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LAU 105 launch rails


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Does anyone know if anyone makes 1/32 scale LAU 7 launch rails or if they are in any 1/32 kit?  I have a feeling the LAU7 maybe in the 1/32 Tamiya F4C/D kit as I know they used LAU 7 rails to fire sidewinder Bs.  If anyone has a set, could you pM me or know where I could get some?  I need two rails as I'm going have to scratch build a sidewinder LAU 105 dual rail launcher for my A-10 as I'm also pretty sure that the sidewinder dual rail launcher doesn't come in the 1/32 A-10 kit.

 

I Saw a 1/32 cutting edge A-10 DRL on eBay and the seller wants 100 greenbacks for it!!!!  That's just stupid money.  The only other company I know of that made an A-10 DRL in 1/32 scale was Sierra Models but I think way out of production now

Edited by Modelkeenfan
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1 hour ago, Modelkeenfan said:

Does anyone know if anyone makes 1/32 scale LAU 7 launch rails or if they are in any 1/32 kit?  I have a feeling the LAU7 maybe in the 1/32 Tamiya F4C/D kit as I know they used LAU 7 rails to fire sidewinder Bs.  If anyone has a set, could you pM me or know where I could get some?  I need two rails as I'm going have to scratch build a sidewinder LAU 105 dual rail launcher for my A-10 as I'm also pretty sure that the sidewinder dual rail launcher doesn't come in the 1/32 A-10 kit.

 

I Saw a 1/32 cutting edge A-10 DRL on eBay and the seller wants 100 greenbacks for it!!!!  That's just stupid money.  The only other company I know of that made an A-10 DRL in 1/32 scale was Sierra Models but I think way out of production now

 

I currently have LAU-7's being designed that will be in production soon. However, the LAU-7 is not the launcher used on the A-10 DRA. The missile launchers are actually the LAU-105 with the strong back being the LAU-114.  

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Ok.  Yes I see that now.  What aircraft used LAU105 launchers?  Im searching through my spares.  Did the British ALARMS USE LAU 105s?  What about the hornets when they carried dual rails with sidewinders on them? Or the tomcat sidewinder launch rails?  If I know what aircraft carried them, I might find them in my spares? So can anyone tell me?

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3 hours ago, Modelkeenfan said:

Ok.  Yes I see that now.  What aircraft used LAU105 launchers?  Im searching through my spares.  Did the British ALARMS USE LAU 105s?  What about the hornets when they carried dual rails with sidewinders on them? Or the tomcat sidewinder launch rails?  If I know what aircraft carried them, I might find them in my spares? So can anyone tell me?

 

The LAU-105 was not used by the Navy or Marine Corps, so you shouldn't find it in any kit of USN/USMC aircraft. A simple Google search should help you determine which aircraft used it. I don't know anything other than it's the launcher used on the DRA.

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There have been three separate missile designs lumped together under the AIM-9 nomenclature. I think the bean counters must think Moses also brought down an 11th commandment that "All successful U.S. IR missiles will be AIM-9s." Complete morons. But I digress...

 

The original missile (AIM-9A/B/E/F/J/N/P) used launchers with a relatively simple design, beginning with the AERO 3A (F3H, FJ, F4D, F8U, F9F, F11F, F4H) and AERO 3B (F-100, F-105, F-111, F-4, F-15, A-7), along with some minor variations for specific aircraft (e.g., F-104, F-5).

 

The second Sidewinder variant, the IR-guided AIM-9D used nitrogen to cool its seeker (the AIM-9C was radar guided, but used the same launcher for commonality). The nitrogen was contained in a bottle inserted into the back of the new LAU-7 launcher. Most kits have depicted this launcher  as slab-sided, but it wasn't. The 'top' (the side opposite the missile) was hemispherically shaped with the sides angling down to the rail. It's not a huge angle, but its not 90 deg either. The Navy's follow-on AIM-9G/H/L/M--and even AIM-9X used the same launcher family.

 

The Air Force was impressed with the AIM-9D and wanted to buy some. In anticipation, they bought some LAU-7s--there is a famous picture of Robin Olds inspecting an AIM-9B mounted on a LAU-7 on an F-4C. However, there were some severe production problems with the AIM-9D, so the USAF instead opted to modify their AIM-9Bs into AIM-9Es and later AIM-9Js (and even later as AIM-9N & Ps).

 

After the Vietnam War ended, the USAF & USN joined forces to develop the 'ultimate' Sidewinder, which resulted in the AIM-9L. The Navy continued to use the LAU-7 launcher with its nitrogen bottle because nitrogen is easy to produce onboard aircraft carriers. The USAF chose to use a small bottle of argon gas placed in the missile in a small door between the bottom two guidance fins. Probably because the AERO 3 launchers were getting pretty long in the tooth as much as anything else the USAF introduced the LAU-105 (F-4, F-111 & A-10) and LAU-114 (F-15) in the mid-1970s. The AIM-9M is identical in appearance (except it went from a white body & wings to gray). It is up to at least the AIM-9M-10 now instead of continuing through the alphabet.

 

In the early 1980s, it was decided to introduce a family of launchers that could be used for either the AIM-9 or AIM-120 AMRAAM. The LAU-127 is used by the F/A-18 family (although the F/A-18A/B/C/D only use LAU-7s on their wingtips)--it still retains the nitrogen bottle. The LAU-128 is used by the F-15 and the LAU-129 by the F-16.

 

The introduction of the tail-controlled AIM-9X resulted in changes to both the missile (the tail of the missile is angled slightly away from the launcher) and the launchers (the design of the fin retainer assembly (FRA) needed by the AIM-9M, but not the -9X, was changed to move it farther away from the missile when stowed.

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Get the new Bandit Resin Factory 1/32 LAU-7. They are beautiful and very detailed. They’re on Facebook. Haven’t seen a regular webpage. He also has ALL the tacts/data pods! I’ve bought a bunch of them and am very impressed. 
brian

 

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Do you have a link to the store?  Or are they just on Facebook?  I need the LAU 105s.  I'm scratch building the A-10 dual rail launcher and it has two LUA 105 rails on either side of the hard middle section.  Only CE made them and Sierra Hotel models in 1/32 scale and both are long out of production.  There is a CE one currently on eBay for 100 Greenbacks!!!!!  That's just stupid money.  You would have rocks in your head to pay that for a small resin part.

 

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It would be an option to post in the spares part section. If someone put AIM-120 on his/her 1/32 (Strike)Eagle model the LAU-105s of the kit were to be replaced with Resin LAU-128 and should be left over in the spares box.

Regards

Michael

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