E-6 Sentry or E-3 Mercury?

STOVK, rely on Paul Boyer's posts.  You can't get an E-3 or E-6 from a KC-135 kit, they were based on airliner airframes which are fundamentally different.

Got my numbers backwards. doh!

Well if it helps any, in one of my B-52 boxes is a set of CFM-56 engines off the Heller E-3 kit. You can PM me if you could use them. 

AMT/Ertl also issued a few variants of this plane. The original KC=135, as well as the NKC-135 laser lab plane, and maybe some others. Italeri issued a 1/72 KC-135R/FR model but it won't come cheap. There's one on eBay right now for more than $200 USD. Italeri also has an earlier 1/72 KC-135A, with the wrong engines for what you want to do, for a bit over $100 USD on eBay now too. Don't know if any of these might help, but just in case.

I see that further explanation is needed. Regardless of scale, the three electronic types of E-3 Sentry (AWACS), E-6 Mercury (TACAMO), and E-8 Joint Stars are all based on 707-300-series airframes, NOT on the KC-135 airframe (which was originally designated 717 by the factory). YOU CAN'T GET to the E-3, E-6, or E-8 using a KC-135 kit (even though some kit manufacturers have renamed their old kits as such). The 707 fuselage is larger in diameter, and the -300 series is much longer, and the -300 wing is larger with the engines farther out on the wings. 

In 1/72 scale you NEED the Heller/Airfix E-3 (or 707/Air Force One in a pinch) kit to make a proper E-3, E-6, or E-8 with the proper conversion/correction pieces.

Minicraft makes a 1/144 scale E-3 AWACS and a purported E-3/E-8 issue (No. 14703), but since these versions have slightly different engines, I don't know what you'll get in the box.

Minicraft has also released a 1/144 E-6 Mercury with the big engines (No. 14702).

My model shown above was the E-8 Joint Stars I built for the FSM article.

The E-6 is the Mercury, also known as the TACAMO planes. TACAMO stands for "Take Charge And Move Out". These are the command post/comms relay aircraft that the Navy uses to relay commands to the ballistic submarine fleet. The problem with building a kit of the E-6 is that it came along much later than most "135" variants. The E-6A first came into service in August 1989. All of the ones still flying have been modified to "B" configuration. The E-6 uses the newer CFM-56 engines instead of the original JT-3D engines on the old KC-135 and 707 fleets. You can find several pics of the Mercury with a google search of "E-6 Mercury". The aircraft carries antennas at the wingtips and there's a new dome that sits on top of the aircraft that the original aircraft did not have. I'm not entirely sure about the various bumps and antennas that the Mercury carries, so some research would be in order. But the trick would be to find the newer engines, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a kit without the old engines on it.  The Flightpath set for the E-3 Sentry includes TF-33 engines, which is a version of the Pratt & Whitney JT3D engine, so those will be of no help in trying to put together a Mercury.  A company called Welsh Models does offer a vacuform 1/144 kit for the E-3D RAF Sentry, and this does include the CFM-56 engines, but it's vacuform, not sure if that would be an option for you.

 

STOVK

So I want to build an E-6 Sentry and an E-3 Mercury (both built off the Boeing 707-320 airframe)

Does anyone know if there is a good 707-320 available? I see Minecraft makes one, but it's only a skill level 2 and from what I have read, is not that good.

 

As always, Thanks

 

STOVK, I've never heard of an E-6 Sentry; are you referring to the E-3 AWACS? If you're looking for 1/72, yeah the Heller kits are about it. 

AMT also had a 1/72 EC-135 Looking Glass kit. Not sure what the difference was between that and the Mercury. 

Also, IIRC, FSM had an article on upgrading either the E-6 or E-3; memory fails which one. 

Your best bet (and the most expensive, unfortunately) is to find a couple of Heller/Airfix 1/72 E-3 AWACS Sentry (the proper designation/name) kits. Flightpath in the UK offers resin/photoetched conversion sets to make the E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) as well as a set for the E-8 Joint STARS (photo below). Understand you're going to be lucky to come in under $100 for each project. Flightpath also makes a set of resin engines (the proper ones) for the Sentry. 

In 1/144 the Minicraft kit is the only one in town. It builds OK and the only real issue I have have with it are getting rid of the seams in the intakes. The beauty of the Minicraft E-3 kit is that it comes with the lumps and bumps of the block 40 aircraft. To build a Mercury in 1/144 you will need to source aftermarket engines anyway and these are available from Contrails. In 1/72 the Heller/Airfix E-3 kit is all you have to go with and you will need the Flightpath E-6 conversion to make your mercury. Flightpath also do an E-3 update set and you can get replacement TF-33 engines from them as well.

You might ask in the Civil Aircraft forum (just below this one).  A lot of airliner modelers hang there.