Nathant Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Looking for advice for some upcoming 1/48 builds that I want to use aftermarket missile launch rails for a more realistic look while displayed without a missile mounted on them. what launchers are appropriate for A-7D Corsair? Harrier GR. 7 Telic? And a post Vietnam slatted wing US F-4e as I see the ones in the upcoming Meng F-4E look pretty bland. Thanks for the hep! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 In my experience missile rails have always been overlooked when it comes to AM products. I guess most people always think about loading the aircraft[model] out with a max payload. I’ve not seen any photo etch or resin pylons that show the detail you describe. If there is such a thing I’d be very interested to hear as I tend to build my models with a normal day to day training load. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Niels Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Phase hangar has a nice selection in their product line; 48001 (1/48) – Phase Hangar Resin So also FlyingLeatherneckdecals 1/48 Resin (flyingleathernecksdecals.com) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nathant Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 Thanks Scott and Niels, I am aware of Dave's wonderful products as well as Phase Hangar, and even Metallic Details and Wolfpack, they all have some resin Missile launchers, But which ones do I need? Aero 3B for F-4s and the A-7D? What about the British Harrier? Lau-7s? Lau-114s? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GSymmonds Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Fox Two's Harrier II book shows GR.7 and 9 used the BOL 304 launcher rail for AIM-9L after the late 1990's. Before that LAU 7As were used. LAU-117As were used for AGM-65. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Roof Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 3 hours ago, Nathant said: Thanks Scott and Niels, I am aware of Dave's wonderful products as well as Phase Hangar, and even Metallic Details and Wolfpack, they all have some resin Missile launchers, But which ones do I need? Aero 3B for F-4s and the A-7D? What about the British Harrier? Lau-7s? Lau-114s? AERO-3 and LAU-7 Launchers for the Phantom, LAU-7 and LAU-138 BOL for the Harrier. The LAU-138 and Station 1A/7A pylon will be released next week. We also have a fully detailed Weapons Pylon set for the AV-8B Harrier and another set for RAF Harriers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 4 hours ago, Niels said: Phase hangar has a nice selection in their product line; 48001 (1/48) – Phase Hangar Resin So also FlyingLeatherneckdecals 1/48 Resin (flyingleathernecksdecals.com) Wow, didn’t realise that these existed. Things have certainly came a far way with 3D printing. I’ll be ordering up some of the PHR A-7 pylons for sure👍🏻 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Good call. A nice set of detailed pylons like the ones Flying leathernecks do look every bit as good as a loaded one. In fact where they are hollowed out with the sway braces I think they look better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) 9 hours ago, Nathant said: what launchers are appropriate for A-7D Corsair? I believe all A-7s used LAU-7A rails on the fuselage stations. . Edited January 13 by habu2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nathant Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 Thanks Habu, I've read conflicting info on Airforce A-7s, as Wolfpack offers the Aero 3B? but maybe its a typo or mistake? Wow, Dave! to the rescue with another nice set! Aftermarket Bol rails are hard to come by. Am I right then that your set 48-8039 would be appropriate for any US AirForce phantom carrying an Aim 9P/U and also Aim 9M/L? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SCOUT712 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Slatted USAF Air Force Phantoms usually carried the Aero 3B but late model ARNI E's from the 3rd TFS carried the LAU-105 rails at least from 89 onwards. The only USAF Air Force Phantom to carry the LAU-7 was the F-4C right up to their retirement. B/r Michael Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 The A-7D had the AERO-3B launcher: Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Trying to read the stenciling on the bottom of the rail.... "THIS SIDE UP" ??? 😂😂😂 /S in case it's not obvious Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrvark Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 The A-7D would've used the AERO 3B until the mid-1970s. Once the AIM-9L/M became operational, the LAU-105 was adopted. The LAU-7 was a Navy launcher that featured a nitrogen bottle to cool the seeker of the AIM-9D/G/H/L/M. The USAF used an internal bottle of Argon in their AIM-9L/Ms instead of Nitrogen for seeker cooling. The USAF considered buying AIM-9Ds, but when that missile suffered developmental delays, they decided to upgrade their AIM-9Bs to AIM-9E/J/N/P which didn't use cooling gas, so the AERO 3B launcher was acceptable. However, as a legacy to the attempted buy of the AIM-9D, the USAF acquired a limited number of LAU-7A/As that were used briefly. The famous picture of Robin Olds preflighting some Sidewinders shows them mounted on LAU-7A/As. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeDadofFour Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 On 1/12/2023 at 8:29 PM, Dave Roof said: AERO-3 and LAU-7 Launchers for the Phantom, LAU-7 and LAU-138 BOL for the Harrier. The LAU-138 and Station 1A/7A pylon will be released next week. We also have a fully detailed Weapons Pylon set for the AV-8B Harrier and another set for RAF Harriers. Hi Dave, Could you share some more info on which time period and USMC squadron(s) used the LAU-138 on the AV-8B? I was only able to find photos/info on the web for the AV-8B / LAU-7 combo on stations 1 & 7. Thanks! Mike B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 USMC AV-8B's were never cleared for the LAU-138, believe they were only carried by British Harriers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeDadofFour Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 12 minutes ago, GW8345 said: USMC AV-8B's were never cleared for the LAU-138, believe they were only carried by British Harriers. