Making a Missile for static display
 

I have been looking for a set of missiles to fit my Euro Fighter. I have been shocked to find the prices of ordnance kits just a little steep. (Sorry just cheap)

So I started to look at other options.

Using rocket tubes to make the missile
Modeling my own with glass
Find a commercial product (Park Plastics fit the bill but I am not very good at plastic models)

Dreaming up some silly way of make a missile.

So I started with just making a drawing to scale the size I needed.

Bought a ¾ inch dowel at Lowes. (found the lightest one they had)
The shaped the pointy end to the right shape.

Then I decided to try and lighten the body tube (this probably did not matter since the Euro weights in at 32lbs)

So I drilled out the ¾ inch dowel with a ½ inch drill (had to cut the body in half so the drill would reach deep enough. (This trick dropped the weight in half)

Glued the two pieces back together (this 17 inch shape dowel only weights 38 grams)

I am going to use G10 for the fins.

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Looking good.</span><div><font face="Arial" size="2">Would like to see the finished product so keep the information and picks coming please.http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ular_smile.gif</font></div><div><font face="Arial" size="2">Always happy to see other peoples ideas and builds no matter what it mite be.</font></div><div></div><div><font face="Arial" size="2">Ivan</font></div>

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

The absolute easiest way is to spend some time at hobbytown USA at the rocketry section. They sell rocket bodies and noses as spare parts. Find the right shape and length, then make all the fins out of polyply or similar. My problem is always finding a nose that looks like ordnance. You obviously have a lathe of some sort, so shaping one up should be easy.

That's it, I need to find myself a small hobby lathe!

David

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Great Idea making your own missles.....
How do you expect to attach them??
At our local hobby shop they have a large selection of model rockets to make missles
Good luck with your project and post your pictures

Hoss

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Those hardwood missiles would be a piece o'cake. I would leave some material inside (he stated he milled it out some), and just drill two counterbored holes. The holes should pass thorugh the missle, into the support rail, and into the wing. If they are tip missles, I just place two 4-40 Du-Bro threaded inserts in the wing tip. If the wing tip is hardwood reinforced already, just tap the holes. The missle rail is jsut sandwiched in so it doesnt really need any internal material to guide the mounting bolts.

Ideally, you want the missle retaining bolts to be as loose installed as possible without the missles reaping apart in flight (they don't need a lot of torque!). This is in case you have a hard landing....so that the missle assembly breaks loose vs tearing out your wing tip. I make my missle rails out of balsa blocks, so they break off easily before damaging the wing. I cover the bottom with .006 Aluminum sheet, to protect from runway scrapes.

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

On my Tamjets F-16, I jsut CA'd my wingtip rails to the wing. They would just separate in case of a wingtip scrape on the runway!!

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Hi, Take a look at post 32 and 41 for some ideas on building and attaching the missiles...
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_77..._2/key_/tm.htm

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

That post title is going to get the data miners at DHS all spooled up. :) Scotty

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

GSR


I was thinking the same thing!

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Changed the title

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

David. Chek out the combo lath and mill at Harbor. Will make about anything for the scale stuff we do. Get a one time 25% off coupon and carry it home. I used a smaller one (unimat) for years on small gun parts even after having full size lathe and mills.

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

I may just have to go to Harbour Freight tomorrow. :D

thanks for the tip!

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

I have tried the Parkflyer Plastics and I think it is a great product and an even better price.

I could not build plastic models very well and still cannot put the Park Flyer Missiles together any better, plus I would have to put a dowel inside the plastic body to help hold it in place with a screw.

Got the tubes sanded and primed.

I used the trick where you wrap paper around the tube and cut it with no over lap, then fold it into quarters, put it back around the tube and I have 4 perfect spaces to mark the locations for the fins.

Got all of the fins cut out of G-10, used a pattern and stuck to the G-10 with stick glue.

Next I plan on slotting the fin locations to help hold the fins in place.

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Anybody have color schemes. I would like to try and paint these correctly.

What kind of writing is on the side of the body tubes.

Any help is appreciated.

