AIM-4 Falcon missile

   Hey folks-

        WOW! That's a lot of great info, and "Thanks!" to all who got back to me on it. Hmmm, as for what version the little fella was, that could be tricky. The missile set came out around 1972-ish, give or take a year, so that should exclude any versions after that date, if that helps. I did a very crude sketch years ago when I was going to refurbish the set, and listed the colors as "all white" with "red" on the nose- my Dad probably painted it as per the kit instructions, but hard to say again. But the little sketch very closely resembles the AIM-4c in Cardshark's pics, so I would say that's the puppy, and what I would like to AIM for, see?  (groan!!).  OK, any kits out there to match....? Thanks again!

                                                              Brian

Hey Andrew,

I totally agree, it is most likely the AIM-4C.    

Cardshark,

Since the original poster said the kit had "AIM-4" missiles in it I figure for simplicity sake we should use the 1962 designations. Leaving out the 1 AGM the list is as follows:

AIM-4, AIM-4a, AIM-4b, AIM-4c, AIM-4d, AIM-4e, AIM-4f, AIM-4g, AIM-4h, AIM-26, AIM-26a, AIM-26b,  AIM-47a.  Plus Sweeden built their own versions of the 4c and 26b known as the RB 28 and RB 27 for  a total of 15 "versions" of the Falcon AA missile.

The kit calls them "AIM-4" so we can eliminate the non dash 4 versions. Eliminate the h, only 25 built. Of what's left, the a (12,100), b (16,000) and c (13,500) account for over 75% of total Falcon production. If I had to bet my life on 1 of them I'd pick the AIM-4c. It was exported in larger numbers then any other, Sweeden built more of them then the 26b, I have seen more pictures of that version then any other, it's the only version avaliable as a model rocket kit and it has the shape most people seem to know as "The Falcon".  No one seems to have told Hasegawa all this because their Aircraft Weapons set 3 has the 4d and 4g. No b or c. Go figure.

I hope this helps in some way other then just to confirm my rocket geekness.

                                                              Andrew

Hey Andrew, That's a good point. I had assumed he was looking for a GAR-1 or GAR-2, as these were the original Falcons, and are very similar...IIRC, the -2 was only an inch or two longer, the main difference being the seeker heads. If he is looking for a later AIM-4, such as a Super Falcon, introduced in...gimme a sec, 1958, then we can look at quite a bit more kits.

The thing that will probably help the most is that the Falcons and Super Falcons were not called AIM-4 anythings until later on, 1962, I believe. So, if the kit includes an AIM-4 something, rather than a GAR- something, that gives us an idea as to the date. Here's the breakdown of the variants as well as some pictures.

1. AAM-A-2, renamed to the F-98, renamed again to the GAR-1 (AIM-4)

2. GAR-1D (AIM-4A)

3. GAR-2 (AIM-4B)

4. GAR-2A (AIM-4C)

5. GAR-2B (AIM-4D)

6. GAR-3 (AIM-4E)

7. GAR-3A (AIM-4F) Radar seeker in picture below

8. GAR-4A (AIM-4G) IR seeker in picture below

9. XAIM-4H

10. GAR-9 (AIM-47)

11. GAR-11 (AIM-26)

12. AGM-76! The picture below is of the XAGM-76.

These were all referred to as the 'Falcon', so there is quite a bit of confusion. If any of these look like what should be in the set, then we'll know what missile you are looking for.

What version of the Falcon are we talking about? There were 15, some looking very different from the 4c that most people know. They were used by 9 different countrys. The bottom picture Cardshark posted shows bolth the  AIM-4c (orange and white) and AIM-26a (all white).  The missiles on that tiny F-106 would only need a small amount of work to make them look like an  AIM-4e or AIM-4f both of which were designed for the 106. From what I have read one version or another was also cleared to be used on the  F-4, F-104, F-107, F-108, F-111, YF-12, and the F-14 as well as the Saab JA 37 Viggen.

                                                 Andrew

The AIM-4 was carried by the F-89 Scorpion, F-101B Voodoo, CF-101 Voodoo, F-102 Delta Dagger, Saab J.35 Draaken, and the Mirage III.

There are currently resin kits available from Airalex http://airalex.homestead.com/kitsforsale.html of the F-89, and the J.35, but they don't have missiles, unfortunately. FE Resins makes the F-101s, but again, no missiles. Arii also made a few 1/144 kits, but they also have no missiles.

Bondoman is right, Revell did make an F-106, with AIM-4s but they look nothing like the real thing...

The problem you're going to run into here is that the AIM-4 was carried internally in bays, much like the F-22. Unfortunately, in 1/144, most kits don't have enough detail to have open bays, let alone missiles in them. It looks like your best is to scratchbuild them. Good luck!