To go along with the white navigation light on the tail, I added molded-in navigation lights (red/green) on the wingtips. The F-4 had much small wingtip lights, but it also had a comparatively thinner wing. I figured that I'd just make them to blend into the Reaction's rather thick wing. Here's how it's done in case someone wants to try it:
Photo 1: Mark the extents of the molded lens on the wing in pencil.
Photo 2: Cut a piece of Lexan oversized and glue a couple of wood strips to either side as grips. Heat up the Lexan with a heat gun (both sides) and pull it over the wingtip. It may take a few iterations (and a surprising amount of pull force), but keep at it until the Lexan is pulled past the pencil lines. Using a NON-PERMANENT marker, trace the pencil lines onto the Lexan
Photo 3: Cut away the Lexan about 1/4" beyond the pencil lines
Photo 4: Line the cutout in the wing with 1/8" plywood. Glue the plywood such that half the thickness is within the wing and the other half forms the gluing surface for the lens. Carefully sand away the Lexan to fit into the cutout then put it aside.
Prime/paint the plywood and mount the LED. I used Electrodynamics lights so it was a simple matter to drill a 1/4" thru hole and glue the light in position with Zap-A-Gap-A-Goo
Photo 5: Paint the inside of the molded lens with translucent paint and glue it into place with canopy glue.
Photos 6 - 8: The final result seems well worth the effort.
Regards,
Jim
