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At 1/9th scale, this AIM-9M Sidewinder is just over 12" long.
I tried to use balsa for the fins, but couldn't get good detail, so I used plastic sheet. The
wide collars, one under the tail fins and one just forward of those fins, were tough to make. I used the
same plastic sheet as the fins and sanded it until it was thin enough to wrap around the tube. I would
do this differently in the future. For the narrow collars I used masking tape layered to get the desired
thickness--it took four layers. These were cut to the desired width, wrapped around the tube and glued in
place with CA. I would probably use this same technique for the wider collars if I were to do this again. | |
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The rear fins, which are fixed on the real thing (the forward fins
move to control flight), have fillets where the fin meets the tube. These fillets
are notched to get over the collar. I used triangular balse for this and I'm not real excited about the
results, but it will have to do. You can't see it here, but there is a plug just inside the base of the
missile tube. For this I simply cut off a section of the nose cone where it slips into the tube. Since
the nose cone will be glued in place, only a very short section need extend into the tube. This is not so
with model rockets, which need a removeable nose cone for recovery. |
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I tried to add a fair amount of detail to the Sidewinders. They're
not perfect, but they'll do OK. The silver tabs on the rear fins are called "rollerons." As the missile flys
through the air, wind spins discs that then act as gyroscopes. If the missile rolls right or left, the
rollerons tend to stay where they are as the larger fins move. With the rollerons out of alignment with the
main fins they act as ailerons and bring the missile back into proper alignment. The black dots behind the
front fins are proximity indicators. They are actually little windows on the real thing. I assume that
they work by detecting a change in background contrast when the missile passes the target. This signals the
warhead to detonate. The tan object at the tip of the missile is a window that allows infrared (IR)
radiation to pass through. | |
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