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Roden Releases #349 1/144 RC-135V RIVET JOINT in 2022 & #360 KC-135R in 2023!


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6 minutes ago, aircommando130 said:

There was a flight engineer I flew with in C-5's that was the crew chief on the Lisa Ann.

He held the crew door shut from the outside so they could lock it on their flight to 

the "Twilight Zone".

 

Cheers...Ron

Don't see the humor.

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Hi,

 

With all the program names that exist and that I forgot about, I had to google Lisa Ann to see that it was a previous name for Rivet Amber.

I did know Rivet Amber and the connection with our friend Drifterdon.

Especially on the 5th of June, I'd give Drifterdon a big hug.

 

Stefan.

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So I just ordered the Roden Rivet Joint kit.   Looking forward to getting my hands on it.   I do have some potential concerns that some of the dimensions seem a tad off but it could just be the photos.  I'll compare it with my diagrams that I have to see for sure.   I do love all the antennas that Roden provides.   And like Dutch mentioned, this could be used as the basis to model other versions of this recon bird.  You just need to source either TF-33 or J-57 engines depending on which version you plan to do.

Great job Roden!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well my Roden #349 1/144 RC-135V/W Rivet Joint showed up yesterday. I spent a few minutes last night opening the box and doing a parts check as well as a simple side-by-side comparison with a Minicraft #14709 1/144 EC-135C Command Post kit.  I will make several posts with three-four photos per post so I don't bust the Megabyte limit and make it easier to load for the rest of the ARC community.  I will eventually post these to SCM as an article.  Here goes: Part 1. Opening the box!

 

20220618_193053.thumb.jpg.3d081690ff2e7c197917607ebcb505ec.jpg

 

Beautiful box art by Mr Valeriy Grigorenko. Sadly he was killed near his home in Ukraine on the 4th of March. 

 

20220618_193106.thumb.jpg.c43cececb89c7d80653d85a8083d6406.jpg

 

The box lid lifts off to reveal all parts in sealed plastic bags. Main plastic parts are even wrapped in thin bubble wrap.

 

20220618_193755.thumb.jpg.a765298099eb0367c365a6e44760ca30.jpg

 

All parts are sealed in one plastic bag.  Instructions up next.


 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Dutch
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Part 2. Instructions.  The instruction sheet is A4 size with a simple four page folded sheet.  

 

20220618_193658.thumb.jpg.bf6b31243320c34270246ee38de9278d.jpg

Page 1. Model history and technical specs.

 

20220618_193712.thumb.jpg.e087bd8e8c9327eb881e171d0118367e.jpg

 

Page 2.  Parts breakdown and symbology key.

 

20220618_193717.thumb.jpg.3fd973531257d14a80f148bb4432e505.jpg

 

Page 3. Steps 1-8 includes assembly of undercarriage, engines, wings and interior fuselage prep.

 

20220618_193723.thumb.jpg.f51736786dbd082c2225d3d3e50e35b1.jpg

 

Page 4. Includes construction steps 9 & 10, namely fuselage assembly, antennae placement and final assembly. It's a lot of work in a few steps, but I think that most modelers will modify the step sequence and mount engines and undercarriage after final wing and fuselage assembly to ensure proper alignment.

 

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12 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Well my Roden #349 1/144 RC-135V/W Rivet Joint showed up yesterday. I spent a few minutes last night opening the box and doing a parts check as well as a simple side-by-side comparison with a Minicraft #14709 1/144 EC-135C Command Post kit.  I will make several posts with three-four photos per post so I don't bust the Megabyte limit and make it easier to load for the rest of the ARC community.  I will eventually post these to SCM as an article.  Here goes: 

 

20220618_193053.thumb.jpg.3d081690ff2e7c197917607ebcb505ec.jpg

 

Beautiful box art by Mr Valeriy Grigorenko. Sadly he was killed near his home in Ukraine on the 4th of March. 

