Juggernut

Hey Pete, what's the lower limit of BVR vs. heater range? Where does heater range stop and BVR begin if that makes sense? Not even sure if it's a hard number either.... I thought it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 11-15 miles but I ask because I just don't know. I know that at least one of the MiG kills in Desert Storm was done with an AIM-7 (probably more than one but don't have either my references or my memory handy at the moment). I think the guy I'm talking about is Steve Tate (1st FG F-15C driver; Capt. at the time if my memory isn't totally shot) and was flying CAP on the first night of the war. I have his account on video and I think he launched at a 15 mile range and saw the fireball at around 10-11 miles. Again, not entirely sure of the final distance. I'd definitely call that BVR; even when I was young and could test out better than 20/20, I don't know if I could've seen that jet at 11 miles and certainly not at night.

This from an Eaglekeeper albeit it's kind of dated: Tamiya F-15E/C Discrepancies (eaglekeepers notes) 1) Radome on the E does not have the Urethane boot on the tip (glossy portion on the C model) 2) ICS Antennas from the C, in between the blade Ant and aft of nose gear aft door on the underside of the nose replaced with flush mounted Ant. 3) HUD combining glass and fwd cockpit instrumentation and CRT differences from C to E. 4) the E Canopy framing has ECS ducting installed due too the increased need for more cooling air for the backseater and avionics. 5) Wing root anti-collision lights are smaller and set closer to the wing root on the E then the C. 6) Speedbrake is beefed-u[p and has a small indentation on the aft leading edge for a hand hold for manual raising of the speedbrake, also there should be no well for the speedbrake as on the real aircraft it lays flush on the skin of the airframe on all F-15's. 7) Just aft of the speedbrake there are 6 screens (three par side of the rectangular panel on the center line) this is the JFS (Jet Fuel Starter/ APU) chimney on the E, on the C there is one screen offset to the left for the JFS chimney, the panel in the middle is for additional avionics on the E. 8) The engine humps have additional doors to facilitate engine maintenance on the E as the C only has one for the engine forward mount and two for the aft mounts. 9) Rudders have an additional beef-up for the center hinge point on the E, this was being done to the C but through attrition. 10) A logo lite was installed at the base of the Vertical stab on the E not on the C. 11) the E model horizontal stab has a reinforcing strip ( sealant) raised line running along the leading edge dogtooth fairing mount, C models do not have this. 12) Stinger Ant or what we called nipples are of a different configuration from the C model to the E, references should be checked for the specific aircraft to be modeled. 13) All E models came from the factory with panel 128 removed, depending on time frame the A/C models these were not removed till 1991 after a mod was done. Nose to tail on the belly of the aircraft 14) Gun door has a bulge on the E referred to as the ext clip door, this was were we put our forms for the aircraft also access to the gundrum which the interior was modified from the D to E in having more avionics stuffed up inside of there as well. 15) Main forward Gear doors are bulged on the E for the beefed-up landing gear and increased hidth and width of the E model tires. 16) JFS exhaust no longer has the louver just a hollow pipe (aft of centerline pylon on the centerline of the aircraft) on the E model, C models were all modified with new JFS exhaust by 1994. 17) Engine bay panels modified so they could be drooped for engine maintenance without dropping the CFTs, the CFT's covered some of the engine bay panels on the C and we had to drop the CFT's anytime we had Engine maintenance. 18) there are two Engine Oil servicing doors on the forward engine bay panel on the E, one inboard and one outboard, the C had one. 19) Tail hook was extended down 2" from the bottom of the fuselage on the E to give more room for more avionics, the C models was flush to the fuselage. 20) Stab actuator panels reconfigured so limited stab maintenance could be done with CFT's installed including a small access panel for doing flight control trimming was installed, C model had unmodified panel as CFT's were hardly ever installed. And ofcourse more to add. 1)Nose and main struts are beefed up, thinker then the A/C struts. 2)Draglinks on both nose and mains are thicker with the drag springs larger in circumference (round spring looking things at hinge point on drag link used to help strut retract) 3) The bungee on the C model strut replaced with a rigid link on the E (thing that comes down and attaches to the draglink from the trunnion on the mains) this is what makes the strut rotate into the wheelwell when retracting. 4) Wheels (rims) on the E have a spacer on the mains for height and different internal for width, different rim overall. 5) The nose strut has a shimmer damper installed on the front to keep the heavily laden E model nose tire from oscillating on hi-speed taxies or take-off and landing (looks like a thick tube coming out of the strut). 6) The oleo is square I frame on the E in comparison to the rounded oleo on the C. 7) Nose tire is thicker on the E then the C. There are numerous other changes not noticeable on a model of 1/48 or 1/32, but you get the point. This is a pretty basic list but gives you some idea as to some of the changes to the E model, there are more panel differences but I would be typing all day with panel lists in front of me. I also have a list on the 1/32 Tamiya F-15C discrepencies if interested. Tamiya C model discrepancies 1) Forward Door on engine hump is not on a C model, C model only has one door for the Engine forward mount. 2) JFS Chimney vents aft of the speedbrake, E model has 6 (3 per side) split on the centerline by additional avionics carried by the E model (panel in the centerline is were this avionics goes). C models only have one vent, which is offset of the centerline, and the panel is not present. 3) Fuel dump not present on panel 113l/r and oil cooler vent not present on panel 95 l/r. 4) Saber Drains on panel 117l/r removed off all F-15’s due to their redundancy (would of saved me a nasty scar on my back if they had done this earlier) 5) Airframe patches on side of the intakes is not present on all aircraft, probably just the 78 model they used at Kadena. 6) AMAD bay cooling scoops (access panel aft of main gear well) was repositioned to inboard side of panel when the chafe/flare mods were installed on the aircraft (MISIP) to prevent the chafe from clogging the vent a causing an overheat condition. 7) Left engine bay access door should only have two latches on the trailing edge, kit has four, two extra’s on the leading edge of the door. 8) Ribbing? On the forward LAU-106 fuselage stations access doors should not be there. 9) Panel lines around the pitot probes should not be there ( this is from dirt on the pitot covers). 10) Under the left canopy hinge point is Panel 12, this should not have a beef-up patch, probably on the aircraft Tamiya used. 11) Beef-up on the rudder center hinge point should not be there or as pronounced as they have on the kit. 12) LVS bullet should be longer and larger in diameter then is in the kit. 13) Wing-root anti-collision lights should be larger and a bit more outboard, the ones in the kit are from the E model kit and reflect the E model. 14) C model Horizontal stabs do not have the reinforcement strips as on the E model’s , plus the hinge point just does not look correct, seems a little beefed-up there as well. 15) Struts provided are E model struts, most noticeable would be the oleo on the E which is square and the C which is round. Thus the wheels are E model though not as noticeable with the nose tire and wheel. 16) Main gear drag brace hinge springs are the larger type found on the E model although the strut diameter is larger then a C model strut not as noticeable on the model. The main wheels and tire are the E models as well. 17) Engine compressor face is from an E model with a –229 installed. 18) There should be no Circuit Breaker panels on the wall of the fuselage section in Bay 5 (left over from using the E model forward fuselage barrel), Both wall need to be scrapped and sanded smooth and ribbing added in its place.. 19) Screw post hole on the floor in bay 5 should be eliminated and smoothed over with a new wiring conduit in its place. 20) The Augmentor nozzles (Divergent seals should be 21” ) as pointed out by Bruce Radebaugh, 21) The Tail stinger antennae (“nipples”) are of the wrong shape, but different antennas were installed on different aircraft at one time or another so check reverences on this one. 22) They even got the chalk ropes incorrect, they should be laced, one rope per chalk and laced into the other in a slot cut into one end. The way they show you is for EOR (End of Runway or Quick check) 23) There are some more dealing with panel set up but would take allot more time for that.

