A-5 (A3J) Vigilante

[pyro-manic]

I got an Airfix one for about £7 last year?

[PR19_Kit]

Did anyone ever do a conversion kit to make the early A-5A bomber variant from an RA-5C Vigilante?

I found I have three of the things, one each of Airfix, Hasegawa and Trumpeter, I've got to do SOMEthing with them.  

[Gondor]

Did anyone ever do a conversion kit to make the early A-5A bomber variant from an RA-5C Vigilante?

I found I have three of the things, on each of Airfix, Hasegawa and Trumpeter, I've got to do Something with them. 

I believe that there was an article on what to do somewhere.

Gondor

[Thorvic]

Did anyone ever do a conversion kit to make the early A-5A bomber variant from an RA-5C Vigilante?

I found I have three of the things, one each of Airfix, Hasegawa and Trumpeter, I've got to do SOMEthing with them.  

Well the A-5B had the hump back of the RA-5C, so you could do a Strike version rather than recon, as only a few were built in this format.
The RA-5C was offered to the RAAF as an alternative to the F-111C, this would have the recon canoe, but also had strike capability

You could do the retaliator with the third engine in place of he bomb tube on the upper centreline, and armed with AAMs.

These are in the Wings of Fame volume that covered the Vigilante from what i remember

[PR19_Kit]

Indeed, I know the history of it backwards, but it's the long, low, sleek look that the A-5As had that I'd like to model.

But it needs some serious scratchbuilding to do it, virtually the entire fuselage top aft of the windshield needs to be changed.

[Thorvic]

Indeed, I know the history of it backwards, but it's the long, low, sleek look that the A-5As had that I'd like to model.

But it needs some serious scratchbuilding to do it, virtually the entire fuselage top aft of the windshield needs to be changed.

Yeap the conversion was in Fine Scale Modeller, i think Cutting Edge were or did a conversion in 1/48th before it went belly up.

I would use the Hasegawa or Airfix kits for conversion work, the trumpeter kit is covered in rivet holes, the fuselage joint is rather weak and prone to splits as not enough internal bulkheads.

[MAD]

Detailed drawings the of the NR-349, posted on Secret Projects
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,14338.0.html

First drawing, based on artistic impressions (see page one on this thread):


Second drawing, after the artist saw manufacturers models of the NR349, appears more accurate:

I wonder what/how this semi-conformal weapons configuration would work like on the A-5B/C Vigilante, say with 1,000lb bombs (even Paveway's) in place of the Aim-54's, so as too improve the Vigilante's conventional bombing capability? Thus allowing the weapons tunnel to be used for fuel


MAD

[Dizzyfugu]

Total ordnance load could become an issue, I think. Fuel AND bombs might be a little too much? And the interceptor would only have little internal surplus space left, due to the engine and the extra air ducts.

[NARSES2]

I like the look of that

[AeroplaneDriver]

Resurrecting this one after a few years...a Facebook conversation tonight got me reading up on the A-5.  It's a model I have long wanted to build so I'm keeping an eye on eBay.  Doing some reading on it tonight I found that Australia evaluated or considered the A-5 along with the Mirage IV, TSR.2, and F-111 to replace the Canberra.  This has me wanting to build an Aussie bomber version and I'm wondering if anyone has ever done any research on how Speys would fit?  The Spey is about 4 inches larger in diameter than the J79, and we all know what it took to get it into a Phantom, but wondering how much work it would take in the A-5 with all that central bomb tube area to work with...anyone ever looked at that?

[rickshaw]

As far as I am aware. there were no plans to fit any different engines in the Vigilante when the RAAF was contemplating purchasing.   I think the problem would be the ring bearing that the Vigilante was build with to support the tail surfaces... 

[AeroplaneDriver]

As far as I am aware. there were no plans to fit any different engines in the Vigilante when the RAAF was contemplating purchasing.   I think the problem would be the ring bearing that the Vigilante was build with to support the tail surfaces... 

Yeah, I've never seen anything but the J79 as a proposed engine for it.  Was just thinking from a Whiffy POV. 

[McColm]

There's always the WS-302A proposal (1954) , twin tail fins and a cannon protruding from the port-side tail nacelle. It looks to me if North American also added a internal bomb bay in the fuselage and clear twin seat canopy hinged from the rear. Plus two four-wheeled main undercarriage legs.

[Old Wombat]

As far as I am aware. there were no plans to fit any different engines in the Vigilante when the RAAF was contemplating purchasing.   I think the problem would be the ring bearing that the Vigilante was build with to support the tail surfaces... 

Yeah, I've never seen anything but the J79 as a proposed engine for it.  Was just thinking from a Whiffy POV.

Considering what CAC did to get the Avon into the F-86 Sabre, why not?

[Dizzyfugu]

This has me wanting to build an Aussie bomber version and I'm wondering if anyone has ever done any research on how Speys would fit?  The Spey is about 4 inches larger in diameter than the J79, and we all know what it took to get it into a Phantom, but wondering how much work it would take in the A-5 with all that central bomb tube area to work with...anyone ever looked at that?

Well, 4" more in 1:72 is just 1mm - IMHO it's negligible on a model (maybe the Spey could do with a thinner insulation?) - or you widen the hull with 1mm styrene sheet inside of the air intakes, all along the hull. That's quite a messy double-surgery and very subtle, but would make a plausible Spex conversion?

Reminds me that I also have a Vigilante what-if project on my agenda: a late ECM variant, as a supersonic supplement to the EA-6As in Vietnam.