I’m (finially) going to finish up my Revell F-15E in 1/48. I got a decals sheet from TwoBobs & some extra bombs from Hasegawa. Now the bombs, like the GBU-12 don’t fit right onto the… holders?? The grooves or holes in the bombs don’t line up with the… nipples (???) from the model. How would anyone suggest solving this little problem?? Thanks very much.
Well for starters,I would forget trying to use the kit mounting pins/holes.Fill in the depressions on the bomb the same way you would fill seams on the fuselage of the airplane model. The pylon is the part of the airplane that the bomb is attached too,that looks like part of a wing.On the ‘pylons’ there are these little contraptions called ‘sway braces’.They keep the bomb from moving around on the pylon.What I would suggest is to drill a small hole in the middle of the sway brace.Imagine trying to drill a hole at the bottom point of a ‘V’ Now drill a small hole on the bomb where you want it up against the pylon.Make sure that the fins will be at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions,when you mount it to the pylon.Insert a small piece of wire or a cut down sewing pin in the hole of the bomb with super glue.Then use the wire/needle as your mounting point to the sway brace.It has been my experience that this method also makes the bombs less prone to falling off at the slightest bump.I hope you were able to decipher these directions.If you have any problems shoot me an e-mail and I will get back to you ASAP.
Later on…
Then use the wire/needle as your mounting point to the sway brace.It has been my experience that this method also makes the bombs less prone to falling off at the slightest bump… this is where I started to loose you. Now that I’ve got the hole drilled into the pylon & the wire is sticking out of the bomb, do I also super glue that end into the pylon?? Thanks again.
Brian,
That’s the idea. If you’re careful with your drilling, you can make the pin invisible. Just be very precise when you mark the spots to drill.
How thick or what type of wire would work?? Would solid copper, 22-24 AWG be alright?? Thanks again.
I am not an electrician…so I am not sure what 22-24 AWG is…but at any rate if you use a cut down sewing needle/pin or something approximately that diameter, that should be sufficient enough.Just be careful with the super glue…you won’t need much.
Later on…
Scot’s dead on. Underwing stores are always the first thing to fall off, and I don’t understand why I’ve never seen kit underwing stores with fittings at the locations where the lugs attach on the real airplane pylons or bomb racks.
If you want to get a little more fancy about it, Waldron makes what they call their “Mini Swivels” which is sort of a misnomer. They are elegant, tiny chrome sockets that come with short pins (actually made from stiff wire about 3/16" long or so. You can drill a hole in the bomb rack or pylon, drop the little socket in, and do the same with the pins on your underwing tanks, bombs, whatever. (It sounds more tedious than it is. It only takes a minute with a pin vise and a little drill bit.) I’ve heard that people actually use these things so they can change the ordnance around on their models when they get tired of looking at them (because the pin is held tight in the socket by friction, no glue. .Hence the use as a swivel).
I use these things to make my tail wheels castor and occasionally for a weak bomb attachment point. On tailwheels, the wheel can then be posed pointing whichever way it’s pointing when you leave it, just like a real taildragger.
Now, Scot, who’s confused everybody who hasn’t seen these things? Nobody steps to me when it comes to confusing people!
TOM
Yes scott is spot-on and Tom has a really good solution. You could also use pieces if paper clip or stretched sprue, I think 22-24 AWG may be a bit thick in diam. (if I have my sizes correct).
Is 26 AWG better?? (I have plenty of 22, 24 & 26) Does superglue bond well to copper?? B.T.W. Presto, with regards to AWG (American Wire Gauge??..) the higher the number the smaller/thinner the wire. Thanks again guys.
Yes, I know. I just don’t have my chart at hand and had to pull a mental image that
is suspect. 26 would probably be a good size.
All that matters is 1) the wire is not wider than the pylon width
2) you have a drill bit to match
CA will be fine with copper wire
looking at my wire strippers next to me, 26 AWG would be perfect.
Thanks guys, it worked perfectly. I ended up using 26 gauge. Thanks everyone. I tried looking for info on this subject on FSM, ARC as well as yahoo & could find any. Thanks again.