 

20220618_193106.thumb.jpg.c43cececb89c7d80653d85a8083d6406.jpg

 

The box lid lifts off to reveal all parts in sealed plastic bags. Main plastic parts are even wrapped in thin bubble wrap.

 

20220618_193755.thumb.jpg.a765298099eb0367c365a6e44760ca30.jpg

 

All parts are sealed in one plastic bag.  Instructions up next.


 

 

 

 

 

One of my concerns that I see in your pic Dutch and in on-line parts pics is that the hog nose radome tapers too much and appears pointy.   Also, does it come with the overwing HF antennas that are mounted at the wing tips?

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Part 3. Decals and painting guide.

 

20220618_193644.thumb.jpg.f451077fa4c2734e135800cf9ef1016c.jpg

 

Decals provide markings for one aircraft, RC-135V 64-14845 of the 55th SRW, Offutt AFB, Nebraska at two different periods.  The only difference is the color of the tail stripe, one is red, the other is blue.  It does not say who printed the decals sheet. Most markings appear usable. The emergency door outlines (yellow) appear to be too thick, though the cheat line, warning stripes, USAF titling and reg appear to be okay. The IFR door markings are particularly nicely done.  The US flag, Wing and ACC badges are out of register. Additionally, the US flag incorrectly shows only six red stripes and five white stripes for a total of eleven, not the standard thirteen. The US insignia appear to have some bleed over from the blue onto the white areas.  Hopefully, Kursad will soon scale his CD72128 C-135 Recon Variants sheet down to 1/144 scale. 

 

20220618_193233.thumb.jpg.0b897589b6913de482f4dc42cbe3d7f4.jpg

 

A very nice color four view drawing is given for painting and decal placement.  Of note, decal #1 & #2 are reversed.  Paint color callouts are for Vallejo paints, though other paint manufacturers have similar standard USAF colors as well. Colors should be Aircraft Gray FS 16473 & Insignia White FS 17875 , plus Flat & Gloss Black.  More to follow.

Edited by Dutch
added FS colors
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Part 4. Parts trees.

 

20220618_193834.thumb.jpg.55364a0a07549b8cc9efb4e9799d2696.jpg

 

Parts tree C, fuselage halves. All lines are finely scribed, even the reinforcing bands on the rear fuselage. (More on this later.)  Hog nose, SATCOM radomes and several antennae are molded in place, so if another version or an earlier version is required, careful trimming and patching of subsequent holes will be required. The plastic appears to be thicker, but softer than a Minicraft kit. As Don points out, the Hognose radome appears to be a little too short and tapers too quickly.  Lastly, the wing attachment point is molded proud, about 1/8" from the fuselage.  The horizontal stabilizer mounting is also molded very proud, appearing as some sort of fairing, which is incorrect. (Again, more on this later.)  

 

20220618_193921.thumb.jpg.028c6969276cc85564f4ce828c3162f3.jpg

 

Parts tree E (x2).  Two CFM-56 engines are molded per parts tree, hence two are provided. I like the fact that the intake cowling is molded as a solid ring, but am disappointed by the four way inner reinforcing ribbing that must be carefully trimmed away. I suspect that I will have to do some careful filing once trimmed. This parts breakdown has the benefit of easier painting for the fan disk and nacelle interior.  As to size and pylon shape, more research is required.

 

20220618_194010.thumb.jpg.dfe48ea9aeeb67c67bbebfe7446c0a64.jpg

 

Parts trees A & B.  Wing halves, upper and lower respectively.  Again, note the very finely scribed lines.  My port upper wing trailing edge point suffered a bumping and will require careful straightening.

 

20220618_194036.thumb.jpg.fb28d2d47636ff4a26527020a6d9b0ed.jpg

 

Parts trees D & F.  Includes undercarriage and all remaining parts.  Three fin caps are provided, though only F3 is used.  The IFR probe is molded in half, split vertically. It is not required for this kit, though hints at a future tanker release.  The horizontal stabs are the later extended variety, so correct for this version. Lastly, as Don points out, no overwing HF aerials are provided, though two wingtip HF aerials (ala 707-436 & 707-138) are provided.

