Lockkeed YF-97A/YF-94C Kitbash of Emhar and Heller kits

[TheRealMrEd]

This is one of those "odd-ball" fighter designations, that  were used to designate a modification of an earlier aircraft variant, that  later had it's name changed back to the earlier mark, as the thought was that Congress would find it easier to allocate funds to an existing project, vs paying for a brand new one.    Also, it's one of those "holes" in the old U.S. "prototypes" collection that usually don't get filled.  This is the ornery critter:

 

 

Cursory examination of the photo makes it look easy, just whack of the "B" nose of the Heller kit, and graft that onto the "C" fuselage of the Emhar kit.  Duck soup!

 

So, without wasting another minute, I grabbed by trusty razor saw, and whack the nose off both kit's fuselages, along the appropriate panel lines:

 

 

Oops, not so fast!  It was right at this point that my tired old eyes discerned that the F-97 still had the T-33 type inlets.  They hadn't as yet been upgraded to the later "C" type, larger inlets, probably because this first version had a non-after-burning engine installed.

 

So, cutting off only the nose was not the correct move.  I needed to cut off the front half of the fuselage, pretty close to a convenient panel line on both kits.  However, the panel lines weren't at the exact same place on both kits, so I concentrated on maintaining the same length of the cockpit opening, and to get the nose landing gear well as close as possible:

 

 

Above right, the True Details cockpit set was painted and installed, and fits pretty well, the hardest thing being to get the cockpit level, side-to-side (rear view shown).  Below, the front view is shown:

 

 

The arrow above shows the slight gap where part of the nose gear bay top is missing, and will need to be filled later.

 

I'll let the Ace canopy cement used to re-enforce the cockpit to fuse join and resume a bit later.

 

This should be one of the easiest conversions ever, if you don't ride off wildly in all directions as I did, albeit, requiring quite a bit of sanding as we shall see...

 

Later,

 

Ed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by TheRealMrEd

[Head in the clouds.]

That's what I like Ed, straight in with the heavy weaponry. I find most conversions are never easy, the more you look the more you find and the more you cut.....

 

I will keep an eye on this build.

[Robin-42]

There are also two small bulges on the wing root of the prototype  and the F94 had 8deg of dihedral. Sorry to add to your list....

[Old Man]

 

 

If you mean to get started --- start!

 

Excellent beginning.

[TheRealMrEd]

Hi Ronin-42,

 

Non of the half dozen or so of the prototype F-97 pictures that  I have, showing undersides and topside, seem to show any untoward bulges not present on either the "B" or "C" variants.  Posting up some photos would be a big help...

 

Ed

[Robin-42]

8 minutes ago, TheRealMrEd said:

Hi Ronin-42,

 

Non of the half dozen or so of the prototype F-97 pictures that  I have, showing undersides and topside, seem to show any untoward bulges not present on either the "B" or "C" variants.  Posting up some photos would be a big help...

 

Ed

I never know about copyright issues for photo’s, so I am hesitant to post them. Your first picture shows it in this case. It was only on the company demo. Wing root, right between the walkway lines. 

[TheRealMrEd]

Hi Robin-42,

 

I do see some little blobs in the photo above about where you say.  Got any ideas on their specific shape?

 

As a rule, photos can be used for a learning experience, or brief, non-commercial reference such as this, usually best if they can be accredited to the owner or publication from whence they came.  However, it is also acceptable to crop a small portion of a larger photo, wherein the object shown is "disassociated" from the main subject matter of the photo, ie. clearly not a copy of the photo.

 

Ed

[TheRealMrEd]

A brief update.

 

While the glue was drying on the fuselage, I tackled the remaining "tough" aspect of the F-97, the special wing tip tanks used only on this aircraft.  After checking my voluminous model stash and pretty darned large spares box, I came up dry for these wing tip tanks.  The tip tanks on Anigrand's Lockheed XF-90 were close, but too fat.  So, like any self respecting plastic mutilator, I decided to make my own. 

 

I started with the Emhar F-94C tanks.  First off, I cut the fins off the tanks, then I measured the distance from the rear tip of the tank to the mounting slot that mates to the wings -- in this case 31mm.  Then I glued the tank halves together, and wound a strip of scrap plastic around the center, working slowly, with plenty of hot liquid glue -- in my case, Weld-On #3.  After all that had dried, out came the 3M spot putty:

 

 

Above right, after several sessions of putty, drying, and rough sanding, the tanks are starting to shape up.  As I have no accurate drawings, they are done on the TLAR principle!

 

After nearing final shape, the new slot for the wing mounting tab is drilled out, with 3 - 4 drill holes strung together along the center line of the tank, starting 31mm from the rear tip.  The slots are then final-shaped with the tip of a #11 X-Acto blade:

 

 

The openings need not be perfect, as the joins will be filled, when glued to the wings:

 

 

More next time...

 

Ed

 

 

[Head in the clouds.]

My experience of copyright is simple, I have contacted the individual and never had a refusal yet, if you cant contact them credit them is the best you can do.

[Robin-42]

Ok, this should help.

 

[TheRealMrEd]

Thanks Robin,

 

You da man!

