1/48 Academy F-4C/D Phantom II

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Thanks for all the commits, the next issue is the issue of weapons. I the first part of the US involvement of Vietnam conflict, the USAF F-4C Phantoms employed the AIM-9B Sidewinder and the AIM-7E Sparrow. The AIM-9B was a heat seeking short range missile carried on the inboard weapons stations. Two missiles were carried on each inboard wing station if no bombs were carried. If bombs were carried then no AIM-9's were carried on the USAF F-4's. The USN and USMC F-4B/N/J/S Phantoms employed a different weapons pylon which had an extension to which air to ground weapons were attached, according to some information I read this allowed the room to carry the Sidewinders as well as the air to ground weapons, the USAF pylon did not have this extension. I can't verify that information but USAF F-4's never carried the AIM-9 with weapons attached to the pylon and the Navy Marine Corp did.
As this will be displayed as MiGCAP/BarCAP configuration the next thing is to find the right weapons. The kit comes with two different AIM-7 types and something like 6 different AIM-9 types but does not identify any of the subtypes by nomenclature. The AIM-9 was used by both the USAF and the USN, but, as two children fighting for attention, they seemed not to be able to come up with a common system save for the B until the L version. The USAF used the B in the early years and then the E in the last years of the war. In fact the F-4D, which was the first "truly USAF" F-4 was employed with a USAF developed infrared missile, the AIM-4D, It was a disaster at best, and the aircraft were configured to use the AIM-9. So the kit supplies what appears to be an AIM-9B Sidewinder but I don't like the forward canards. They are raked back to much for a "B". The Hasegawa Weapons set C has a better "B" and I think I will use that.
(AIM-9B on an F-4 in a museum. They did not do their research. )
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(white one is from the kit, grey is the Hasegawa Weapons kit C, not the difference in the rack of the forward canard)
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The next issue is the AIM-7E Sparrow! the kit supplied AIM-7's are wrong. Not sure what they were thinking of but they got it wrong. The AIM-7E and F have a clipped wing forward canard, not a pointed on. The Hasegawa Weapons C kit has an AIM-7F. I shall have to cut the forward canards off the kit Sparrows and modify them with the Weapons C kit canards to get the correct weapons.
(From Wikipedia, two F-4C being loaded with AIM-7 at Cam Ranh Bay 1967, 12th TFW, note the short rod and clipped wings. Also note that 473 is configured for ground support with no AIM-9 and 820 is configured for a MiGCAP with AIM-9's)
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(top photo is the Hasegawa AIM-7F and the lower is the kit Sparrow).
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OK I talked to a facebook friend of mine who flew F-4D' and E's at the end of the war during Linebacker and Linebacker two. It seems I was wrong about the Sidewinders and weapons mounted on the inboard pylon. According to him, they did carry both at the same time. He flew Iron Hand Hunter Killer missions with CBU's and Sidewinders. as well as other missions with both loaded. There we go good to go.
 

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