 

20220618_194217.thumb.jpg.ec71c75528bcaeed73fcafc163e3aa44.jpg

 

Parts tree G (clear).  Includes two different cockpit canopies, one with a wider forward flange which is the one called for in this kit.  Again, the unused narrow one hints at a standard tanker kit in the future.  The other clear pieces are the three fuselage windows. Not too happy with the windscreen profile either. The two main forward panels appear too tall and not wide enough.  The eyebrow windows are misplaced and appear too large as well, but I will wait to pass final judgment until assembled.  I assume that KV Models and DAN will release masks for the kit, as my old standby ATP Boeing 707 windscreen decal is not apt to fit this one.

 

 

Edited by Dutch
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Now for some comparison with the Minicraft EC-135C kit. First the fuselage.

 

20220618_194944.thumb.jpg.0f6dec73527f9d210ccea0e5b4a4b7da.jpg

 

Hmmm... In general dimensions, it appears to fit the bill, with many of the corresponding fitment point lining up nicely. 

 

20220618_195007.thumb.jpg.9327bdd25c60484b0f21c997d7d59886.jpg

 

What I don't like about the Roden kit.  1. The horizontal mounting fairings are waaaaay over done. 2. The Hog nose shape does appear a little off. I will have to do some more research during assembly.

 

20220618_195016.thumb.jpg.8b7faf09b31958f7aa5a2aa5a9605e74.jpg

 

What I do like about the Roden kit.  1. They made a RC-135V/W in 1/144th scale!  2. I like that the vertical stab has the HF aerial mounting point molded on, as well as the thingy that sticks out below it. 

 

20220618_194650.thumb.jpg.24dba0143a7f641518d9d265c46e7d21.jpg20220618_194520.thumb.jpg.35f949c2634dea8fb81b8f8f1fb59e95.jpg

 

The wings match the span and chord of the Minicraft wings pretty closely. The Roden engines appear to be mounted ~1-2mm inboard from the Minicraft engines.

 

That's it for now,. I will do some more research and upload more pictures and measurements a little later.

K/r,

Dutch

Edited by Dutch
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Don,

After looking at the horizontal stabilizer mounting fairing, I have come to the conclusion that it will have to be sawn off, the backside sanded down flat and then re-attached and faired into the fuselage side, ala the Minicraft kit.   The remainder of the tail appears salvageable, even nice, so I see no other way around for that ugly baby!  I hope that Roden does not repeat it for their planned tanker version.  I still need to look at the nose, but I think that I can live with it for now. 

K/r,

Dutch

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  • Dutch changed the title to Roden Announces & Releases #349 1/144 RC-135V RIVET JOINT in 2022!
4 hours ago, Dutch said:

Don,

After looking at the horizontal stabilizer mounting fairing, I have come to the conclusion that it will have to be sawn off, the backside sanded down flat and then re-attached and faired into the fuselage side, ala the Minicraft kit.   The remainder of the tail appears salvageable, even nice, so no other way around for that ugly baby!  I hope that Roden does not repeat it for their planned tanker version.  I still need to look at the nose, but I think that I can live with it for now.  Plus scratch two overwing HF aerials.

K/r,

Dutch

Looks like the overwing HF aerials have been removed on the latest block of RC's.   The interweb is showing the RAF and latest USAF Rivet Joints as well as the U Boats and Cobra Balls without them.   So unless you plan to build an older version, what comes in the kit is correct.

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On 6/19/2022 at 10:13 PM, Drifterdon said:

Looks like the overwing HF aerials have been removed on the latest block of RC's.   The interweb is showing the RAF and latest USAF Rivet Joints as well as the U Boats and Cobra Balls without them.   So unless you plan to build an older version, what comes in the kit is correct.

