Starfighter which although having an average loss ratio due to accidents had some shortcomings which the CAF wanted to solve in order to enhance its NATO Commitments in Europe.
Several aircraft were starting to be looked at by various manufactures. One project from General Dynamics caught the eye of defence planners in particular. The F-16XL was a technology demonstration and was being planned to enter the Enhanced Tactical Fighter competition in the USAF.
Several of the benefits of the F16-XL included greater payloads and longer ranges were attributes that defence planners were looking for. Even though the USAF did not seem that interested, the Canadian Government entered into an agreement to purchase several units for testing with an option to purchase more for full squadron deployments.
This aircraft depicts the first CF116-XL assigned to 421 Squadron for testing and evaluation.
