F-104 1/32 "Catamaran" belly Aim-9 launcher?

[Warbird]

Hi All,

 

Does anyone know if they have ever been produced in 1/32? I searched everywhere without sucess.

 

Italeri is only providing the Italian specific ones.

 

Tristan 

[Tony T]

DACO made both NATO and JASDF style Catamaran 'winder launchers in 1/48.

It might be worthwhile scratching one based on that item plus drawings if anyone has any to post here.

The Starfighter looked good with four AIM-9s (catamaran pair + one under each wing) plus wing tip tanks. 

 

Tony 

 

[Zola25]

It is in the 1/32 Hasegawa kit - in a very plain version

 

/Niels

[Dave Williams]

The parts are actually in the kits.  You use kit parts 42C and 43C, which are marked not for use in the G/S and RF kits.  These are the small “arms” that go across the belly and attach to the pylons.  Combine them with parts 44C and 45C, the pylons, and 8B and 9B, the Red Dog rails.  Note that there are only two Red Dog rails in the kits, so you can either use them on the belly, or on the wingtips, but not both.

 

You can see the parts use in the A/C kit in steps 24 and 25.

 

https://www.super-hobby.com/products/F-104-A-C-Starfighter-34377588.html

 

[Warbird]

2 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

The parts are actually in the kits.  You use kit parts 42C and 43C, which are marked not for use in the G/S and RF kits.  These are the small “arms” that go across the belly and attach to the pylons.  Combine them with parts 44C and 45C, the pylons, and 8B and 9B, the Red Dog rails.  Note that there are only two Red Dog rails in the kits, so you can either use them on the belly, or on the wingtips, but not both.

 

You can see the parts use in the A/C kit in steps 24 and 25.

 

https://www.super-hobby.com/products/F-104-A-C-Starfighter-34377588.html

 

Hi Dave,

 

Actually the parts are not appropriate for a Nato 104. Neither the pylons nor the launchers (which should be  Aero 3Bs) are the good ones. And the arms looks suspicious to say the least.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Warbird
mistake

[Dave Williams]

1 hour ago, Warbird said:

Hi Dave,

 

Actually the parts are not appropriate for a Nato 104. Neither the pylons nor the launchers (which should be  Aero 3Bs) are the good ones. And the arms looks suspicious to say the least.

 

 

Ah, you didn’t mention you wanted the NATO catamaran launcher.  I assumed you wanted the US/Japanese Red Dog catamaran launcher.

[Warbird]

1 hour ago, Dave Williams said:

Ah, you didn’t mention you wanted the NATO catamaran launcher.  I assumed you wanted the US/Japanese Red Dog catamaran launcher.

I'm builing a KLU 104 - Sorry I didn't know US had a different one than NATO. It's a pity Italeri omited that in their G/S box.

[dmthamade]

When i did a Luftwaffe Zip with 'winders on the belly, i scratch built the pylons and used two rails from a Tamiya F-4C/D kit, modified. It is really odd there are no NATO launchers included.

 

They turned out good enough for me, someone more skilled should be able to do these simply enough.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by dmthamade

[iaf-man]

13 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

Ah, you didn’t mention you wanted the NATO catamaran launcher.  I assumed you wanted the US/Japanese Red Dog catamaran launcher.

Flying Leatherneck have 6 LAU-7 launchers for different aircraft/periods.for the life of me-I can't tell the difference,they all look alike 

https://www.flyingleathernecksdecals.com/c/132-resin

same case here?

[Cheetah11]

 

I think this is the one you are looking for. I scratch build mine for the Hasegawa F-104.

 

[scvrobeson]

Wouldn't surprise me if someone like Videoaviation or DACO did one for the Euro birds.

 

 

 

Matt 

[Chek]

I understand this type of launcher was mainly confined to display aircraft and almost never used operationally.

It's not difficult to envisage the amount of dirt and spray that would be thrown up all over the Sidewinder seeker heads.

Maybe not so much an issue in California, but way more so in rainy Europe.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Chek

[jenshb]

44 minutes ago, Chek said:

I understand this type of launcher was mainly confined to display aircraft and almost never used operationally.

It's not difficult to envisage the amount of dirt and spray that would be thrown up all over the Sodewinder seeker heads.

Maybe not so much an issue in California, but way more so in rainy Europe.

The catamaran configuration gave less drag for supersonic intercepts, so it was certainly used operationally.  When fitting the same launch rails on the wing pylons (not wingtips), that configuration gave less drag for subsonic intercepts.