# Missiles on a Viper?



## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

Now, I know the Viper MkII can carry missiles and bombs. It's been shown in numerous episodes of BSG. However, I can't find any pictures or references to how the missiles are carried. They seem to have external hardpoints, but I can't figure out exactly where they go, or what shape they are. Does anyone know of any pictures of a.) the missiles themselves, b.) how they're carried?
Thanks a bunch!


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

I thought the Raptors were the missile carriers.

Could it have been the mk.VII that launched a missile?


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## jason989 (Mar 27, 2010)

They're loaded with missiles in a couple of episodes. i'm not sure which ones though. Hand of God might be one of the episodes. I imagine they fire some of the same missiles that the Raptors are loaded with.


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

the Battlestar wiki says that the Mk II has:


> 2 x MEC-A6 30mm Thraxon forward-firing kinetic energy weapons (KEW) mounted in the wing roots with 800 round magazine, Dorsal storage bay for 8 x HD-70 Lightning Javelin missiles (optional 50 megaton nuclear warhead)[1]. Weapon hardpoints for mounting missiles / munitions pods, etc. under the wings


So, where's the dorsal missile bay? Under the nose? Under/between the engines? Just behind the nose-gear bay? I've got 2 Vipers supposedly arriving today, and I'm just itching to arm them up. I've got some 1/32 Hellfire missiles which should fit the bill/the universe nicely (The missiles the Raptors use look just like Hellfires)

I'm not really expecting a "definitive" answer, I'm just throwing out some speculation here.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

"Dorsal" means "on the back" as in a dolphin or shark's dorsal fin. So it can't be under anything. If it's on the bottom the adjective is "ventral."

I don't see anywhere on the dern thing there _could _be a dorsal storage anything.


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

I think they screwed up by calling it "dorsal." I think they meant "ventral." If you watch any shot of a Viper shooting a missile, it comes from under the spacecraft. I gotta do frame-by-frames of the series to try and get shots of the missiles.


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## Kit (Jul 9, 2009)

Unless the bottom is the top, and the pilot hangs from his or her tush. No up in space.


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

If it is like the original Monogram Viper then they shoot out of the nose intake :tongue:

Max Bryant


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

There's no up in space, but there's a top and a bottom to a space_ship_.


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

> Unless the bottom is the top, and the pilot hangs from his or her tush. No up in space.


oh shut up, Ender.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I just do not see any way for the eight missles to be stowed insde the Mk2 unless they are micro-sized. 
I do like the idea of external hardpoints on the Viper- does anybody have and images showing how they were used?

.


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## Jari (Apr 29, 2005)

Some screencaps here:

http://disparue.org/gallery/2/bsg/2/206/index.php?page=7

they show the cockpit display of the Viper showing the weapon station locations. Check pic number 0722, it looks like a missile under the left side.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Cool find, Jari. That *could* be a missile. I can't say what else it could be.

The following image has two listing that are interesting: "HRD PTL" and "HRD PTR". Hard Point Left and Hard Point Right perhaps?

http://disparue.org/gallery/2/bsg/2/206/images/bsg206_0707.jpg


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## Jari (Apr 29, 2005)

Could the missiles be the ones in these pics:

http://disparue.org/gallery/2/bsg/1/104/


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## jason989 (Mar 27, 2010)

I just watched that episode. Those aren't missles in the rack. It some kind
of launchable communication device or something like that. One of them
comes out of the rack and they mention what it is.


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

John P said:


> There's no up in space, but there's a top and a bottom to a space_ship_.


Exactly! i have always wondered in BSG TOS. When Zach has his top engine hit. He makes a B-line back to the fleet knowing he may not be able to outrun the Cylon attack force. We all know what the outcome was. So I always wondered. Why didn't he just point his ship up, down, left, right and simply get out of the same space occupied by the Raiders 


Max Bryant


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## ryoga (Oct 6, 2009)

MightyMax said:


> Exactly! i have always wondered in BSG TOS. When Zach has his top engine hit. He makes a B-line back to the fleet knowing he may not be able to outrun the Cylon attack force. We all know what the outcome was. So I always wondered. Why didn't he just point his ship up, down, left, right and simply get out of the same space occupied by the Raiders
> 
> 
> Max Bryant



Because it wasn't in the script


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

> I just do not see any way for the eight missles to be stowed insde the Mk2 unless they are micro-sized.
> I do like the idea of external hardpoints on the Viper- does anybody have and images showing how they were used?


