I am trying to modify an old 1:48 Monogram T28B kit to make the T28C with its arrestor hook.
I have some decent pictures of the “barber pole”, but a very unclear idea of dimensions.
Would anyone be able to point to where to look for the length and diameter of that tail hook? [:D[
I don’t know of any specific reference information on the dimensions of the hook itself, but it would be easy to estimate it from photographs. Just use a set of dividers to compare it against some other part of the airframe that you can measure on the model, say the rudder for example.
The hardest part will be modifying the lower fuselage that has a small step or notch to accomodate the hook.
Mark
Dunno the dimensions, but this photo should give a pretty good idea on how to eyeball it using the other parts of the tail as a “yardstick”…
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Aircraft Profiles/T-28chook.jpg?t=1287761917)
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Aircraft Profiles/T-28Cprofile.jpg?t=1287762309)
Using my trusty “Paper & tick-mark” measuring method, I determined that the length is right about from the bottom of the rudder to midway between the top &bottom of the black stripe on the vertical stabilizer. As for diameter, it should be comparable to any other hook of the same type on a similar-size & weight aircraft you may have laying around.
Mark - yup! I have dreams about what I am going to do to make that notch insert! [*-)]
Hans - as always, you do your homework! Thanks for looking up those pictures. I have them in my collection.
After the query, I also asked my friend that I am doing the model for and … lo and behold… somebody is trying to sell one!! Here is the link. http://landandseacollection.com/id704.html
Their specs say that it has an OD of 1 1/8inches. Seems way too thin for me but… [:#]
Dunno the OD either, but I concurr, and looking at the pics, I don’t think that’s any 1 1/18th-inch piece of steel… Could be wrong, but I doubt it… I’d just start stretch sprue until I had a length that looked ok to the Mk 1 Eyeball…
BTW… Notice that the hook has a slight bend in it about halfway down?
Hans - yes, I noted the odd shape of the hook and think I will try to carve it out of block styrene? I have a piece of another kit that was a tow for a Corsair. It has a diameter of 1.25mm, which… if my math is right …works out to 2.4" diameter.
It looks about right and my buddy thought he remembered it about as stout as a slender wrist.
BTW-as I look harder, those other measurements must be wrong, as the whole piece would only be 25" long. Must be more than that?
Any other ideas on how to carve the hook would be most appreciated. [:D[
I’d just stretch sprue for it and put the bend in by hand… You could also make it from Plastruct’s Styrene-coated wire, if you wanted one that’s a bit more hefty… I think they carry stuff that small, or real close to it…
Also, if you strip the plastic from the wire you have tubing… Then you might be able to flatten and curl some solder for the cable-end and insert it into the tube… That’s what I’m thinking anyway… Or you could just rob another kit’s hook and use the end of that…
Hans - great suggestions as always. [H]
Here is my solution but now I have to modify the tail area of a T28B kit.
It measures about 3mm diameter and was constructed from a length pole from a Corsair kit and a modified piece of H-bar, shaved and formed with CA and putty, then slowly sanded down. I need to touch up the barber pole paint a little but think it will work. [Y]
Looks good to me… Almost begs to be put on a “flghtdeck” diorama snagging the 3-wire, just to show off the hook…
Hans - I had that in mind as I have another Eduard carrier deck to paint. Here is what I did with the first one.
FMI? What is the term “3-wire”? A special name for the cable to catch? [:^)]
Modern US carriers have four arresting cables, numbered #1 through #4 starting aft and going forward. Pilots aim to touch down in the middle of the landing area, which would be between the #2 and #3 wires. Your tailhook would ideally catch the #3 wire.
Catching a #1 wire means you’re short and run the risk of hitting the back of the ship. Hitting the rounded portion of the of the flight deck at the stern is called a “ramp strike”. It can ruin your whole day.
If you catch the #4 wire, you came in long and risk missing everything and having to go around again - a “bolter” A bolter can also result from the tailhook skipping over any of the wires.
Mark
Yupper, what RC said… The landing on a modern carrier (every pilot is graded on his landings, EVERY time he “traps”, throughout his entire carreer as a Naval Aviator), is graded by “Paddles” (the LSO, who’s also a pilot, and also by every other pilot watching) and the just-landed pilot will see a sign held up with “OK-3” written on it if he did it perfect… “OK” and any other number means he didn’t…
Nothing wrong with that , 'cept the “artisic license” you took with the wings… (They’d both either be up or down, they don’t move separately…) But it depends on if your’e making a display or a diorama…
Oops! [:S]
I never realized that they moved together only, but another modeler did tease me that the plane would flip over in the breeze of the carrier deck.
Don’t think I will do another one but if I did, I would get it right, instead of demonstrating what each presentation of the wings looked like.
Thanks also for the heads-up on #3. BTW, is there any marking on the deck at that cable area that i should include?
Dunno… I’d have to google image some bird-farm photos of the T-28 era to answer that… I know you’d have to do some kinda markings, like stripes, and paint the decks (I suppose that they’d have the non-skid surface by then, but I’m guesing)… The cables are suspended above the decks as well…
You might want to show a centerline on the deck. The deck itself would be dark, grungy gray with a lot of skid marks.
FWIW, while you would normally not see one wing folded and one extended, they seldom are exactly in sync while they are actually in the process of folding or extending. Sometimes by design, depending on the type of aircraft, and sometimes due to wear in the hydraulic systems over time.
Mark
True, there’s always one a bit slower than the other, but never THAT far out of sync where one would down & locked and the other still up all the way… If it was, the pilot would likely shut down and leave the aircraft right there & then, and tell the plane captain in warm, fuzzy tones to get his head outta his 4th Point-of-Contact and take that POS below RIGHT-Effin’ NOW! 
On F4U’s speciflcally, the wings could be as much as 45 deg out of sync when either extending or folding.
Of course this is all a bit OT since the thread is about T-28’s. A folded wing on a Trojan would be a BIG deal! 
Mark