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gwen Phoenix Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Hi guys, I've just went to take a peek at Phase Hangar's page with regard to missile rails, and it was like, Whooooooooaaaa... Lots of info I'm just unable to fathom. Let's say I wanted to replace those awful wingtip rails in the Hasegawa 1/48 F-16B Plus kit (I'm building the Chilean, ex-Dutch MLU airframes), so with that info in mind, what is the exact type I should buy from the Two Mikes' web page? Thanks for helping a noob, again. Cheers, Gwen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrvark Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 38 minutes ago, Gwen Phoenix said: I wanted to replace those awful wingtip rails in the Hasegawa 1/48 F-16B Plus kit (I'm building the Chilean, ex-Dutch MLU airframes) I think you meant Phase Hanger or Flying Leathernecks. In any event, in looking at some pics of Chilean F-16s, it looks like they're flying with LAU-129s. Unfortunately, it looks like neither company has done those yet. If you're in a hurry, you can get a set of LAU-127A/A FL48-8059 from Flying Leathernecks--they're not identical, but they're close. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikar Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 For something a little different on a F-4e, at Korat as the war started to shut down for us, someone decided to have all shark mouths on any aircraft removed as they were deemed too warlike at that point. As the order went out the noses of all aircraft were cleaned. Then the sharkmouth started to appear on aircraft anyway, but not on the nose. The F-111s had a mouth on their forward ECM pod centerline under the fuselage. The F-4s from the 34th TFS had them painted on the top of the AIM 9 rails just a little back from the front. Eventually some maint. supervisor of someone much higher up took notice and they were removed. A day or two later the mouths were back and noticed by someone during the day. Once again they were taken off only to be repainted soon after that. This went on for a week or so umtil the upper ranks finally put a stop to it. I almost had a couple shots of the F-4s but I didn't dare try a shot at the time. I did get one for the F-111 because it took some time for them to be noticed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WouldbeIceman Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Kopeckyscalemodels.com makes very nice LAU-129, in both 1/32 and 1/48. Aires also has them in the Iris-T missile set, but they need some fine-tuning for the F-16. Check six and build something! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gwen Phoenix Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 On 1/24/2023 at 9:50 PM, mrvark said: I think you meant Phase Hanger or Flying Leathernecks. In any event, in looking at some pics of Chilean F-16s, it looks like they're flying with LAU-129s. Unfortunately, it looks like neither company has done those yet. If you're in a hurry, you can get a set of LAU-127A/A FL48-8059 from Flying Leathernecks--they're not identical, but they're close. Hi Jim! Thanks a lot, luv. Couldn't stop myself and got some bits for the 1/48 A-4 (intakes and fan) and F-15 (wing pylons and rails) kits from Phase Hangar before you answered, but now I'll order some LAU-129s from Kopecky, as suggested by @WouldbeIceman on his post above. Thanks to you too, Iceman (sorry there's no kiss for you. It's just I've known Jim from some time back). 😄 Cheers, Gwen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WouldbeIceman Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Next time Gwen - there`s always next time! Enjoy your build´s - the F-16 MLU was (still is) a "murderer" in the dogfight arena. The Hase A-4 is one of my favourite kits (unfortunatly I`m not the only one). Check six and build something! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kernsc Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) Hope you don't mind if I pile on to the rail discussion. I'm building the Hasegawa 1/48 F-16C Block 30 but want to update to an ANG aircraft operating during OIF, so I need the LAU-129 rails. It looks like the best option is the Hasegawa Weapons Set E, but those aren't readily available in the US right now (same with Kopecky) so I'm leaning towards either the Eduard IRIS-T missile set, which includes a pair of LAU-129 rails, or, per above, the Flying Leathernecks LAU-127E/A as a "good enough" option. I'm tempted to rob my Tamiya CJ kit, but the build I have in mind for that kit will use all four LAU-129s. Any other options I should consider or general advice on offer? Edited February 1 by kernsc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrvark Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 49 minutes ago, kernsc said: Hope you don't mind if I pile on to the rail discussion. Any other options I should consider or general advice on offer? The LAU-127 (F/A-18), LAU-128 (F-15) & LAU-129 (F-16) are very similar to each other, the main differences being the bolt patterns, the recess on the LAU-129 where it attaches to the F-16 wingtips and pylons, and the bulge at the back of the LAU-127 for the N2 cooling bottle for USN AIM-9Ms. Since the bolt pattern won't be very noticeable in 1:48 scale, I think I'd go with the LAU-128, since neither the F-15 or F-16 rails use the N2 bottle (USAF AIM-9Ms use an internal Argon bottle for seeker cooling). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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