f 16 modelmaker 1

 nedvlag  Nederlandse lezers vinden hier de recensie.... 

 

ModelMaker decals:  Netherlands F-16 NTM 2018 decalset

Setnumber:   48165
Scale:   1/48 (1/72)
Price:   EUR 16,50

Not so long on the market, this Polish manufacturer, but in a short time Modelmaker has established a respectable product range of decal sets, Photo Etch sets, resin parts, masks, but also complete models. The scales range from 1/24 to 1/144 with everything in between.

My interest was piqued when suddenly a number of Royal Air Force F-16 sets were released. That is certainly not common and there were some interesting subjects including this one of the J-882, two-seater, with the tiger tail of 65 years 313 squadron. The second option is the J-646 also from 313 squadron, with the small round tiger emblem on the tail. The set consists of two decal sheets and for each version a manual where the decals should be placed.
The choice for the J-882 is a bit logic because the aircraft with this tail was present at the Tiger Meet in Poland (Poznan Air Base) in May 2018. By the way, the J-882 was a busy bee and has flown with almost every squadron. It has since been removed from the strength and has been in storage at SABCA since January 23, 2023. The J-646 also made its squadron rounds, mainly with 311 and 312 squadron. This has also been in storage at SABCA in Belgium since February 10, 2023. (Information F-16 database – F16.net))

It took me some effort to figure out how to use the set until I noticed that the number of the sheet didn't match the set. I couldn't quite determine whether it was possible to build both of the proposed versions that the set represents. Unfortunately not, although it seems so. In the end, however, you run out of decals and things just don't work out. The joke or trick lies in the fact that they use the same D48163 set for all KLu F-16 sets. So you're missing decals and you have left overs!

The standard set D48163 is screen printed in my opinion and looks good. I have some doubts about the rosettes, it looks like the red and blue are slightly printed on top of each other, but the use of this blue background can give that effect, also the somewhat harsh colors of the red/white/blue can be the cause of this. In actual use, it will have to be seen how that they actually. I thought it a bit of a shame to try out the decals without actually building a model and the Kinetic F16 is on the shelf.
The sheet with the beautiful tail art is an FC print. A fairly new way of printing, which in principle does not have to be inferior to other printing processes. The set is also available in 1/72.

Conclusion
It might be a bit odd that a Polish producer publishes dutch subjects, but it's certainly nice for us that they do it. Dutch Decal won't be releasing them now, so for these specific models you have to rely on ModelMaker, which certainly shouldn't be a problem because the decals will look good. And it is a two-seater, which is not built that much, however, it should belong in an F-16 collection! (My opinion). In this more or less farewell year of the F-16, the set is certainly a nice addition to the range of F-16 decals.

REVIEWER:  Fred Bachofner    

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this article was published December 2023 by the IPMS.NL webmaster M. de Vreeze