Airfix

[Martin H]

The picture was posted by Chris A Payne so if there is a copyright issue at least I have credited my source.

Gondor

I doubt Chris would mind to much. He is a member here, and pops in from time to time.

[Gondor]

The picture was posted by Chris A Payne so if there is a copyright issue at least I have credited my source.

Gondor

I doubt Chris would mind to much. He is a member here, and pops in from time to time.

I have found that I already had a copy of that picture quoted as being by Mel James and reversed to what I recently posted 

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

So what's the giant pylon for if the ECM pod is hung right up close to the wing??

[scooter]

So what's the giant pylon for if the ECM pod is hung right up close to the wing??

Gear door?

[jcf]

The big slab is a result of them not paying attention and thinking that the undercarriage
bay door was part of the pylon. Which was
based on misinterpreting the photo of the guy
working on the pod. Evidently somebody didn't
grasp that pod was not yet mounted on the
aircraft. 

[Weaver]

So what's the giant pylon for if the ECM pod is hung right up close to the wing??

It isn't a pylon at all, it's the gear door. In ONE picture, which must have been the one that Airfix looked at, it happens to be lined up in such a way that you could take it as a giant pylon at a casual glance, but looking at the picture for more than a minute makes it totally clear that it's just an optical illusion.

[Gondor]

It isn't a pylon at all, it's the gear door. In ONE picture, which must have been the one that Airfix looked at, it happens to be lined up in such a way that you could take it as a giant pylon at a casual glance, but looking at the picture for more than a minute makes it totally clear that it's just an optical illusion.

The problem with that statement is that the majority of us are aircraft nuts, and someone will say with an emphasis on nuts, so we know a lot about aircraft. The young person who did the CAD work for the kit probably is not as knowledgeable as the rest of us so will not see the problem.
I have always remembered from the late 70's early 80's, an article in a magazine about how to take pictures of aircraft. One of the tips was to make sure there was nothing behind or in front of the aircraft that could make it look as if the subject had an extra fin or aerial, or for that matter a lamp stand. Knowing that, I can look at a picture and try to work out such problems mostly.

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

I did look at it for more than a minute, but I was trying to work out how the brackets on the ECM pod seemed to be attached to the 'Pylon', and that tends to blind you to the fact that it ISN'T a pylon.

[Beermonster58]

When looking at "The Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum Official Facebook Page" I saw this picture which I have shamelessly borrowed



This shows that Airfix did next to no research other than to look at one picture 

The picture was posted by Chris A Payne so if there is a copyright issue at least I have credited my source.

Gondor

Oh, I don't know. Is it not equally likely that, if Airfix HAD  used your photo( as opposed to the one they actually used) that we would now be berating them for the appalling lack of research that resulted in them producing an  ECM pod that had  a large "extension" hanging down underneath it?  

[Gondor]

Oh, I don't know. Is it not equally likely that, if Airfix HAD  used your photo( as opposed to the one they actually used) that we would now be berating them for the appalling lack of research that resulted in them producing an  ECM pod that had  a large "extension" hanging down underneath it?  

They should have used this photo instead.



As you can see from the picture, they sort of got the pylon for the ECM pod, at least the bit fitted to the airframe 

The Shrike pylons from the earlier version look like this



Though these are wrong because they have a cut out towards the rear of both pylons so that they would fit over "lumps" on the underside of the wings. These "lumps" are actually the rear mounting points for the Skybolt Missile Pylons and what the rear of the Black Buck pylons are fitted to. Airfix would have had you fit their pylons too far back along the wings.

Gondor

[rickshaw]

Over at Britmodeller they have been having their usual jibes at Airfix.  They even published how to correct the pylon.



Just remove the red marked plastic.

[scooter]

I know the AN/ALQ-101 doesn't have a lot of lumps, bumps, and texture, but you'd think Airfix could have made it look less like a piece of sprue. 

[zenrat]

Britmodellers - too lazy to take sprues out of a bag.

Surely the CAD person would have asked for more than just one photo.
After all Airfix are keen on accuracy - remember, "no more new moulds without a LIDAR scan or blueprints to work from".
Reliance on a LIDAR scan being the reason the Mozzie has its errors.

[NARSES2]

Reliance on a LIDAR scan being the reason the Mozzie has its errors.

Next weeks Hornby tv show includes the design process of the Mossie. Should be interesting.

[Beermonster58]

Britmodellers - too lazy to take sprues out of a bag.

That's because they're too busy  bitching, whinging, counting rivets and, generally doing non modelling things to do mundane tasks like removing a kit from it's bag.