mrvark

The photo in this article labeled Bomba a caduta libera non frenata MK.83 "Low Drag" da 460 Kg. is actually a 500-lb Mk 82 fitted with a Mk 15 Snakeye high drag fin.

The reason it was mounted on the fuel tank is because there is no internal room for it in the fuselage, unless you'd be willing to give up the gun...

I agree with all of the above. Here's a couple of other tidbits that you may find helpful: It's easy to tell 250-lb. Mk 81 Snakeyes from 500-lb. Mk 82 Snakeyes: The Mk 14 fin used by the Mk 81 lacked the 'notch' in the fin found on the Mk 15 fin used by the Mk 82. So, all the photos in the first post above are Mk 81s. For 250-lb Mk 81, 500-lb. Mk 82 and 1,000-lb Mk 83 warheads were authorized with optional 18 or 36-inch fuze-extenders (daisy-cutters). The Mk 81 and Mk 82 could be fitted with either low-drag conical or high-drag Snakeye fins. The Mk 83 and 2,000-lb. Mk 84 were only fitted with conical fins. Gerry points out that the MAU-91 was used as a high drag fin on the Mk 83. That is true, but I can't prove or disprove if it was used by the Scooter. For that matter, I don't recall having seen pictures of any kind of Mk 83 being used operationally. A-4 outboard wing stations could only carry parent-mounted stores (i.e., no MERs/TERs). Mk 81s could be: 1) Parent-mounted to all five stations, 2) TER-mounted with three on the centerline and inboard pylons, 3) MER-mounted with all six racks loaded on the centerline station and all but the front inboard racks loaded on the inboard stations. Mk 82s could be: 1) Parent-mounted to all five stations, 2) TER-mounted with three on the centerline and only the bottom and outboard stations on the inboard pylons (slant-two), 3) MER-mounted with the front bottom and aft shoulder racks loaded on the centerline station and front bottom, aft inboard and front outboard racks loaded on the inboard stations. Mk 83s could be: 1) Parent-mounted on the centerline and inboard wing stations, 2) TER-mounted with three on the centerline (on the centerline, only 18-inch fuze extenders could be optionally fitted). A single Mk 84 could be carried on the centerline station and only 18-inch optional fuze extenders could be fitted.

How about one with the mask on?

RESKIT makes these in three scales and helpfully note which aircraft they're used on, but not which bombs they can carry. But, he's a pretty friendly guy, so you might ask... info@reskit.com.ua

It would help to know the kit number. Also, if they're in the office, Aires will probably email you a pdf of the instructions.

Has anyone received replacement parts from Platz? If so, how did you do it and roughly how long did it take for the parts to arrive?

From the responses above, it should be clear that the six-store MERs are a non-player, the Mk 82s were carried 'slant-two' on three-store TERs. Some Mavericks were carried on the LAU-88 triple rail launchers during the 1991 Gulf War. Currently, they are carried on LAU-117 single rail launchers.

The leading edge flaps were retracted, so there was no detail of the actuators to be seen.

Yes

Back in June 2001 I was able to take a ton of detail photos of the X-32 in its hover configuration. From a quick look at the photos, the intake was removed from inches in front of the NLG well, creating a blunt front end . All of the landing gear doors were removed. In addition, a 'box' was added to the bottom of the fuselage to trap exhaust and create additional lift. There was an excellent 2-hr documentary done several years ago. I can't remember if it was Nova or the History channel (I think the former) that did a pretty good job of explaining what the fly-off was examining. The X-35 with its swiveling exhaust and lift fan (a la Yak-141) was promising, but unproven. The X-32 's lift mechanism was based on the AV-8's configuration was more of a known quantity, and seen as a fallback if the X-35 flopped. The 'box' I refer to above basically duplicated the area on the bottom of the Harrier defined by the large strakes or gun pods on the sides and landing gear on the front and rear. A similar configuration would have been used on the X-32 had it gone into production.

Earlier jets were retrofitted between July 2006 & May 2012.

I'm surprised that he failed to mention only moving the stick fore and aft in the landing pattern because of adverse yaw--all the turning was done with rudder. As far a structure goes, walking across the wing of an F-4 is like walking across the parking lot--no give at all. I had the opportunity to walk on the wing of an F-15 and immediately started looking around to see if I was in a "NO STEP" area! It felt like walking on a styrofoam egg carton! Don't know what the Raptor is like, but you can bet the structures folks didn't use one ounce of material more than needed to meet the requirements.

They look nice, Dave!

Wolfpack makes the A/A42R-1 Air Refueling Store in both 1:72 & 1:48, but not in 1:32. https://store.spruebrothers.com/searchresults.asp?Search=A%2FA42R-1&Submit= The nose Ram Air Turbine (RAT) in the illustration you posted is the original one that was used with the S-3 and A-6. The F/A-18E/F uses a newer RAT that is more cylindrical in shape. The above kits include both, not that that helps you, but at least you now know what you're looking for.