1:48 F-16C Block 42 from 2006 cockpit 3D-Printed

The cockpit of the F-16C Block 42 from 2006 in 1:48 scale

The set brings a 3D printed cockpit for a model of the American aircraft F-16C Block 42 in 1:48 scale from the Czech manufacturer Eduard. The name states that it is the form matching the period from 2006 onward. It is not a kit of the airplane but an accessory with which the cockpit made of plastic parts is replaced. The manufacturer also makes a version for the period up to 2005 alongside it, so you choose according to the time in which your machine flew.

The real subject

The F-16 has served with a number of air forces for decades and has been modernized repeatedly over that time. Block 42 is one of the versions of the single-seat F-16C; machines from this series stayed in service long enough for their equipment to change several times over. That is noticed fastest precisely in the cockpit, where the displays, the controls and the layout of the panels all change. For a modeler it means that the form of the interior is tied to a period, not only to the type, and that one therefore chooses according to the particular machine and the time one wants to capture.

Building and painting tips

Try the seating dry and sand the mating surfaces carefully if need be, so that the canopy will close. Degrease the parts and spray them with primer, then apply the base shade of the interior and finish the details with a fine brush; a dark wash and a lighter dry brush on the edges will give depth. Super glue holds even where plastic glue will not take. Finish the cockpit before you close the fuselage up, because afterwards you will not get inside.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the F-16C Block 42 in 1:48 scale
• Modelers building the machine in its form from 2006 onward
• Builders making it with the canopy open
• More experienced modelers used to completing an interior