Anybody have an idea on howto do the smoke poof from a TOW missile launch?

Hi;

There are A number of way's; My method is using A Cotton Bud and Hair Spray.. First Cut the Cotton Bud and shape it the way that you think is the rite way or size, and then using A Spray Bottle with water and just dampen the Cotton Bud. Make sure that you use A Tooth Pick when you use this method; the next step is let the cotton dry, after its dry use the Hair Spray from about Two feet away, and lightly spray the cotton bud, after its dry you can then Stretch the cotton apart. After you are satisfied with the results, repeat the Hair Spray method and let dry.
Now this is going to be A Trial & Error Attempt so it may take A couple of efforts to make it look rite !!

CHEERS & GOOD LUCK; MIKE.

That smoke poof isn't very dense ....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2P0N2qYD8U

I was thinking cotton out of the Tylenol bottle, but as Robin said the smoke from the kicker charge that pops the missile out of the tube is pretty wispy. Was thinking about having the plume from the main motor kicking in but I think that I'd have to have missile too far out (fired from a Stryker ATGM aimed about the 2 o clock). I want to try and keep the TOW over the hull to protect it from being busted off.

I wonder if piano wire (hardened steel rod) would be strong enough to hold the missile suspended half or quarter of an inch outside the launch tube. It would have to be thin enough to simulate the guidance wire and still be stiff enough to hold the missile without drooping

The guidance wire is super-thin. There's nothing you can use to simultaneously support the TOW missile and simulate the wire in 1/35. One option is using Plastruct AR-2H 1/16" Clear Acrylic Round Rod. It's transparent, almost invisible and strong enough to support the weight of the missile. The small smoke poof can be attached directly to the rod.

I was planning on trying to stretch some clear sprue to have the missile about an inch out from the launcher. That would keep the missile over the hull of the Stryker. I don't know how far out the missile gets before the main motor kicks in. By the by, anybody need a TOW IIB ... (top attack version.)? I used the IIA from the set.

I agree with Joseph. I simply stretched some clear sprue with heat and added a bit of cotton batting for the result here...


and from Mosul 2003...

Whoa! Nice model! Very realistic! Is the missile from a kit, or scratchbuilt?
Ken.

Yes,I was in TOWs for 17 years and that is a great model. Nice! Good idea for modeling it as well. As an aside I can say that guidance wire is very thin and also some of the strongest material I have ever seen. Very tough.
J

Thank you. The part is 1/35 Voyager PEA238 Modern TOW missile.

Thank you Jerry. Means a lot coming from someone with your skills and art. Your work is inspiring and I follow closely.

Some current live fire here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urERJ4h7I2g

Ken (or anybody else interested) .... I have the blunt nosed TOW II (top attack version, I believe.) from the Voyager set left over. If you want it, drop me a note.