LOD and Texture Request - F/A-18A AN/ASQ-173 LST/SCAM

[KiwiBiggles]

Evening all from Aotearoa New Zealand,

I have recently been flying (in a stock TW period - so up to 1984 - SF2:NA install) and absolutely loving the legacy F/A-18A which I have "cut out" from the HORNET BETA 1.0 BASE, 1.1 BASE and BETA 2.0 downloads.  As you do, I've been tweaking and playing around with effects, loadouts, numbers, decals, some minor texture editing (very rough and ready, I'm definitely no texture artist but my modest and minor tweaks work well-enough in-game) and so on and so forth... which by the way I'm more than happy to share if anyone is interested.  I've got four USN and five USMC squadrons represented reasonably nicely in game (all credit to the original creators).

I've cheated a little bit by including GBUs and Laser Mavericks for my install, which I don't believe F/A-18s would routinely have carried in this period, but I'm also routinely flying over North Korea which didn't actually happen either, so fair play I figure.  In any case, this plane is great fun to play, and an absolute credit the community, and I think it easily rivals the TW F-16 for quality.

To simulate laser guided missions I'm using the community's AAS-38 Targeting FLIR, which is also very nicely done, mounted correctly on the port hip mount.  In the real world in-period the AAS-38 did not include a laser designator (it was introduced later for the AAS-38A) but I've set up my AAS-38 as a designator anyway and it plays great in-game (I just imagine there's a terminal guidance team of Force Recon Marines doin' there thing down there in the bush).  The AAS-38 also did not include a Laser Spot Tracker--instead the Hornets would carry the AN/ASQ-173 Laser Spot Tracker/Strike Camera on the starboard hip mount.

I've created a very simple 'dummy' EP pod to simulate the ASQ-173, but I've not been able to find a nice LOD and texture for it.  The closest I've found is the TW AVQ-23 LOD, like so (and there's no pylon so it just 'floats' there in my install):

This beautiful bird really does deserve a nice ASQ-173 model if anyone knows where one exists (?) or if one of our brilliant 3D artists is interested in creating a model of the pod, including a pylon similar to the AAS-38 model (but mirrored to fit the starboard side)?

Here's the very few images I've been able to find of the ASQ-173 in the real world (and the scale modelling world):
 

 

Kind Regards,

Steve

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by KiwiBiggles

[KiwiBiggles]

Some images from a very nice scale model I came across on the interwebs:

...and one more real life:

 

Kind Regards,

Steve

[KiwiBiggles]

And I've attached here the weapon folders from my install for reference.

Steve

AAS-38.7z

ASQ-173.7z

[KiwiBiggles]

I found a few more images, including a rare shot of the aft section of the ASQ-173:

Cheers,

Steve

[macelena]

Sorry, I'm a caveman and can't help, but, in the first pick of the last post, taken from below, are those droptanks in the centerline and inner wing pylons? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that

[KiwiBiggles]

Hi Macelena,

I'm reasonably sure those are an early, oval version of the F/A-18's drop tanks, and I'm pretty sure I saw in a thread that a model of them had been made for SF2 at one point, but I don't have them in my own install....

Yup... these are them:

 

From the ARC scale modelling forum:

External Fuel Tank FPU-6A (Oval)

External Fuel Tank 

Size

185.30 X 32.99 (Max. Axis) X 24.50 (Min. Axis) Inches

(470.66 X 83.80 X 62.23 Centimeters)

 

External Fuel Tank FPU-8A (Round)

Size

188.98 X 29.82 (Dia.) Inches

(480.01 X 75.74 Centimeters)

 

...and I found where I read about them here at CombatAce:
 

 

Cheers,

Steve

Edited September 11, 2021 by KiwiBiggles