Kinetic has surprised and delighted many modellers with its announcement of a newly tooled 1/48 F-16A Fighting Falcon, which represents a quantum leap in quality over its previous offerings of the type.
Asian manufacturer Kinetic first produced a 1/48 F-16 in 2008, and subsequently tweaked it to offer different variants. However, its forthcoming F-16A MLU NATO Viper (48100) highlights just how far the company has come in just 14 years, regarding quality and design.
This new generation tooling depicts a Block 20 airframe after the NATO-wide Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) programme. Kinetic says it features an accurate shape based on General Dynamics documents, and it comes with stunning Cartograf-printed decals for Belgian, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch airframes – including examples deployed to Estonia (as part of Air Policing Baltic States operations) – and Afghanistan (in support of NATO ops). It also introduces the firm’s all-new MagFire stores attachment system, which employs small magnets to allow ordnance to be swapped easily; no more awkward locating pins!
As the accompanying CAD images attest, the detail looks first rate, from the busy main undercarriage bay to the well-appointed cockpit. Kinetic’s practice of offering a wide selection of weapons continues, with the following included: AIM-9X Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-88 HARM missiles, GBU-24 Paveway II, GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II and GBU-31 JDAM bombs, and a LANTIRN targeting pod. Subsequent boxings will include markings for Portuguese, Romanian and Italian Vipers, and a Block 15 Air Defense Fighter variant is also in the pipeline. Kinetic’s F-16A MLU NATO Viper is set to retail for US$39.99; further information is available via: www.luckymodel.com
• Note that Kinetic is also planning to re-work its older 1/48 F-16F Block 60 to provide an F-16E/F ‘Desert Viper’, with new decals; this variant being flown by the United Arab Emirates
