Model Specifications:
Scale = 1/48
Length = 21 cm
Width = 17.5 cm
Height = 10 cm
I found a painting of this fighter and a brief description of it in the book "Great Space
Battles" by Stewart Cowley , published by Chartwell books,
ISBN # 0-89009-211-7. It looked so different, almost Buck
Rogers-ish that I had to try and build it.
After finalizing the scale and drawings, I started with the wings. The center section was built up with ribs and
then skinned. The outer panels were laminated and filed to shape. The cannons are multiple tubes with cutouts along the sides to form the recessed panel which has
disks cut with a paper punch for detail.
The fuselage started out as a 1/32 scale drop tank from
an F-4 kit. I built up putty (Evergreen) on the top to change the profile to the desired shape.
The rear of the tank was then cut off and a vertical keel was glued in place.
Formers were glued on to get the shape and 1/8" x .060 strips of styrene were glued over the formers, and to each other, just like planking a hull on a ship or an
aircraft. After sanding and filling, the fin was built up from .020 sheet.
I carved the canopy shape from balsa wood and pulled clear styrene over it. I could only find three thrust
nozzles so I decided to use the empty point as the mount for the stand.
—[ When editing the photo for the web site, I digitally cloned
the missing engine nozzle. -Stephen L.]
The detail on the sides are various model
kit parts and carved sprue. The scoop under the wing was made in the same way as the rear
fuselage; formers and planking.
After getting all the ship together, I decided to use metal foil to cover the
ship. Careful burnishing and polishing gave it a great look. The decals were made up from
those in my spares box and the Blue on the fin is Testors.
The ship gets a lot of comments at shows and I'm thinking of building another one in 1/24 scale.
