seawinder Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 As I slog along with my Hasegawa F-15C build, I'm working on the ordnance, one piece of which is an ACMI pod for the starboard pylon. Does anyone know the function of the three cylindrical vanes (for lack of a better word) sticking out of the black head section? I find it interesting that none of the 1/48 renditions I own or have seen include them. Here's a pic: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Sorry for stealing this thread. I'm also interested to hook this up in one of my builds, but is there any AM manufacturer who does this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 1 hour ago, flybywire said: Sorry for stealing this thread. I'm also interested to hook this up in one of my builds, but is there any AM manufacturer who does this? What do you mean by "this?" I know of two AM ACMI pods: it's in the Hasegawa Weapons set E and the Meng long-range missile set. There are probably other options as well. I'm using the one from Hasegawa. As I said, I haven't seen any 1/48 ACMI, AM or from any kit, that has the three "vanes" I'm inquiring about. Won't be that hard to scratchbuild with some styrene rod. I'd still like to know what they're for, and perhaps when they first appeared. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Would those antennae be GPS recievers? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 That's a AN/ASQ-T50(V)2 TCTS Pod and the three probes are datalink antennas. hth GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, GW8345 said: That's a AN/ASQ-T50(V)2 TCTS Pod and the three probes are datalink antennas. hth GW So the various photos I've been seeing of what I thought were ACMI pods are actually TCTS pods? They certainly look very similar. ...Edit ... Well, after reading through some other threads (should have done that in the first place I guess), I see that ACMI is sort of the generic term for a whole bunch of data-gathering/sending pods including the TCTS. Another question: Can you explain the serial numbers? The two photos I've got show serial numbers starting with the letter P and ending with the letter A (P50486A and P51479A to be exact). The decals that came with the Hasegawa ACMI pod (what I'm using, modified with styrene rod for the datalink antennas) have serials starting with SN. If I want to be accurate, should I make some PxxxxxA decals? Edited May 23, 2018 by seawinder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 The three probes triangulate aircraft position in the three dimensions and this data is then transmitted to the ground information systems. ACMI is the name for the first generation pods. New technology brought about the new name, they really both do the same job. They transmit telemetry. As for the serial numbers, you’d need to find a picture of a serial number (as you have), to determine if the serial is legit. When I installed a pod I wrote the number down. 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted May 24, 2018 Author Share Posted May 24, 2018 Thanks, Scooby. I've got photos of four different TCTS's, but used the serial/call number from the one I posted above. I had to download a free condensed sans serif font because nothing on my computer was very close. I ended up with Oswald Regular; it looks pretty good, I think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 On 5/22/2018 at 10:41 PM, seawinder said: So the various photos I've been seeing of what I thought were ACMI pods are actually TCTS pods? They certainly look very similar. ...Edit ... Well, after reading through some other threads (should have done that in the first place I guess), I see that ACMI is sort of the generic term for a whole bunch of data-gathering/sending pods including the TCTS. Another question: Can you explain the serial numbers? The two photos I've got show serial numbers starting with the letter P and ending with the letter A (P50486A and P51479A to be exact). The decals that came with the Hasegawa ACMI pod (what I'm using, modified with styrene rod for the datalink antennas) have serials starting with SN. If I want to be accurate, should I make some PxxxxxA decals? As you stated, ACMI is just a generic term from telemetry pods, there are several different "flavors" of pods. As for the serial number, the number provided for the Hasegawa pod is a typical TACTS Pod serial number, TCTS Pods usually starts with "P5". Serial numbers can vary since the pods are assigned to a base/range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BillS Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 If you REALLY want to be pendantic, ACMI is kind of an outmoded term, in fact ACMI no longer exists at Nellis. In the A F units I belonged to we almost always refered to such things as AIS pods, AIS standing for Airborne Instrumentation System. Cubic, the company that makes rhe P5 has some good info on their website. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 On 5/23/2018 at 12:26 AM, seawinder said: What do you mean by "this?" I know of two AM ACMI pods: it's in the Hasegawa Weapons set E and the Meng long-range missile set. There are probably other options as well. I'm using the one from Hasegawa. As I said, I haven't seen any 1/48 ACMI, AM or from any kit, that has the three "vanes" I'm inquiring about. Won't be that hard to scratchbuild with some styrene rod. I'd still like to know what they're for, and perhaps when they first appeared. No I was just asking if there is any AM manufacturer who ever made this item in its complete form, meaning all the three "vanes" are included or better yet already attached to the body so that I don't have to scratch-build those things anymore. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 1 hour ago, flybywire said: No I was just asking if there is any AM manufacturer who ever made this item in its complete form, meaning all the three "vanes" are included or better yet already attached to the body so that I don't have to scratch-build those things anymore. Gotcha. Wasn't sure if you meant the pod itself or the pod with the antennas. I've never seen a proper TCTS pod with the antennas OOB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 10 hours ago, seawinder said: Gotcha. Wasn't sure if you meant the pod itself or the pod with the antennas. I've never seen a proper TCTS pod with the antennas OOB. Pod with the antennas, either attached or separate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Martin @ AMK Models Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 SAIP-MSR pod is in our Kfir kit. 🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AV O Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 (edited) Edit Edited November 9, 2021 by AV O Error. Please remove. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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