Uncle Dick

Can someone please tell me about the supposed centreline external stores stations (the only references I have seen is that the P-8 has 6 external stores attachment stations the 2 on each wing rated at (various references state 2,500 each others state 3,000 lb each - which one is correct I do not know???) and from a drawing I have seen (see below image) 2 centreline "in line" hard points of unknown load capacity? but I have never seen the supposed centreline hard points in any photos (not one) on a production P-8 !!!!! I have seen the long canoe radar type installations on the centreline but never any armament such as bombs, torpedoes, mines or missiles. Lots of images of the bomb bay but never seen any images of the alleged external centreline stores carrying armament..... Were the centreline stores stations incorporated into production models of the P-8 or not ? As the P-8 has been flying now for close to 8 years in operational service and not one image has emerged of centreline external stores that I have seen anyway?

Unless I am mistaken, I have not seen any specific mention it is "new tool" but lets give them the benefit of any doubt as it could be a very tasty treat if it was! Not overly keen on the civil registration decal options, but military is sure to follow. Kovozávody Prostějov if you are reading this - can you please give us a large amount of armament options - happy to pay extra for seperate armament sprue with all the exotic French/Euro Et Al fire crackers, Please, Please and Xtra Please!

Cheapest I ever picked up the Hasegawa was in 2017 from Luckymodel $35.99 USD actually $32.39 after 10% off for the B-24J with $2 shipping - trouble is I only bought two at the time...

Another possibility - no one has mentioned is that it could be a prank to spoof the Soviet AGI's constantly monitoring Ark deployments during the cold war. Have read that Ark's crew managed quite a few deceptions by repainting items or making mock ups or modifications to have the Soviet analysts scratching their heads ...

The Dragon SH-3D and their variants of the Sea King have quite a few shape and accuracy errors - beyond my ability to correct - if you are fussy on accuracy best to source a Fujimi SH-3 or convert the new tool Airfix "Westland" model to a Siko (rsky)!

Excellent news - been waiting a very long time for this (not very keen on the decal options) but cannot complain! You will notice the box art appears to depict an early model A-4M though

Yes one of the main reasons I started this thread is to try and interest Polish and Ukraine model kit manufacturer to make it injection moulded in 1/72 and to see that the subject is of interest and would be a popular model as the representatives from the kit manufacturers do browse these forums! I have noticed Azeri and some Ukraine TB2 with 3 bladed propellors (see images below), while I presume earlier models had the 2 bladed propellor - does anyone know what the different versions are designated and whether there are any other differences. I understand the manufacturer Baykar will be using Turkish designed and produced engines and other substitute components that have been sanctioned/embargoed. The TB 3 will also be of interest with folding wings for use off the TCG Anadolu LHD. An interesting design feature of the TB2 is the fixed main undercarriage under the wings which does not retract and the nose gear which retracts (see below illustration) to allow unobstructed forward view for the camera turret.

I have been wanting to build a TB 2 for some time in 1/72 (wing span works out close to 16cm in 172 so nice size) - however no one makes it and only TAN MODEL as far as I am aware has made it in 1/24 scale. Poland has just announced they will be buying 24, also Ukraine has a few already as do some other nations - so hopefully that will give some impetus for someone to make a nice model of same in 1/72 as hoping for Tan Model to down scale their 1/24 model is almost without hope! Cheers

I understand what you are saying and sympathise - however lets not forget Airfix is not a person with a lifetime memory; all it is - is a company whose owners have changed over the years and whose employees (who do the research and tooling) have changed over time, so there is no collective memory of what they did not do correctly and what they did correctly apart from anyone reading modelling forums on point and perhaps some in house notes from previous employees...to remind new employees of what should be fixed if they look at the model tooling again, unfortunately its not as simple as dealing with for example one person who knows the history of everything at least that is how I think it goes...

Noticed a large dorsal fairing (rounded lump / bump on top of fuselage in between the antennas) on USMC Ospreys from the USS Iwo Jima in the UK recently the modification also appears to have a new ? blade aerial antenna arrangement forward of the said fairing and changes to other antennas? (also a blade antenna on forward slope of fuselage spine just before it joins with wing aft of the canopy) which may be of interest to modellers. I managed to dig up this https://theaviationist.com/2018/09/20/new-bulge-on-top-of-u-s-marine-corps-and-afsocs-v-22-osprey-tilt-rotor-aircraft-is-a-radome-that-houses-a-satcom-antenna/ article which talks about the feature to do with SATCOM and DI. Some further googling indicates it is appearing on USAF CV-22 and there is a similar fairing on the Japanese Ospreys. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51128879979_5fb7901fc3_o.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51131074533_a938bd1f7c_o.jpg and older version MV-22 without lump for contrast from the same visit to UK https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51130371914_5728e76b79_o.jpg and a double in the one image - with and without fairing & new antennas https://www.flickr.com/photos/shaun_schofield/51131007430/

I hope Hasegawa change their decal print material as their decals "yellow" after a few years and become a complete write off - very noticeable for any decals that are supposed to have white in them... Hobby 2000 are to be congratulated for their re-issues of Fujimi, Hasegawa and Dragon kits etc... even if prices are high am still waiting for them repop Fujimi A-4E/F in 1/72... Will buy one each of the F-111 repops, would have bought more but for price...