I remember “chatting” with an F-14 pilot during one of the Commander’s day air shows (right after Desert Storm) and all the Eagles with kill markings were there and this poor guy tried in vain to convince me that the Tomcat was better than the Eagle. Even the F-15E’s were there with their mission markings. Quite an impressive display of USAF power. Anyway he culminated our conversation with the claim that he got a kill on an F-15 at 35 miles. I said “that’s impressive” and tactfully declined to ask how many times he ended up a virtual smoking hole. Having said that, the Tomcat crew did put on a really good show when it was their turn. Can’t even venture a guess as to who’d prevail in a 15 vs. 16 ACM but my best guess is it would come down to the pilots. Strange though I never got the chance to talk with any of the “Ego-drivers” from the Eglin or Langley MiG killers.

Yep, with a 1/32 scale length of about 25.5 inches (624 mm) and a wingspan of 30 inches (762 mm) the G4M is a large airframe. A little bigger than a 1/32 B-25 but much more portly in the fuselage.

Still widely available: https://spruebrothers.com/zkmk29486-1-48-zoukei-mura-f-4c-phantom-ii/ https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Model_Aircraft/f-4c-phantom-ii/ZKM0SWS4806/product.php?s=0&t=0&u=0&micr=147&pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber_a&so=d&era=0,7&sc=48&man=ZKM

Yes, the Tamiya kit is, in my humble opinion, one of the best 1/48 F-16's on the market. There are at least three different versions to choose from, the F-16CJ (block 50), the F-16C Air National Guard version and the F-16C Aggressor kits. Having said that, they are not inexpensive so while they're great kits to build, you'll have to decide whether the cost justifies the purchase given that it's a first model. There are less expensive but comparable kits of that airplane on the market. The Hasegawa F-16C kit is decent from what I remember of it and is relatively inexpensive. Academy also makes a 1/48 scale inexpensive F-16 but I do not have any information about how it goes together suffice to say that other Academy kits are relatively easy to assemble but not the most accurate kits available. I guess it amounts to what you want to spend on a first kit.