 

Ed

[72modeler]

@TheRealMrEd,

 

IIRC, the F-94C had not only more dihedral but had a thinner wing than the  F-94A and B, which  had the same  wing and main landing gear as the T-33. Since the YF-94C was based on the F-94B, it might have still had the T-33/F-94A/B  main landing gear, which had fatter tires than the production F-94C- this might have required the upper wing bulges for clearance on the YF-94C. The tires of the production F-94C were thinner and had a higher inflation pressure. so the bulges on the upper wings were not needed. Just an uneducated guess, you understand.

Mike

[TheRealMrEd]

Actually Mike, not a bad guess.  I just compared the landing gear legs to the location of the bumps, and they appear to be right atop where the gear leg mounts to the wing, so perhaps they were some sort of re-enforcement to the leg mount?  Maybe we'll find out one day...

 

Ed

[72modeler]

Yeah- after I posted, I was looking again at head-on photos and realized I had forgotten the narrow track of the landing gear and that the wheels were housed in the belly, so the blisters couldn't have had anything to do with the tires/wheels! Just when you think you've had an "ah-ha" moment...

Mike

 

BTW- your conversion is the bee's knees! Those tip tanks turned out great, too! 

[TheRealMrEd]

Another brief update.  The wings have been glued to the fuselage, a bit at a time, to get the rear wing fairings lined up as well as possible.  Also, the "B" type nose, incorrectly removed by me, was re-attached to the Heller "B" fuselage front:

 

 

All this resulted in various gaps needing to be filled, in this case with plastic card.  Above right, the two "X" s show where, inexplicably, the two speed  brakes on the "B" were, for some reason, added to the Emhar "C" kit.  One of the big features of the "C" was relocating the air brakes.  Go figure.

 

More filler on the other side:

 

 

Which when sanded down, filled, and sanded again, are taking shape.  Above right, those "Trim Tab" looking things on the read edge of the wings and the horizontal stabilizers, will need to go.  Also, for what it's worth, this same aircraft, in it's very first configuration, while under NACA control (before NACA was renamed NASA), this aircraft had the "B" type exhaust, and non-afterburning engine.

 

When modeling, I like to depict a certain aircraft at a certain point in time, hopefully supported by a picture.  Sometimes, as in the case of George Lavin's F-84's and F-104, the markings will change over time.  In this case, like other prototypes, various things were often added and /or removed over a period of time.  I just pick one, and go from there.

 

Next about ready to add the windscreen and canopy, mask those, and shoot on a coat of primer for the first seam check:

 

 

Don't worry, Robin.  I'll add your little "bumps" later on.

 

Ed

[Robin-42]

“Above right, the two "X" s show where, inexplicably, the two speed  brakes on the "B" were, for some reason, added to the Emhar "C" kit.  One of the big features of the "C" was relocating the air brakes.  Go figure.”

 

At the risk of being a pain, the production C, and the prototype C, kept the forward speed brakes and added the rear ones. I am not a genius in this, I just have a copy of the Airforce Legends book on the F94.

[TheRealMrEd]

Well good, that explains THAT!  Wonder if they both deployed at the same time?

 

Ed

[Robin-42]

4 hours ago, TheRealMrEd said:

Well good, that explains THAT!  Wonder if they both deployed at the same time?

 

Ed

Yes, there are photo’s on the ground and landing rollout with them both out. 

[TheRealMrEd]

Thanks for all the input, Robin.  It not only helps me with this model build, but any future modelers who are thinking about building one can have as much information as possible, all in one place!

 

Ed

[TheRealMrEd]

Well, after more garden preparation fun, and other stuff,  I'm back again.  I've only  had the chance to work on the model, a little at a time -- one of the reasons for choosing such a relatively simple conversion at this time of the year.

 

Anyway, after a coat of primer, and more sanding and filling, it now looks like this (note added wing bumps):

 

 

 

After even more sanding and filling, a coat of black primer, a coat of Alclad II Polished Aluminum, a coat of Alclad II Aqua Gloss to protect the paint from decal -setting solvents, and some decals added, she then looked like this:

 

 

After finishing the decal application and some drying time, a layer of Alclad II Light Sheen was painted over everything to seal the deals and to kill the shine of the polished aluminum a bit.  While I painted some panels with other shades, they don't distinguish themselves here.  I should have used White Aluminum, but oh, well.

 

At this stage, only the mundane chores were left, adding the landing gear and doors, nose probe from stretched sprue, etc. and she's done.  Really, a very simple project albeit with a LOT of sanding!

 

In all her final (for me at  least) glory, may I present Miss Lockheed YF-97 -- later reduced in rank to simply YA-94C:

 

 

Sorry it took so long, and please, be aware that some of the components such as the nose and tail end, changed on this ship over time, and I have tried to capture just one point in time  -- with no guarantee of correct photo interpretation!

 

RFI pics up HERE

 

Thanks for looking in, and in some cases, helping out a lot!

 

Ed

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by TheRealMrEd
added rfi link

[RidgeRunner]

Very nice, Ed 

[AdrianMF]

Looks terrific! This era of US jets is a bit hazy to me, but it’s one cool-looking aeroplane and a lovely model!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[billn53]

Well done, sir. Bravo! 

[Head in the clouds.]

Nicely done and in 'rocket' time in comparison to my builds.