Don, Ah yes, I see that you are correct. I wasn't aware that the AF had deleted them. I only get to see them in the hazy distance. But this photo of RC-135V 64-14845 55thOG-55thWG taken at Mildenhall, UK on 15Apr 2019 (from wikipedia) clearly shows the deleted overwing HF aerials and the wingtip HF aerials (at least the stbd one). 

 

RC-135V_64-14845_55thOG-55thWG_EGUN_15Apr19.JPG.d0f6d29c84bf58a6c9ec8ea21d2f03c8.JPG 

Edited by Dutch
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Thanks for the review, Dutch.

 

According to Robert S Hopkins III, these probes on the wingtips are not HF aerials. They are static booms.

The cheeks and the hognose change the airflow around the forward fuselage where static ports and pitot heads are normally located. To get a more accurate static pressure readings, these booms were installed on the wingtips.

The overwing aerial was indeed a HF antenna. 

Until it was mentioned here, I hadn't paid attention to it but there are indeed pictures of RAF "Airseekers" without overwing HF antenna's in Robert Hopkins' book.

Another thing I noticed is that the overwing HF antenna is on the starboard wing of Rivet Joints, but over the port wing of Cobra Balls.

In the book, there is also a picture of Rivet Joint 62-4139 with a overwing HF antenna on the port wing.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

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17 hours ago, Stefan buysse said:

Thanks for the review, Dutch.

 

According to Robert S Hopkins III, these probes on the wingtips are not HF aerials. They are static booms.

The cheeks and the hognose change the airflow around the forward fuselage where static ports and pitot heads are normally located. To get a more accurate static pressure readings, these booms were installed on the wingtips.

The overwing aerial was indeed a HF antenna. 

Until it was mentioned here, I hadn't paid attention to it but there are indeed pictures of RAF "Airseekers" without overwing HF antenna's in Robert Hopkins' book.

Another thing I noticed is that the overwing HF antenna is on the starboard wing of Rivet Joints, but over the port wing of Cobra Balls.

In the book, there is also a picture of Rivet Joint 62-4139 with a overwing HF antenna on the port wing.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

Stefan,

My discussion was in reference to the overwing HF antenna's.    Some Rivet Joints carried the overwing HF antennas on both wings.    It all depends on what block and time frame you are looking at.   Cobra Ball carried the HF antennas on it's port wing because of the cameras and sensors on the right side.

RC-135 Rivet Joint in flight.jpg

Edited by Drifterdon
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So I got my Roden Rivet Joint kit in the mail today.  I hate to say it but the radome is as I feared.   To undersized and tapers too much.  The windshield looks good.   Will have to see how it looks on a build.   Horizontal stabs mounting point is definitely not right.  I'm not sure of the engine pylons.   Something about them that just looks off.    And the decals have to be the worst part of the entire kit.   But, Kursad will be coming to the rescue so there is that.    I have a second kit on the way so I'm not sure if I want to try building one of these straight from the box or do what needs to be done to update and make right.  

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10 hours ago, Alternative 4 said:

It looks like you could build a TC-135 from this kit, is that possible?

You'd have to leave most of the antenna's off and modify the sensor package where the boomers position is as well as remove the satcom antenna but yes, this could be used as the basis for a TC-135W conversion.   This kit could be the basis for a conversion to any of the RC-135's with the hog nose and EELS fairings.  With new TF-33 engines you could even back date it to earlier versions of many of the Rivet Joints or RC-135M's.  Lot's of possibilities here. 

Edited by Drifterdon
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1 hour ago, GPZ said:

Undersized as in length and/or diameter/cross-section?

Diameter and cross section.   If it came to a point and had a pitot tube it would look like an F-105 radome.  OK that is a gross exaggeration but that is kind of what is going on.

 

Edited by Drifterdon
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  • Dutch changed the title to Roden Releases #349 1/144 RC-135V RIVET JOINT in 2022 & #360 KC-135R in 2023!

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