Hmmm...I'd like an Ohka (Cherry Blossom). I had the HpH kit but sold it awhile back as I'm not a fan of resin kits. I hope this one is injection molded styrene.

Ah, I get it.... Cheeky bastage.

So tell me, what exactly is wrong with the Tamiya 1/32 P-51K?

Decals purchased, thanks!

...and has been known by many aliases in years past.

You may already know this and if so, please disregard this post. If you’re going to model a WWII aircraft, don’t use the metal colors on the wings top or bottom- with exception of the landing gear access panel on the top and the fuel tank panels on the wing bottom. By and large and with very few exceptions of the paint being stripped, wings were painted in a top coat of silver paint. Control surfaces (ailerons and flaps) were metal. Of course this doesn’t apply if you’ll be painting the fuselage and wings with RAF Dark Green or Olive Drab. Note, I intentionally omitted discussion about wing panel lines, primer, and filler… it’s not really pertinent and there’s discussions on this in other places on these forums.

My B-17E/F kit doesn’t have a chin turret as I recall or the proper upper turret glass for the 17G, early or late.

If you have access to Adobe Illustrator or the like, you can make your own stencil by just drawing white lines through the numbers in a manner that replicates what you see. You may even be able to do this with a word processing program. YEP, MS Word will do what you need, I used the PreussischeIV44Ausgabe3 font and took a WAG at creating a stencil:

According to my reference, The Bristol Beaufighter, A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeler, by Richard A. Franks, The Mk If (F is for fighter command) was replaced by the Mk VIf long before 1944 and even though some may have soldiered on in various ancilliary roles, by the time D-Day rolled around, the Mk X was in service. My best answer, based on the aforementioned text, is no, the Beaufighter Mk If did not see service on D-Day and would not have D-Day stripes.

Happens to the best of the old-time hobby/toy stores. The one in Massachusetts I remember (from visiting my Grandparents in Northampton, MA) was HL Childs & Sons... They had EVERYTHING anyone could ever want as far as toys and hobbies were concerned (boys and girls). It was one of those old-time stores with trains running in the windows at Christmas and was a childhood nirvana. I can't remember when it closed but it was in the 1980's or early 90's. As an adult, I remember driving down to State Street expecting to have a trip down memory lane (and see what goodies they had) only to discover the building was empty, dark and lifeless.... I was really disappointed.

After reading this topic, I disassembled my Iwata HP-CH (at least I think that’s what it is) and my nozzle, both the brass part and the silver colored needle orifice were clogged with goo… it was almost as if it had fibers within the glop. It took me awhile to clean it but the lacquer thinner did the trick and not knowing which size needle I have (there’s no information on what size nozzle it came with anywhere) I twisted up some 0.005 in. (0.13 mm) wire and carefully ran it through the nozzle. I must have a 0.3 mm needle as the twisted copper wire wouldn’t have fit through a 0.2 mm nozzle. Anyway, I sprayed some Tamiya paint and it worked just as it’s supposed to with very small deflection of the needle to get paint flow. So thanks for all the discussion, it probably saved me some trouble.

I just picked up this kit for a similar project.

Yep, as I thought, the wing racks are perpendicular to the ground. The angle between the wing dihedral and the vertical axis through the rack gives the impression that they're canted inward but they're not.

LOL...A very subjective question and depending on the crowd, can degenerate into a fist-fight pretty quick. However, I use an old, long out of production Floquil enamel RAF Sky. I also have the representative Tamiya color (I think it may be XF-21) among others.

Laterally or longitudinally?

Got a link? I searched in vain for Micro-Mesh but all I ever found were resellers of various specialties.

Nice! I did the 1/48 Tamiya version after missing out on the 1/32 Revell offering.

Ok, I just opened up the B-17G -4 (parts catalog) and if someone has access to the B-17G blue prints, the p/n's for the waist windows are as follows: L/H Sliding (Panel Assembly): 15-7573-1 L/H Enclosed (Window, Waist): 15-11640-2 R/H Sliding (Panel Assembly): 15-7573-2 R/H Enclosed (Window, Waist): 15-11644-2 After further examination of the UAL mod center print, it appears that the metal portion of the window, extends further down the window opening. So, the difference may be from top to bottom.

Totally get that....