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1:48 T-37 Tweety Bird from A-37A/B Dragonfly ?


Tiger331

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Hi,

 

Does anyone know if it is easy (or otherwise) to produce a T-37 Tweety Bird trainer from the Hobby Boss A-37A/B Dragonfly kits ?.

 

Thanks

 

 

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Not easy at all. The big issue is that the T-37 has engines of smaller dimensions and lower power. This is reflected in smaller jet intakes (made so primarily by a fuselage side fairing at the intakes which reduces their intake area), smaller jet orifices (and correspondingly smaller wing fairing and fuselage side exhaust deflector plate). Both of those are not that difficult to modify. The real “500 pound gorilla” is the entire wing root fairing that encloses the engines. It is slimmer and less beefy than that of the A-37. This clear in photographs but almost impossible to show clearly in a drawing. Lacking any published objective information (such as the hull lines sometimes found on ship plans), one would be reduced progressive trial and error sanding and continuous comparison with carefully selected photographs. The chance of doing that successfully have long deterred me for attempting this very conversion. Good luck if you try.

 

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The entire fuselage center section is completely different contours on the two types.  

 

I find it hard to believe that in 2018 we still lack a 1/48 kit of the trainer that every single USAF pilot from the late 1950s until just a few years ago soloed on.  I keep hoping that Wolfpack will follow up their gorgeous T-38 with a proper T-37B.

 

 

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Tan Model at one time said they were gonna do a 1/48 T-37.

I think they even had images on their Facebook page of a Turkish museum bird they were using to LIDAR.

 

I was hopeful at the time...however Tan Model have promised us much and delivered very little so far.

 

But yes we do need a 1/48 Tweet!

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3 hours ago, tempestfan said:

There was the Strombecker/Aurora kit in the stoneage - for the adventurous well-to-do...

 

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Very helpful in determining that I will not attempt this conversion and will wait for someone to oblige us all with a state-of-the-art kit of the T-37 Tweety Bird. I noted, with interest, that the significant change in fuselage/wing root contours between the T-37 and A-37 (as noted by Trenton Guy above) did not seem to deter Aurora from re-boxing their T-37A as an A-37, as noted by Scalemates via your (tempestfan) link. Obviously we modellers were less scrupulous about accuracy in those days !.  

 

Thanks again, chaps !

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Scott Van Aken review of Aurora's "upgrade" here - at least they added a host of external tanks... I assume the Monogram A-37 is too far apart from their taking over the Aurora moulds that they could have based their kit on the old one, as they did with the WW I kits, the A-7 and F-111A. Anyway, the Strombecker T-37 would make an interesting subject for a "nostalgia" re-release by Revell - if they have the mould in the first place, I seem to recall reading somewhere that the T-37 and Temco were only on lease and returned to STrombecker afterwards. Which ***may*** mean Glencoe has the moulds ?

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On 8/9/2018 at 10:43 AM, Tiger331 said:

... Very helpful in determining that I will not attempt this conversion and will wait for someone to oblige us all with a state-of-the-art kit of the T-37 Tweety Bird...

Well , at least lets hope that "someone" will not be from those bad gangs ... !

could be a good chance for some show Us that can produce decent kits with  wing root/cowling of the turbines properly ...

I have tried to make this conversion using the Monogram 1/48 kit and better let it aside.

Tonka

 

 

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