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Generic photo-etch for the lower sides of pylons?


Rob de Bie

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I have a few 1/72 models with empty pylons. The lower side is simply a flat surface (see A-4 wing photo), whereas in reality you can see the bomb ejector rack and electrical connections. In a few photo-etched sets I've seen parts for that, but they are few. Therefore my question: does generic photo-etch for the lower sides of pylons exist? Sway braces would be a nice addition too.

 

a4ptm-13.jpg

 

Rob

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Sets of 1:72 sway braces have been done in photoetch - True Details (Squadron) was one supplier, I seem to recall Reheat may also have done them (their PE and other products catered heavily toward generic detail components). Probably at least one or two others I'm not aware of.

 

The difficulties with a "generic" pylon detail are compounded to such a degree that I would be very surprised if you could find such a product in 1:72. First, although the lug spacing for weapons is standardized, the details of each pylon - in many cases even different pylons on the same aircraft - are often unique. Add to that the fact that each kit manufacturer maintains varying degrees of accuracy and scale fidelity for their representations of those pylons in each kit.  Couple all of the above with the very small actual size of these details in 1:72, and a useful generic set quickly trends toward practical impossibility.

 

Your best bet is probably looking for kit/airframe-specific PE detail sets that do include these sorts of details. Absent that you might be able to adapt PE details designed for small-scale (1:700 or under) ships - portholes, watertight doors, etc. - to find sets of basic shapes in PE that could be repurposed as a reasonable approximation.  You might also look into "option parts" for Gundam-type kits. Those product lines include some fairly extensive generic PE and injection molded sets designed for added detailing/customization of the base kits. It might require trimming the parts you want from a larger detail/pattern but worth looking into. Wave and Kotobukiya are two companies with extensive offerings of this type.

Edited by CT7567
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Rod, CT7567 and Dave, thanks for the suggestions! True Details, Reheat and PP Aeroparts are great names from the past, and I often snap them up when I see their sets at model shows. But it's been years since I found the last one..

 

I looked again at what available for the A-4, and it turns out that Eduard's set for the Hobby Boss kit has what I want: five pylon lower sides, and a bunch of sway braces. Hurray! Except that I will not use most of the rest.

 

Rob

Edited by Rob de Bie
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8 hours ago, Rob de Bie said:

Rod, CT7567 and Dave, thanks for the suggestions! True Details, Reheat and PP Aeroparts are great names from the past, and I often snap them up when I see their sets at model shows. But it's been years since I found the last one..

 

I looked again at what available for the A-4, and it turns out that Eduard's set for the Hobby Boss kit has what I want: five pylon lower sides, and a bunch of sway braces. Hurray! Except that I will not use most of the rest.

 

Rob

The new owners of Squadron Mail Order plan on bringing back True Details in the future.  As to how much will be new or mostly items now oop is anybodies guess.

Later,

Dave

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11 hours ago, e8n2 said:

The new owners of Squadron Mail Order plan on bringing back True Details in the future.  As to how much will be new or mostly items now oop is anybodies guess.

Later,

Dave

 

That is excellent news! But where is my shopping list from 10+ years ago..

 

Rob

3 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

I recently tried to make my own sway braces using thin plastic rod and plastic card. They on my WIP F-84F They came out pretty well when you consider my arthritis! ;)

 

Martin

 

Nice work indeed! Here's the link to the posting with sway braces:

 

Rob

 

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I just sent Squadron.com an e-mail about this discussion and the url for it.  Maybe it will help in getting what you need.

Later,

Dave

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/13/2022 at 10:44 PM, e8n2 said:

I just sent Squadron.com an e-mail about this discussion and the url for it.  Maybe it will help in getting what you need.

Later,

Dave

I got a response this morning from Squadron:

 

"Hey Dave,

 

Very interesting... we will take a look!  Thanks for the heads up."

 

That was from Brandon Lowe, the chief cook and bottle washer at Squadron.  Could be a generic response, but took them over a week and a half so who knows.

Later,

Dave

Edited by e8n2
Correct last name
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7 hours ago, e8n2 said:

I got a response this morning from Squadron:

 

"Hey Dave,

 

Very interesting... we will take a look!  Thanks for the heads up."

 

That was from Brandon Cook, the chief cook and bottle washer at Squadron.  Could be a generic response, but took them over a week and a half so who knows.

Later,

Dave

 

Thanks for your effort!

 

Rob

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16 hours ago, Rob de Bie said:

 

Thanks for your effort!

 

Rob

I messed up the guy's last name.  It is Lowe, not Cook.  Fixed now.

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I haven't seen any of the 3d decal instrument panels. Is that technic good enough to produce the lower side of pylons? I was thinking that it would be soft enough to trim over sized prints. If so a slightly large print could be made to fit different kits pylons.

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