We know that the C-5 was proposed as a Minuteman-III air-launcher and a civilian competitor to the 747 freighter variant, but what else could our WHIFfer minds do to these birds?
Some of my ideas for a WHIF that's waiting for a suitable donor (read: "bigger than 1/700 that I can also get a CH-53E in the same scale, and NOT have to drop $100+ on the damn thing"):
1. Dump those CF6-80C2's and re-up-engine with Rolls-Royce Trents or GE90-115B's. (Bonus point: I was discussing things with a GE tech-rep at a Boeing Propulsion Systems Division open house, and he thought the GE90 core would be good for 120-125K with a little more development and maybe a slightly bigger fan.)
2. Mount 3000-gallon tanks (tall-tail B-52 tip-tanks) between the engines and outboard of the outers, like the drop-tanks on a C-130.
3. Buddy-stores out near the wingtips (goal with these three on the WHIF I'm concepting is a C-5 variant that can haul a Super Stallion and drag two modified F-15s transPac).
Anybody else ever think on the heavies, or is it a dead subject simply for lack of a donor beyond the Skywave 1/700 or Academy 1/480 kits other than the two huge-price-tag Anigrands?