Wez Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hi all, I've recently received the simply beautifully moulded 1/72nd Meng Convair F-106 (I got mine at a bargain price from MJW models - excellent service too)! It knocks the old Hasegawa kit into a cocked hat in terms of detail and moulding quality. The kit comes with a full suite of missiles AND the Six-Shooter gun pack that was introduced later in the F-106's service (replacing the AIR-2 Genie missile). It's the first time I've seen the gun pack in kit form so I'd be keen to use it. My question is this, when was the gun pack introduced into service? Was it applicable to all aircraft in service after its introduction or did only certain units get it? If so, which units? I'm sure the BM community can help me out with this. I'm in the middle of studies so I'm not in a big rush for this information, in fact I'm unlikely to get around to this one until 2018 at the earliest (I'm planning on a couple of Mirage's for this summer's study break). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimB Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hi, Wez, I cant give you an absolute answer but when I was building my Montana ANG F-106, I looked very hard for any pics of one with the gun from that unit, and failed. Certainly there were F-106s as late as 1984 without the gun. I suggest that you look at www.f-106deltadart.com for starters. Regards Tim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 2 minutes ago, TimB said: Hi, Wez, I cant give you an absolute answer but when I was building my Montana ANG F-106, I looked very hard for any pics of one with the gun from that unit, and failed. Certainly there were F-106s as late as 1984 without the gun. I suggest that you look at www.f-106deltadart.com for starters. Regards Tim Thanks for the link Tim, I'll take a look there. I forgot to mention I've looked through the Detail and Scale and Colours and Markings monographs and drew a blank there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oriskany Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hello Wez It was tested in 1969 and was introduced in 1973, but i don't know exactly in which units. Sure in 49th FIS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 11 minutes ago, Oriskany said: Hello Wez It was tested in 1969 and was introduced in 1973, but i don't know exactly in which units. Sure in 49th FIS. Now this is good news as the 49 FIS markings are amongst my favourite F-106 schemes. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jure Miljevic Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hi, Wez There had been exactly the same discussion few months ago on the following link: As the gun had not been installed permanently individual approach to modelling (pick the photo of gunned-up F-106 and then search for suitable decals) is probably the best. Cheers Jure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 Jure, Thanks for posting that, nice picture of a 318FIS jet with the gun pack, my 2nd favourite F-106 scheme! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jure Miljevic Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hi, Wez I am glad that you like 318 FIS tail colour sheme, its late version is quite remarkable. It happens to be my favourite, with Mr. Bones of 95 FIS running close second. Cheers Jure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony.t Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) The first 89 of 277 F-106A built had needles/dials instruments and never received provisions for the Six pack and gunsight. These did receive the blown canopy hood after 1972 or so. E.g. Montana ANG Big Sky Country. Tape instruments were introduced from number 90, Block 95 serial 58-0759 and up, these getting provisions for the gun and gunsight, as well as the blown canopy hood. E.g. 87th FIS Red Bulls, New Jersey ANG Red Devils. HTH Tony Edited January 14, 2017 by tony.t to correct typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 7 hours ago, tony.t said: The first 89 of 277 F-106A built had needles/dials instruments and never received provisions for the Six pack and gunsight. These did receive the blown canopy hood after 1972 or so. E.g. Montana ANG Big Sky Country. Tape instruments were introduced from number 90, Block 95 serial 58-0759 and up, these getting provisions for the gun and gunsight, as well as the blown canopy hood. E.g. 87th FIS Red Bulls, New Jersey ANG Red Devils. HTH Tony Tony, That's useful to know, blown canopy does not equate to gun-pack capability. I'll try and find a photo of the aircraft I want to model in the correct configuration, I must say the link to the F-106 site provided by TimB provides a treasure trove of information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony.t Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Still looking for a decent enough schematic to be able to build the gun pack in 1/48 scale Tony Edited January 15, 2017 by tony.t to edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 3 hours ago, tony.t said: Still looking for a decent enough schematic to be able to build the gun pack in 1/48 scale Tony Wez, Tony, Does this help? http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?113417-F-106-internal-bay Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 6 hours ago, 72modeler said: Wez, Tony, Does this help? http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?113417-F-106-internal-bay Mike Any additional info is always welcome Mike, thanks for posting. Wez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rholland Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 10 hours ago, tony.t said: Still looking for a decent enough schematic to be able to build the gun pack in 1/48 scale Tony Missing Link models did a 1/48 gun pack which appears to be in stock at Roll Models under ref MLM48023 for $US3.00. I bought one years ago (1990s?), very basic but may provide a starting point? HTH. Richard in NZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thud4444 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) This question was asked awhile back either here or on ARC and I had a patient who was a retired Six driver so I asked him. He told me the pack was pretty easy to swap between airframes, but calibration was very difficult. So it is possible to have a pic of the same plane with the pack mounted and one without over the span of a few days. The original post had an much more detailed account of what it took to change them over. Edited January 16, 2017 by Thud4444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony.t Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Found this on t'interweb, reproduced for educational purposes as fair use Does anything connect to those two orifices? They must serve a purpose Tony 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 5 hours ago, Thud4444 said: This question was asked awhile back either here or on ARC and I had a patient who was a retired Six driver so I asked him. He told me the pack was pretty easy to swap between airframes, but calibration was very difficult. So it is possible to have a pic of the same plane with the pack mounted and one without over the span of a few days. The original post had an much more detailed account of what it took to change them over. Our government rep, where I work, was a weapons troop on the F-106 in the 48th FIS; he said it generally took a day to install the gun pack, with a large portion of the time dedicated to calibration. If you're doing the gunpack, don't forget to add the gunsight too. The gunsight was pretty advanced for its time; I got to "play" with it when we did a deployment to fly against the Jacksonville Guard. Regards, Murph 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) Some nice photos and schematics of the F-106 M61 canon fit here, scroll right down http://www.f-106deltadart.com/weapons_20mm_cannon.htm Nice build of one here, Edited January 16, 2017 by 71chally 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, tony.t said: Found this on t'interweb, reproduced for educational purposes as fair use Does anything connect to those two orifices? They must serve a purpose Tony My guess, after looking at all the photos and diagrams, is that they were fed outside air from the twin NACA-style intakes seen on the armament bay doors for purging gun gases from the gun pod/ammunition tank, as there also appear to be exhaust vents at the rear of the pod. Mike Edited January 16, 2017 by 72modeler words added for clarity 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) On 1/16/2017 at 10:38 AM, 72modeler said: My guess, after looking at all the photos and diagrams, is that they were fed outside air from the twin NACA-style intakes seen on the armament bay doors for purging gun gases from the gun pod/ammunition tank, as there also appear to be exhaust vents at the rear of the pod. Mike You're correct. I talked to our former "Six" weapons troop today, and he said there were a different set of inner doors for when the gun pack was fitted, which were broken into a forward and aft section, unlike the inner doors for when the Genie was carried, which were a single piece. The forward section had the NACA intakes as in this picture from Prime Portal: When these doors closed there were pipes on the inside that fitted against those two openings to feed air for purging the gun, much like modern cars do with the defrost vents for the side windows: The gun doors were custom fitted to each jet, since the installation of the gunpack varied slightly between each jet, due to fuselage warping and modifications made over the years, so the doors couldn't be swapped between jets. Also, the two seaters did not carry the gun pack. Regards, Murph Edited January 18, 2017 by Murph 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Thanks so much for the photos and the information Murph! I am amazed that I guessed right...for once! The '106 is by far the most beautiful lawn dart ever built, IMHO, and served long and well. The six-shooter is my favorite variant, and now I can do one justice, thanks to your post as well as the other ones. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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