Academy 1/72 USAF F-16A

HISTORY

The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973. Its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, on 2 February 1974. Its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. While gathering speed, a roll-control oscillation caused a fin of the port-side wingtip-mounted missile and then the starboard stabilator to scrape the ground, and the aircraft then began to veer off the runway. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, safely landing six minutes later. The slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time. The YF-16's first supersonic flight was accomplished on 5 February 1974, and the second YF-16 prototype first flew on 9 May 1974. This was followed by the first flights of Northrop's YF-17 prototypes on 9 June and 21 August 1974, respectively. During the flyoff, the YF-16s completed 330 sorties for a total of 417 flight hours; the YF-17s flew 288 sorties, covering 345 hours. Both prototypes were retired from flying status in 1979 and are still extant at museums in the US.

First thing to mention is that the box title is incorrect. This is a YF-16 and the instructions even state that so if you think you are getting a production F-16A in the kit, you are not. Is this important? Not if you want a prototype. However there is a major difference between the prototype, which did not have a radar, and a production aircraft. As you might have guessed, it is the profile of the nose forward of the cockpit, which was quite pointed on the prototype.

The kit is quite simplified and in some ways a bit crude. The cockpit has a floor, seat, and instrument panel which uses a decal. Fuselage is an upper and lower half, typical of ever F-16 kit I've ever built. Wings, tailplanes and fin are single pieces with the wings already having holes for the pylons drilled out. The intake in three pieces with the nose gear well molded in each half.

Landing gear is quite simple with a single piece nose gear/wheel and main gear with a single retraction strut on each side. The prototype had a two piece nose gear door and this is provided though it needs to be cut. The things under wings are a joke. The wingtip sidewinders are just shapes and should be replaced. The inner pylons have LGBs and not fuel tanks, which is the norm for F-16s. A pair of ECM pods with built in antennas fit on the outer holes. A totally inaccurate centerline fuel tank is provided. I'd highly recommend filling in all the mounting holes as the prototypes frequently flew without any external stores.

Instructions are adequate, though no painting information is provided for the cockpit or gear wells. The small decal sheet is not very sharp but basically covers it as the real deal was light on stencils. This serial is for the second prototype which was painted in a very nice looking two tone grey/blue-grey disruptive pattern. Notice from the image that the camouflage is a wrap around, something that is not obvious from the box art or the poor painting guide. This is basically the same on the underside as on the top. Caracal decals did a sheet on prototype/preproduction F-16s that would be useful. 

Unless you want a prototype YF-16 in 1/72, I'd go with something else. On the flip side, this kit, thanks to its minimal parts count, would be good for a child who is ready to graduate from snap kits.  

Wikipedia

September 2025

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