1/18 Scale Aircraft Armament

AIM 120 AMRAAMS, AIM-7 Sparrows, AGM-88 HARMs, & GBU-12 Paveway IIs

by Rob Doctor

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The F/A-18C in 1/18 scale by bbi bluebox toys came with a modest armament set up of 2 sets of MK82 conventional bombs and two sidewinders which are molded onto the rails.  The F-16C also came with armament but a closer inspection reveals that the missiles were a tad overscale and the Sparrow supplied with it is erroneously referred to on the box as an AIM-120 AMRAAM.  The Hornet needed a more deadlier sting and I was fascinated by a pic of an F/A-18C with a full AAM load of 2 sidewinders, 8 AMRAAMS with 2 more on the midship section of the fuselage.  I decided to give the plane an identical setup and I immediately hit the drawingboard to fast-track some 1/18 scale missiles and Air-to-Ground Weapons.  These were definitely long over-due!

I elected to go with a 2 Sparrow Set up on the fuselage and I updated my GBU-12s to include the retractable fins and a more refined finish.  On the outboard pylon, I scratchbuilt the LAU-115 Missile Racks with the LAU-127 side-mounted rails.  The AIM-7 Sparrows were mounted to the midship fuselage points.

Click on image below to see larger image

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I decided to take the GBU-12s I initially built and refine the surface for more cleaner appearance and finally added the retractable fins.  Lastly, I made a pair of AGM-88 HARM Anti-Radiation Missiles.  I've also designed the weapons for compatibility with  the F-16C.  I'm working on prototype designs for Harpoons, JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bombs, Targeting Pods, and Zuni Rocket Launchers.

Rob

Click on image below to see larger image

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Photos and text © by Rob Doctor