Tomcat AAM colors/markings

[sv51macross]

I'm building it as a stress-releif build and have a couple questions over the markings. The kit declas come with black stripes as well as data for the Pheonix/Sparrow/Sidewinder missiles to go ovar white bodies. Did any USN aircraft ever have black stripes on AAMs?

[VFA-103guy]

I'm building it as a stress-releif build and have a couple questions over the markings. The kit declas come with black stripes as well as data for the Pheonix/Sparrow/Sidewinder missiles to go ovar white bodies. Did any USN aircraft ever have black stripes on AAMs?

I believe so in the 70's and 80's.

Edited December 25, 2008 by VFA-103guy

[sv51macross]

Alright, were they live rounds or training? And they were early missile variants though, correct? Not appliccable to the 54C, 7M, or 9L, correct?

[Brian P: Fightertown Decals]

D's never carried AIM-54A, though a captive carry ATM-54A was done.

-brian

[Reddog]

The black strips were for special missiles not fleet ones, special missiles would be for testing and photo purposes. Also, the F-14D could not carry a ATM-54A, it didn't have the coolant system that the A Phoenix's needed. The D's would carry the CATM-54A's, they didn't need a coolant system. The ATM-54A's were AIM-54A's with a telemetery package inplace of the warhead and were used for missile shots.

HTH

Reddog

[sv51macross]

Cool, so ditch the decals? I'm going to do my usual missile markings then (white/black sidewinders, light ghost Sparrow with back fins, adn if I sue them, light ghost Phoenix missiles, all with yellow/brown stripes.

[Reddog]

Cool, so ditch the decals? I'm going to do my usual missile markings then (white/black sidewinders, light ghost Sparrow with back fins, adn if I sue them, light ghost Phoenix missiles, all with yellow/brown stripes.

I don't use black markings on my missiles and have never seen them on a real one in all my days of loading them. Also, the wings of a sparrow are steel, no black. The older ones had a black 'L" painted on them so the ordies knew which ones were for the AIM-7E and the AIM-7F but that was before my time and I never saw that except in pictures. I would go with steel color wings and fins on the Sparrows and steel color wings (forward ones) on the Sidewinders, the rest of the wings and fins for the missiles would be the same color as the missile. As a side now, during the early to mid 80's you would (at times) see Phoenix's with white wings and grey fins.

HTH

Reddog <_<

[Brian P: Fightertown Decals]

Reddog - thanks for the clarification. I said captive but left the C of the designation. I'd seen them loaded for PhotoEx's as a captive carry only.

Now if someone would make some good sharp nosed AIM-54s... like the Polish Tomcat build going on...

-brian

[Reddog]

Brian,

No problem and didn't mean to sound rude, was just correcting the info for rest of the fellow modellers here. CATM-54A would be loaded for flight and loading drills since most didn't have the coolant system. There were some CATM-54A's and C's that did have the coolant system in the for aircrew training but they were few and far between. Mostly CATM-54's were used for loading drills and photo op's, heardly flown.

Reddog

Edited December 25, 2008 by Reddog

[sv51macross]

Well, maybe they just appear black, but I don;t want to have to use an airbrush to paint the fins. black looks close enough anyway for my purposes.