COBI F-16C Fighting Falcon Set 5910 (Damaged Box)

COBI's F-16C Fighting Falcon is a 1:48 model built from 463 blocks, 31 cm long, produced under licence from Lockheed Martin in Polish Air Force colours. AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder and AGM-65 Maverick missiles are included, along with a pilot figure with Polish Air Force patches, a display stand and a plate with the Polish chequerboard and the US flag. All markings are printed; no stickers. This is the revised version with corrected armament and a lighter paint scheme.

Condition

This set is sold at a reduced price because the outer box is damaged — it may have holes, creases or crushed corners. The contents are brand new, sealed and complete. If you are building the model rather than collecting sealed boxes, the only difference is the price.

The decision of the century

That is what the Polish press called it at the time, and the phrase stuck.

On 18 April 2003 Poland signed for 48 F-16s — 36 single-seat C and 12 two-seat D — the largest arms purchase in the country's history and a choice between American, French and Swedish offers that was as much political as technical. Poland had joined NATO four years earlier and was flying Soviet aircraft.

The first Polish F-16 flew at Fort Worth in March 2006 and the first four arrived in November that year. The aircraft were named Jastrząb — hawk — and they remain the backbone of Polish air defence, flying Baltic Air Policing rotations and NATO exercises.

The significance was not only the hardware. Buying American fighters meant rebuilding an entire air force around Western logistics, training, weapons, maintenance and language, which took years and could not be undone.

In the COBI range

Set 5913 is the Norwegian F-16AM, 5914 the two-seat F-16D, and 5892 the YF-16 prototype.

Specifications

Pieces: 463 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:48 · Licensed by Lockheed Martin · No stickers
Model dimensions: 31 × 22.5 × 11.5 cm (12.2 × 8.9 × 4.5 in)
Condition: new and sealed, outer box damaged