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Depends on what missile you are making. On most the text would be so small, it would be hard to see. American ordnance and some from other countries have a colored band around the missile, in the case of an AIM-9 Sidewinder, it is just aft of the influence fuze and the fins. The color would be blue for training or brown for a live warhead. The very tip of an AIM-9 is dark green glass for the IR seeker. The influence fuze is also a detail you can include, its located just aft of the seeker head and guidance unit.
Denny

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Nicely done. As an old rocketeer, the one problem with rocket tubes in that diameter is that the wall thickness is so thin the tubes are actually quite fragile. And yeah, the nosecone options are limited. But actually, a BT-20 tube (.740OD) with a balsa nose cone can be backfilled with two part expanding foam (go easy) to make a lightweight and durable airframe. The nose cones can be reshaped by spinning in a drill press or lathe with a sanding block. Hard points can be glued in before backfilling.

Slotting the tubes and gluing the fins in that way versus surface mounting will make the world of difference for durability. I'm sure you know already but don't forget to scuff the G-10 with a Scotchbrite or 220-320 paper to remove the surface gloss and any residual release compounds.

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Finally finished the missile set for the Euro.

Got the fins glued on and primer on them, sprayed them white.

I know the bands and colors s are not correct but I did not want to spend that much time on them, plus it is just for fun.

The final weight of each missile is only 56 grams (they are 17 inches long), the last picture is a missile from a Global jet club kit and it weights in at 70 grams (ouch)

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Wclays....
They look GREAT
How do you plan on mounting them??

Thanks
Hoss

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Wclays, here are some links that may help....may be too late, but thought they may be of interest to the thread. I'm currently making a 1/6 scale version for my CAC Sabre.

http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...der/view-1.gif
http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...der/view-2.gif
http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...inder/wing.gif
http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...der/detail.gif
http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...winder/fin.gif

Gotta love factory dwgs....

Here are some detailed photos:
http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...sidewinder.htm

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Here are a few more links if interested: :D:D
....not sure if they all work so forgive me if some links are broken....nonetheless there should be some info to get you the text, etc you needed......



http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...er-b-color.gif ………… Alway scale drwg
http://www.rocketryonline.com/jimbal...inder-nose.gif ………….. Alway nose dimensns

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_armament_article1.html …………… AIM-9 noses, fwd fin shapes, descr of models

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder …………… AIM-9 history, descr of models

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/aim-9.htm ………… AIM-9 history, photos

http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-9.html …………… AIM-9 history, descr of models, photos

http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities..._datasheet.pdf ………….. Raytheon company -9X broch

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...ons/aim-9x.htm ……………. AIM-9 descr
http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...aim-9-pics.htm ………… AIM-9 photos
http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...im-9-specs.htm ………… AIM-9 data

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_di...&tid=1000&ct=2 ………….. AIM-9 descr, data

http://www.sci.fi/~fta/aim9.html …………. AIM-9 descr of models, data/dimensns listings for models, wrttn by Carlo Kopp (from ausairpower.net)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder …………. photos, incl pix of noses

http://www.e-haf.org/PublicFTP/BIBLI...1/OG-AIM-9.pdf ……….. user guide; how to load & fire an AIM-9 from your F-16

http://novia.net/~tomcat/AIM-9.html ……….. AIM-9 descr of models

http://www.fact-index.com/a/ai/aim_9_sidewinder.html …………… AIM-9 descr, data/dimensns for -9B

http://planken.org/rnlaf/f-16-fighti...m-9-sidewinder ………… AIM-9 descr, data/dimensns for -9L

http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bi...im-9m_walk.htm …………. AIM-9 photos

http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/ency...9M_Sidewinder/ ….. AIM-9 descr, data/dimensns for -9B

http://en.allexperts.com/e/a/ai/aim-9_sidewinder.htm .................... AIM-9 descr, data/dimensns for -9L

http://warfare.ru/?linkid=2518&catid=348 ...................... AIM-9 data/dimensns for -9B/D/E/G/H/J/L/M/N/X

http://www.3dcadbrowser.com/preview.aspx?ModelCode=7612 .......... 3-D CAD model
http://www.fallingpixel.com/aim-9m-s...3d-model/11318 ............ 3-D CAD model

http://www.pixdatabase.com/photo/8695/ ................. AIM-9 detailed photos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AI...-15C_2002.JPEG ……… AIM-9X detailed photo

http://warstuff.com/detail.asp?id=19...Stabiliser-Fin ………. photos of fwd fin

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...and_GBU-15.jpg ......... AIM-9 photo

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

Sean very interesting post but the last links dont work [&o]

how we search for a missile in this page?

RE: Making a Missile for static display
 

If I get some time later today ill go back and remove links that don't work.
There should be enough dwgs and picture links to get you 90% of what you need to replicate one.