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1/48 Armory resin wheels for Kitty Hawk F-35B Lightning II


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Default 1/48 Armory resin wheels for Kitty Hawk F-35B Lightning II

Howdy,you fine gents of our beloved hobby! You people are a wealth of modeling knowledge I' a really appreciate all the help you provide with just about anything. I'm always in awe of many your works & skills that I diligently salivate over here & the other prolific site in our community. Now to my point. I'm turning to y'all once again for help. 

Can any of your wardogs advise if the Armory (Ukraine) brand resin wheels for this kit have the manufacturer info reproduced in the resin casting on the sidewalls of the tire just like the 1:1 version? I can't find a clear enough Kasr pic to positively discern. They look nice from afar, rendered in 3D, but I'm not going to buy these resin wheels from all the way tarnation across the globe if they aren't almost 100% up up to par with the manufacturer's writing molded onto them like some of the better resin Brassin wheels are cast, for example. But....the Armory wheels are the only game in town right now for the F-35B, right? I just bought this kit & I'm impressed as to its quality thus far. Can't wait to build it. Any complaints from y'all? I have high hopes for this kits. I reckon I'm undecided on markings: VMFA-121 (Furball & Caracal)? VMFA-211? VMFA-122 (just officially stood up this week under the moniker "Flying Leatherneck). The latter would have to pieced together from my existing -122 decals if I have a set for the Crusaders/Werewolves if they are light enough to contrast with the dark hues of the F-35s current paint scheme. 

Subsequently are there any masks for all the RAM panels on this bird? I think I observed some DN(DM?) masks, but for the Meng offering, however, I haven't located an article to determine if they might be a alternatively good of match for the Kitty Hawk kit? My Google fu is whiskey delta & I sometimes have a difficult time finding what I'm searching for. So, if there is something obvious that I'm missing could you rightly direct me to it? I don't read a lot of the posts here due to business & other obligations, rather I typically post requesting your assistance with details, products & help & if I think I might have missed something since I miss so many post. Thank you kindly, as always, to all you door kickers! Oh, and, I would b remiss if I wish you all the happiest of Holidays starting on 23 Nov 2017! May your wives (and other family & loved one) fill your bunkers with many kits & aftermarket items! God bless you all! Big-Soldier1.gif

S/F,
Masterguns
Edited by Gunny
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Armory wheels are nice, but do not have the manufacture's info on the tires.

 

48-006 here should take care of the RAM panels for you.

 

Currently working on this one--hope you enjoy filling injection sink holes! Also, I haven't read any of the kit reviews recently, but in looking at the nozzle when compared to the KH F-35A kit, they look the same, which is worrisome. KASL has done a resin nozzle for the B, but it ain't cheap!

 

You don't happen to know if the nozzle is open or closed in the hover mode, do you?

Edited by mrvark
added KASL link
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On 11/20/2017 at 2:47 PM, mrvark said:

Armory wheels are nice, but do not have the manufacture's info on the tires.

 

48-006 here should take care of the RAM panels for you.

 

Currently working on this one--hope you enjoy filling injection sink holes! Also, I haven't read any of the kit reviews recently, but in looking at the nozzle when compared to the KH F-35A kit, they look the same, which is worrisome. KASL has done a resin nozzle for the B, but it ain't cheap!

 

You don't happen to know if the nozzle is open or closed in the hover mode, do you?

 

Thanks for the info on the AM gear for this. I don't know anything about nozzle settings during hover. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Masterguns

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17 hours ago, viper730 said:

A/B Model is there a difference? Also not sure of "Accuracy" me I'm not as bothered as some but this I know The new 3D designed True Details wheels are Very NICE

 https://www.squadron.com/True-Details-1-48-F-35A-Lightning-II-Wheel-Set-p/tdp48203.htm

 

Wow, Viper! Thanks for that link. I had no idea those existed. But, yes, the A & B have different tires & rims due to service specific requirements. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving,

Masterguns

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Working on my Armory wheels today. Painted the wheels white and started to paint the tires black when I noticed that the inside and outside rims were a different diameter. Hmm, that isn't right. So I started looking at photos and here's the deal: On the outboard side, the edge of the rim isn't the 'obvious' pronounced raised area, it's the next, less obvious ridge. The Armory  kit is correct, as far as I can tell, it's just a bit counter intuitive.

The other thing I've noticed; I have both the Furball and Eduard masks, which are designed for the horrible kit tires. Their circle masks don't come close to fitting the Armory wheels, or any correct wheels for that matter. Man, I hadn't really looked at the kit tires until tonight--they are REALLY bad!

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From a friend of mine who used to work on F-35 project at PAX.  

 

"It's both and depends.  If memory serves its generally closer to closed than open because generally at hover the engine is at a higher thrust setting say between 90-97 ETR (engine thrust request). That said in M4 everything is about thrust split (the ratio of thrust generated from the lift fan vs the thrust from the engine) so if the pilot asks the aircraft for a rapid pitch up it is possible the engine will open the nozzle to respond to that request.  Another possibility is the engine will not change and the lift Fan will squeeze done on its nozzle to produce more thrust. Or even both. That said, there are rate limits in M4 jetborne which is less than say 60 knots ground speed and they are tight to protect the pilot from doing something stupid that the aircraft can't recover from.

 

"Summary:  I would say it is generally closer to closed than open but is actually probably closer to the mid position, The nozzle area is 450 is closed 950 is open. 600 seems to ring a bell on mode 4 hover'"

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  • 2 weeks later...

Comparison of True Details and Armory F-35 Wheels

 

As you can see in the linked photo above, there is quite a difference between the True Details and Armory F-35 wheels. My guess is that the slightly flattened TD wheels are sized for the newer Meng kit (which I don't have) while Armory ones are sized to fit the Kittyhawk kits. My advice is to not try to use the TD wheels on the Kittyhawk kit as the kit's NLG axle's diameter is too big to fit into the wheel. Conversely, the Armory NLG wheel is probably too big to fit the Meng kit.

 

Note that the Armory MLG wheels are the same for all three variants, which from a previous post is apparently incorrect. Also, they lack the tire-manufacturer's name on the sidewall.

 

Hope this is helpful for you in making a choice of which AM wheels you may want to buy for your kit(s).

Edited by mrvark
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