Kinetic F-16DG/DJ - Block 40/50 USAF Viper
48005

Manufacturer: Kinetic	Parts: 18 gray and 1 clear sprue, 1 clear canopy, 2 Fuselage parts, 1 Nose cone.
Kit No: 48005	Panel lines: Engraved.
Scale: 1/48th	Cockpit: Raised.
Type: Injection Molded.	Decal options: 2
Decal option 1: F-16DJ Block-50, 91-462, 35th FW, PACAF, USAF, Misawa AB, Japan.
Decal option 2: F-16DG Block 40, 90-800, 555th FS, USAFE, Aviano AB, Italy.

Review: This is the Kinetic 1/48 F-16DG /DJ Block 40/50 which was released late 2008. When you open the top opening box you will find a box full of plastic, 450+ parts, which is more than a 1/32 F-16. in total 7 bags of Sprues. Further included is a decal sheet for the 2 options and a sheet for all the weapon stenciling. There is also a large A-4 instruction sheet which is very clear to follow and a full color sheet for the decal placement. The 2 decal options are for A F-16DJ Block 50 and a F-16DG Block 40, both USAF aircraft, the colour instruction makes you paint both F-16's in the 3 tone gray scheme, but that is wrong it has to be the two-tone version. for exact references you may check it at F-16.NET. paint numbers are for the Mr Color range.

Like almost every kit construction starts with the Cockpit and continues with the air inlet and the main wheel bay. The inlet is complete for a excellent see through effect. The Cockpit has to be placed on the upper part of the fuselage (which has a front and a back part for a single or a double seat option, only the double seat version is included), and the Main wheel well has to be placed in the lower part after adding the airbrakes and the hubs for the tailplanes you can close up the upper and the lower half of the fuselage, which also includes the wings, which is in my opinion the best way to construct a F-16 Kit, because you get a perfect fit for the wings. Next you will continue with the front part of the inlet and the front wheelbay, the mainwheel landing gears and doors, the engine and the tailplanes. Be very carefull with the nice thin static dischargers on the wings and the tailplanes, which can easily break off. Next is the tailfin. Finaly the very nice Ejection seat and the canopy framing is added and the F-16 is completed.

The Next nine steps are for the fuel tanks and the weapens. The kit includes a very large choice of weapens you may include on your model, The AN/AAQ-28 Lightning AT is not included on the instruction sheet.
1x 300 Gallon Centerline tank
2x 370 Gallon fuel tanks
2x GBU-24
2x AGM65 Maverick
2x AGM-88 HARM
2x GBU-31 JDAM
2x TER (triple ejection rack)
4x AIM-120B AMRAAM
4x AIM-120C AMRAAM
4x AIM-9M Sidewinder
4x AIM-9X Sidewinder
4x GBU-38 JDAM
4x GBU-12
4x Mk.82 GP
4x GBU-87
1x ALQ 131
1x ALQ-184
1x AN/AAQ-13
1x AN/AAQ-14
1x AN/AAQ-28 Lightning AT
2x RH AN/ASQ-213 HARM system
1x LH AN/ASQ-213 HARM System
1x Sniper XR
4x LAU-114 Launcher
4x LAU-129 Launcher
2x FOTD (fiber-optic towed device)
You can go all the way to make a heavy armed F-16, but, check your own references to create a realistic weapon loadout.

The final conclusion about this kit is that it looks very very promising, there are some issues about the nose section which seems not be be 100% correct. For the rest, the cockpit detail is raised, nice on the sidepanels, but the main instrument panelslook very poor, and there will hopefully be a replacement set out from a aftermarked manufactor pretty soon. the panellines are very nice, but there might be a bit too much of rivits / fastners at some places. the main thing that bothers me with this kit is that there are a few very nasty ejection pins which have to be removed, the most anoying ones are on the inside of the inlet.
A very positive thing about this kit is that there is a very huge choice of weapons included and a full stenciling.
The only other F-16D there is, is from Hasegawa and might be a bit hard to find. so this F-16 DJ / DG kit is a very welcome addition.

Niels Dol