Rumour is Hasegawa will box a Norwegian hunchback with said fairing depicted on box art or box photo, but without said fairing in the box to make a quick buck... Jokes aside would not be too hard to scratch build said fairing... Some cracking images of Norwegian hunchbacks in Iceland recently also spiked my interest - I wonder if the Israelis will eventually also adopt the hunchback look on their F-35I, they certainly adopted drag chutes on most of their jets in the past...

Even if they did cease production, someone will buy their moulds and toolings and repop them in time...and so forth et al

Looks to be a dual combo Pack?

Partially off topic - could German Airforce Tornado's carry 8 x Mk 83 1,000lb bombs (the American variety) on belly? Or was their maximum load configuration on belly 5 x Mk 83 or 6 x Mk83?

Brilliant - many thanks for that chaps, it immediately struck me as it was first image I have seen of GAF Alfa with conventional bombs as opposed to rocket pods or BL755 Clusters. If I recall correctly the ancient Revell Mirage bombs did not have the fuses at the front and were markedly rounder (more blunt at the front) and did not have the retarded chute protrusion at rear. The PJ versions look the business but unfortunately various sources suggest they are the thinner 125kg version - also on PJ bombs the fuses appear much shorter than on said image of jet - maybe they had different fuse lengths (fuse extenders like the American Mk 82's for example?) I honestly cannot tell whether the bombs on the image of GAF Alfa are 250kg or 125kg variety - they certainly have the retarded chute protrusion at rear and long fuses, on balance would say they look like 250kg variety... ah well its never easy is it, the 1/48 Wingman bombs look like they are it but not available in 1/72...

Can anyone please identify the type of bombs this GAF Alfalfa Jet is humping (designation and weight if known) are they French made ordnance or someone else's? And does anyone make them in 1/72 scale? Much appreciated. Image from Aicraftslides.com

Thank you for your replies, that pdf link was most interesting reading. Thank you also for the photo links to go navy.jp that is a wealth of reference material !

What is bulge on the fuselage along the bottom between the first and second round window from the front? Fuel tank, baggage compartment / pod, float bag?????????????? Have seen many images of CH-46 helicopters some with and some without typically they have them on both sides of fuselage when fitted.

Somehow I doubt they will include a cookie unless it is in a dedicated seperate boxing of the Mossie as they like for us to spend our money on extra boxings, a variant of the HC 4,000lb cookie though one can obtain from their bomber resupply set assuming the cookie variants carried by Mossies are exactly the same in appearance (I am no expert), whether attachment modifications are required I do not know either?

I take it the black paint seen under the radome is anti glare for the IRST device in the under nose fairing?

From the ICM 48th scale thread in britmodeller Rui Silva posted the below answer And again from same thread exdraken posted below image Iraqi interceptor with drop tank (reportedly PDS but according to above should be PD)?

On the ICM web site you can download the instruction booklet for the new 1/72 MIG-25PD kit (pdf format) shows sprue items, order of assembly and marking options 2 x USSR, 1 Iraqi, 1 Lybian these marking options are the exact ones given in their 1/48 kit... you can also see all the sprue photos on their site Instructions link https://icm.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/72177_manual_web.pdf Unlike their 1/48 kit there are no R-60s unfortunately. The IRST fairing is on the radome sprue see below image No flare dispensers are provided NOR are there any RWR blisters provided on the sides of the intakes (Note Tom Cooper's critique about the 3 common mistakes about building Iraqi Mig-25's from 1991 conflict (1. Flare chaff dispensers required 2. Iraqi National Flag Arabic "Allah Akbar" writing required and 3. RWR blisters required see http://aviationgeekclub.com/here-are-some-tips-for-building-an-accurate-model-of-an-iraqi-mig-25-foxbat/ Does anyone have a photo of Iraqi Mig-25 serial "25201" which is depicted in the 1/48 and 1/72 ICM kits? The arabic numerals are clearly 25201 see below images of 1/72 and 1/48 decals respectively Curiously Wings Palette has an aircraft "35301" as a MIG-25BM (see below) just wondering who is correct? You will see the extra notch on the arabic numeral for 3

Should be a lovely kit, though most of us are probably bankrupt by now having bought all the new tool recon variants + trainer from ICM...at least the box art makes it somewhat unappealing - about as exciting as looking at dried vomit, at least that will be my excuse not to buy more than 3 ... if I can get another mortgage of course!

Blame those ruddy Heinkels and Junkers bombing the Beaufort production line