That's pretty much exactly what I was asking! IN all the screenshots I've been looking at (mostly Hand of God), the missiles/bombs just appear out of nowhere under the Vipers. None of the external shots (including some VERY clear ones) show any external hardpoints or missiles. 

Interesting thing to notice though, in Hand of God, when the Cylons start firing SAMs at the Vipers, the Vipers drop something. At first I thought they were some kind of bombs, but they didn't hit anything. They were decoys, which appear to have dropped out of the 3 little "fans" between the lower 2 engines of the Viper.


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## Jari (Apr 29, 2005)

If you check the cockpit display in the screencaps mentioned previously you'll see the weapons capability of the Viper:

Guns
MRM - medium range missile
CHF - chaff
FLR - flares


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## Ductapeforever (Mar 6, 2008)

According to Special effects supervisor Gary Hutzel, the missile launchers are internal , carry eight rounds , and the tubes are located underneath , mid nose where the fuselage flares downward. Two indentations are molded into the front face of the bottom on either side of the long oval indentation. Gary said two external hardpoint mounts are located on the wings where the notches are on the leading edges , external pylons would have been mounted to carrry external stores. Merely hinted at, we never saw them on screen. There you have it folks straight from the folks who would know.


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

See, now that's the kind of answer I was looking for! Thanks so much. Now we just gotta see if Zoic ever designed a shape for the external hardpoints. Man, those missiles must be awfully skinny.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Thanks for the info!
I have the Moebius kit next in line and I would like to add the extra ordinance. I guess being SciFi I can get creative with the underwing missles.
I located the underside location for the internal missles and it appears to be just in front of the forward landing gear- I cannot see how there could be a launcher there unless they shoot down and turn to face forward. Anybody have any ideas on how that could work?


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

I guess the missiles come out on either side of the nose-gear bay. In order to store 8 in the fuselage, I'd imagine the "magazine" is located just behind the pilot's seat and they either load like the clip in a pistol, or there's some kind of rotary launcher. The missiles would then fire down launch tubes, to exit on either side of the nose gear bay, OR through the little "holes" on either side of the long oval indentation. 

As for external stores, http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=372 shows some pretty good shots of the Raptor Gunship, with its external stores. You could probably modify 1/32 rocket pods or Hellfire racks pretty easily.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

As for external stores, http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=372 shows some pretty good shots of the Raptor Gunship, with its external stores. You could probably modify 1/32 rocket pods or Hellfire racks pretty easily.[/QUOTE]

I definitely want a kit of the Raptor now that can be adapted into a gunship after seeing these renders!


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## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

My thought on the Raptor/Raptor Gunship model ( are you listening, Moebius?) design the basic Raptor kit to allow the weapons fit, and release the "basic" Raptor. Then release the "gunship" kit, with new sprues for the weapons.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

I don't think Moebius would have enough time to release the gunship version before a half dozen (at least!) GKs put out their own ordnance sets. (Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, I'm just sayin'.)


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Paulbo said:


> I don't think Moebius would have enough time to release the gunship version before a half dozen (at least!) GKs put out their own ordnance sets. (Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, I'm just sayin'.)


I could see Moebius releasing an ordinance set like how they handled the Flying Sub Claw & Landing Gear set. Keep the initial cost of the kit low and allow people to enhance it if they choose.

.


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## Ductapeforever (Mar 6, 2008)

Well Guys, here's my take on the External Stores Mount. Couldn't find a suitable one in my spare parts so I had to scratch it !
I have the Starboard side almost done and ready to mount. Haven't decided whether to mount Ordnance or not.


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