Marcel111

Chuck, my point was to make you aware that the instrumentation pod is substantially longer than an Aim-9, in the event that you were not aware of this already. I tried long and hard to find the exact lengths of these pods but couldn't find anything online, so the issue is top of mind. The pod on your Hornet drew my attention since it looks relatively short judging by how far back it extends beyond the pylon, but this is speculation on my part. Anyhow, looks like you're all over this. Cheers, Marcel

Beautiful, clean work as always, Chuck! One thing, I believe the ACMI pods are somewhat longer than Aim-9's. Notice that they extend substantially behind the pylon, while Aim-9's are flush at the back with respect to the pylon. It's hard to find plan view pics that show this well, maybe this one helps. Also, even though this is a somewhat older ACMI pod, I believe the dimensions (relative to your pod) are the same: Compare Aim-9 length to ACMI pod length, especially as they protrude (or not) beyond the pylon at the back. Cheers, Marcel

Ok so this will obviously be a 1/32 F-22 with weapons bays opening/closing via HK's new App... which btw also enables you to turn on your air-compressor while on vacation in Hawaii (assuming we have opted for the $799 connectivity upgrade for our compressors). Marcel PS Word on the street is that there will soon be a premium version of the App which will enable canopy opening/closing and, possibly, a jet fuel smell simulation. But those are just rumors...

Nice start, and you are one brave man!

Just wow! The riveting is perfect!

Hello Chris, I didn't break any of the Aim-120 fins but did just break off the tip of a Aim-9M fin of yours that I was constructing in the same batch (no biggie since I bought such a huge supply of your Aim-9's :-) ). Having a spare would also just reduce the anxiety levels since losing small parts is also always a risk. But kudos to the resin, the parts have remarkable strength considering how thin they are. Cheer, Marcel

The F110 is in! Looks like this aircraft did some strafing practice before it got transferred out of Korea (ref. pic above), so I had to add some soot around the muzzle too: Here is the completed CUBIC pod: And this one is done too... I actually redid this one entirely: Cheers, Marcel

Hello Tel, you can source decals from Two Bobs (note that blue bands are too dark though). There are also Aim-120 decals in a number of kits e.g. Trumpeter Superhornets, Academy Vipers. Cheers, Marcel

Thx Steve, the AIM-9X is also from Zacto, the ACMI pod is made from 4mm styrene rod and a resin nose (can’t remember from which manufacturer). Cheers, Marcel

Wow, those JL-100's look so good! Incomparable to the kit versions. Marcel

Hi guys, Chris express shipped a pair of these beauties over to me as soon as they were released, huge thanks. The Academy/Cutting Edge hybrids I had on my F-16C before were the weak point of the model so I am really happy that I could replace them. No other Aim-120's come close. I had also bought the Eduard Brassin Aim-120 set. These are very nicely cast but they have a separate and it seems deliberately oversized nose. That can be easily sanded down but still. Also, they seem to taper excessively at the back end. The Zacto versions are perfect in every way to the extent that the wings almost fit into their locations without glue. The slight mold mark shown on another review are invisible if the missiles are mounted on pylons (that's no accident, I'm sure), I didn't bother to do anything about those. My only improvement suggestion is to include five wings for each of the forward and rear sets. They are very thin (great!) and can therefore easily be broken, so an attrition replacement would be nice. I used decals from the AFV Club F-16B kit and used a very light wash. Note the blue bands are far lighter than the blue bands on the Aim-9X and ACMI pod... the latter are unfortunately decals which are too dark. Cheers, Marcel

Love the look of that, will be purchasing the D for sure. Thx for sharing! Marcel

Wow, those do look incredible and at that price they are practically giving them away :-/ I will definitely be ordering a set.

Just inspirational work, wow! Marcel

Having done an F-4S, I would recommend using the above drawing, scaling it to the relevant dimension (you can use the tip to tip measurement as a reference) and then using that as a template to cut the strap out of plastic card. Getting such a large and very thin resin part to locate perfectly and without breaking it is a challenge, at least for me. Cheers, Marcel