glorystomper Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) allo, i'm working on scratch building some 1/48 AMRAAMs and i was trying to get some dimensions to compare with a 1/48 AIM-7 Sparrow that i have... google gives me this pic but wikipedia info tells me that BOTH of the missiles are 12 feet (3.7m) long can anyone help with some measurements? plz n thnx! Edited April 8, 2015 by glorystomper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedHeadKevin Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 If I remember right, The Sparrow is an 8" diameter, and the AMRAAM is a 7" diameter. So, in 1/48, the Sparrow is 1/48" wider than a Slammer. You'll also have to change the fins, obviously. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
carlizle84 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) Per the USAF Fact Sheets page: AIM-120 Length: 143.9 inches (366 centimeters) Launch Weight: 335 pounds (150.75 kilograms) Diameter: 7 inches (17.78 centimeters)Wingspan: 20.7 inches (52.58 centimeters) (For A/B models, the C/D models have the clipped fins) AIM-7 Length: 12 feet (3.64 meters) Diameter: 8 inches (0.20 meters) Wingspan: 3 feet, 4 inches (1 meter) I can get more specific information when I get home this evening. Former USAF Ammo troop, so I have some stuff laying around the house. Edited April 8, 2015 by carlizle84 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JeffreyK Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 allo, i'm working on scratch building some 1/48 AMRAAMs and i was trying to get some dimensions to compare with a 1/48 AIM-7 Sparrow that i have... google gives me this pic but wikipedia info tells me that BOTH of the missiles are 12 feet (3.7m) long can anyone help with some measurements? plz n thnx! If you look closely at the floor and where the feet of the supports are you can see that the AIM-120 is quite a bit nearer to the camera than the AIM-7 which accounts for the size discrepancy. Jeffrey Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Darn old three dimensional universe... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
glorystomper Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 whoa, i feel like a putz now! o.O carlizle84's specs from the fact sheet matches wiki, and JeffreyK points out the most obvious clue... thanks a ton, guys :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pigsty Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 If I remember right, The Sparrow is an 8" diameter, and the AMRAAM is a 7" diameter. So, in 1/48, the Sparrow is 1/48" wider than a Slammer. You'll also have to change the fins, obviously. ... and the nose profile, and the cable ducts, and the engine nozzle taper. Apart from that it should be a doddle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog-03 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 While we're on the topic, Sparrows seem to come with a variation of white or gray bodies, white or black fins and white or gray radomes. Is there any operational pattern or manufacturing code to the colors or is it just a mix and match of whatever parts are available when assembling the weapons? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrvark Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 While we're on the topic, Sparrows seem to come with a variation of white or gray bodies, white or black fins and white or gray radomes. Is there any operational pattern or manufacturing code to the colors or is it just a mix and match of whatever parts are available when assembling the weapons? The Vietnam era AIM-7Es were white with white fins and wings. During Rolling Thunder (which ended in Oct 68) the wings were all white. During the four year bombing halt, the AIM-7E-2 'Dogfight' Sparrows were introduced. These were in place by the time Linebacker began in May 1972. They could be distinguished by the black backward "L" on the wings, which signified that one inch had been trimmed from the back of the wing as part of this modification. The AIM-7Fs introduced Titanium wings, which are unpainted (they are NOT black!), and FSN 36375 (Lt Ghost Gray) fuselage. While some of the early AIM-7Fs retained the pointed nose of the AIM-7E, the later ones switched to a blunter nose (with a slightly longer cylindrical body to achieve the same length.) The AIM-7M looks much like the later AIM-7Fs with the blunt noses. The way you can tell them apart is the Target Detecting Device (TDD) strips along the side of the guidance section. If they are aligned with the wings, you're looking at an AIM-7M (which has four strips). If they not aligned with the wings, its an AIM-7F (which has only two strips). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 While we're on the topic, Sparrows seem to come with a variation of white or gray bodies, white or black fins and white or gray radomes. Is there any operational pattern or manufacturing code to the colors or is it just a mix and match of whatever parts are available when assembling the weapons? Various sections are built by different manufacturers, as a result when the AIM-7 (and the AIM-9 and AIM-54) transitioned from white to gray as the primary color missiles could be seen with some sections in white and others in gray. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 a little curious, why scratch build? out of all the choices out there are there any that are accurate? A little off topic, is the reputation of the Sparrow unfairly tarnished? it seems the sidewinder and AIM 120 seem to have a better reputation Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erik_g Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 The early Sparrow performed poorly in Vietnam, even worse than the early Sidewinder. But that was not entirely the fault of the missile, since it was often fired way out of its firing envelope and used incorrectly. I have even heard of cases where the missile was fired as a dumb projectile in the hope of hitting a target at close range. The Sparrow also need to have the firing aircraft keeping a lock on to the target aircraft until it is hit, since the Sparrow has no radar of its own. This makes the firing aircraft vulnerable since it cannot do evasive maneuvers to counter enemy missiles, not any maneuvers that exceeds the gimbal limitations of the radar that is. The AMRAAM does have a radar of its own. While it still needs guidance from the firing aircraft initially, it will become active mid flight and release the firing aircraft to turn around to get into another firing position. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) a little curious, why scratch build? out of all the choices out there are there any that are accurate? A little off topic, is the reputation of the Sparrow unfairly tarnished? it seems the sidewinder and AIM 120 seem to have a better reputation The AIM-4D, AIM-7D/E, and AIM-9B/D/E/G/J all had a Pk in the single digits in Vietnam (generally around 7 or 8%). The later versions of the AIM-7 (and the AIM-9) had a much better combat performance, particularly the AIM-7M in Desert Storm. The factors in that difference have generated books worth of material. Regards, Murph Edited April 12, 2015 by Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I second the question - why bother scratch building? You could just ask if anyone has some left over, or buy a Hasegawa weapons set... I think I have about 5 or 10 of each in my spares box. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
glorystomper Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 @DarkKnight @ ALF18 Been out of work for a bit and so I've been looking at ways to cut corners.. I had bits of sprue that looked like the exact diameter for an AMRAAM compared to my Sparrow missiles, so I thought I would try my hand at some scratch building! So far I've been able to sand down the heads to a semi-decent representation! Working on building a little jig so that I can glue some fins on straight :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
camus27 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I have dozens of the original Hasegawa version. If you want I can send you some. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
glorystomper Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thanks camus, I will hit you up for some when I start working again so that I can at least chip in for postage! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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