I noticed those differences back in the day as well; I had the F16 also as well as the F4 Phantom.

I highly suspect, as these things often go, the catalog photos are of the initial prototype models, which sometimes may have custom made items. In this case, those pod nose cones and tail cones were not a stock Centuri item and would have to have injection molds made for them. In the case of these fighter jet kits, the final design of the pod nose and tail cones were a little different than the rather simply (and identical) nose and tail cones of the prototypes that were photographed for the catalog.

Earl

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Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970