Swing-Wing Curiosity

[Uncle Pete]

Just out of curiosity, do any of the kits of variable geometry planes have an arrangement to turn the weapons pylons automatically as the wings swing?  Or has anybody had a crack at modifying a kit to do that?  Strikes me as a logical move and a challenge that might be tempting for one with advanced skills.  (Not a kit-basher like myself).

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Yes there was a Tornado Work in progress in august or september that was modifying the kit to function. I dont have a link but if you go back or use tornado in the sesrch options that will narrow it down to a smaller #.

[Uncle Pete]

Thanks, Mr Uncle (or may I call you Corsair?).  I'll have a look.  It's idle curiosity but I'm be interested to see how guys might tackle it.  Unlikely to give it a whack myself, though.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Uncle Pete my Name is Dennis, or if you prefer you may use any variation of the screen name. Im good either way. Im sorry i could not give you a better option. But I’ve seen so much here at BM. Its hard to remember specifics. It might be in the pinned thread about the Revell Tornado in the WIP section. 

 

Dennis

[exdraken]

Hi, first, thete are not too many seing wing planes with movinh pylons:

-Tornado

-F-111

-Su-24

 

If we are talking 1/48 xes modt model proviye this mechanism

I just did an Academy F-111 with moving pylon capability .. a bit fiddly , but working. Not necessarily durable though!

[fewr9fkr9595]

Yeah interesting question, as said there aren’t many planes it would be relevant for. However to me that is too much of a gimmick and puts a scale model into that grey area between a static display piece of history in miniature and a toy. 

 

Each to his own. 

 

Unless to the someone out there that reads this who happens to be the bloke who asked of my auction listing on ebay last year of a ‘built for display’ 1/32 hasegawa bf109 g6: (in the end sold for £150-ish to a german collector guy, glad it went there)

 

‘Hi there, does the prop spin and (wait for it) do the the wheels turn?’

 

To which he took great offence when I replied - ‘‘why do you want to roll it along your kitchen worktop and make it ‘take off?’’ 

 

You Sir, are an idiot. 

[bentwaters81tfw]

I believe the 1/48 Academy F-111 has some sort of linkage in the wing for that purpose. Without digging in my stash to check. I can't see it being a very substantial assembly and liable to failure at some point.

[Uncle Pete]

Thanks for all the input, lads.  Like I said it's idle curiosity but I figure it'd make an interesting challenge and I can see how it'd be a real bear to make it strong enough.  That's a gig for a proper engineer.  I've noticed on forums like these several guys expressing the desire to motorise props... Figured the swing wing idea would sort of be in the same category.  And, Dennis... I was just trolling for a laugh with the "Mr Uncle" line... It's one of my standard internet gags.

[Flankerman]

Not really contributing to the model swing wing debate - but I find it interesting.........

 

Apparently when the F-111 was being designed, the aircraft engineers had the wing sweep mechanism working in the same way as the throttles - push it forward to sweep the wings and go faster pull it back to unsweep (forwards) the wings and go slower.

 

This was totally unnatural to the pilots - who insisted that they change it to push forward, wings forward, pull back, wings back - opposite to ther throttles.

 

Ken

[Gorby]

@bentwaters81tfw is correct. Page five of the instructions shows the linkage:

 

https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/3/5/6/107356-29-instructions.pdf

[Uncle Pete]

Thanks for the link, Gorby.  Their solution looks very elegant.  I can see it would be a bit flimsy, though, unless he linkage were replaced with brass or aluminium.

[rav]

I have scratchbuit a similar mechanism for my very old 1/72 Tornado ADV. It is very delicate and I'm afraid to operate it, but it works.

[Uncle Pete]

@ Rav... I considered having a whack at it myself till I saw how thin the wings were.  You'd practically need watchmakers skills and tools to pull it off.