Revell/Monogram North American X-15 1/72
Discussion
Although I'm still working away on my Revell Atlas rocket, I was away on holidays a couple of weeks ago and brought some modelling gear with me to pass away the time.
Rather than drag down all the Atlas bits and pieces, I decided to take along a simpler kit.
Not that long ago I picked up a kit of the North American X-15. This was originally released by Monogram back in 1987 and features the highly modified A-2 version of the X-15. This was the model which achieved the highest speeds of the X-15 programme - ultimately reaching Mach 6.7 in 1967.
Monogram was later taken over by Revell and these days the kit appears in a Revell box.
Monogram always had a good reputation for finesse and fit and this kit is no exception. The only concession to its age is the fact that the panel lines are raised rather than recessed - although that is very rarely an issue for me.
Assembly was very straightforward with practically no filler required. The cockpit is nicely detailed so I decided I would show the aircraft with its canopy open.
X-15s were normally either painted black or left in their natural metal finish. They were built from a heat resistant form of steel called Inconel X - which was black in colour with just some subtle variations in the panels. Towards the latter part of the programme they tended to be left in the bare metal as repainting after the high speed (and high heat) flights was becoming a bit tedious.
The A-2 had a lengthened fuselage and additional drop tanks. All this gave its rocket motor a longer burn time allowing higher speeds to be achieved.
Here's some pictures of the build and of the final result.
Rather than drag down all the Atlas bits and pieces, I decided to take along a simpler kit.
Not that long ago I picked up a kit of the North American X-15. This was originally released by Monogram back in 1987 and features the highly modified A-2 version of the X-15. This was the model which achieved the highest speeds of the X-15 programme - ultimately reaching Mach 6.7 in 1967.
Monogram was later taken over by Revell and these days the kit appears in a Revell box.
Monogram always had a good reputation for finesse and fit and this kit is no exception. The only concession to its age is the fact that the panel lines are raised rather than recessed - although that is very rarely an issue for me.
Assembly was very straightforward with practically no filler required. The cockpit is nicely detailed so I decided I would show the aircraft with its canopy open.
X-15s were normally either painted black or left in their natural metal finish. They were built from a heat resistant form of steel called Inconel X - which was black in colour with just some subtle variations in the panels. Towards the latter part of the programme they tended to be left in the bare metal as repainting after the high speed (and high heat) flights was becoming a bit tedious.
The A-2 had a lengthened fuselage and additional drop tanks. All this gave its rocket motor a longer burn time allowing higher speeds to be achieved.
Here's some pictures of the build and of the final result.
Looks a nice model. The natural finish for Inconel-X is silver/grey depending on how long it's exposed to air. It only turns dark purple/black after it's been subjected to a load of heat. I think it turned out they only needed to paint them black for roll-out and the first flights. They also experimented with an ablative coating which was pink, overcoated by a protective white paint.
Which didn't work very well.
In some ways, the A-2 version was a bit beyond what the X-15 had originally been designed to do. The airframe was well capable handling speeds up to around Mach 6. Once they went beyond that, the material couldn't really cope. That's why they came up with the spray on ablative coating.
They had hoped that the A-2, with the coating, could achieve Mach 8. The Mach 6.7 flight showed that it wouldn't survive - and that is one of the reasons why they didn't bother repairing it for another go.
I have noticed that black, metallic aircraft (like the SR-71/A-12/YF-12 and X-15) have a tendency to reflect back the ambient light - so, if they are parked out in the bright sunlight of the Mojave Desert, they acquire a blueish sheen.
I am a big fan of Monogram kits. They were always well engineered and stand up well to many more modern ones.
In some ways, the A-2 version was a bit beyond what the X-15 had originally been designed to do. The airframe was well capable handling speeds up to around Mach 6. Once they went beyond that, the material couldn't really cope. That's why they came up with the spray on ablative coating.
They had hoped that the A-2, with the coating, could achieve Mach 8. The Mach 6.7 flight showed that it wouldn't survive - and that is one of the reasons why they didn't bother repairing it for another go.
I have noticed that black, metallic aircraft (like the SR-71/A-12/YF-12 and X-15) have a tendency to reflect back the ambient light - so, if they are parked out in the bright sunlight of the Mojave Desert, they acquire a blueish sheen.
I am a big fan of Monogram kits. They were always well engineered and stand up well to many more modern ones.
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 17th September 11:08
Nice one Eric, X-15 is my favourite X plane, as you and GN have pointed out the ablative coating was less than successful but what they learnt from it was key in the Shuttle program (and they were still learning then). I wonder if the cancellation was also due to the ridiculously labour intensive application of the coating, each layer being hand sanded to a carefully controlled thickness.
Eric Mc said:
Which didn't work very well.
In some ways, the A-2 version was a bit beyond what the X-15 had originally been designed to do. The airframe was well capable handling speeds up to around Mach 6. Once they went beyond that, the material couldn't really cope. That's why they came up with the spray on ablative coating.
They had hoped that the A-2, with the coating, could achieve Mach 8. The Mach 6.7 flight showed that it wouldn't survive - and that is one of the reasons why they didn't bother repairing it for another go.
I have noticed that black, metallic aircraft (like the SR-71/A-12/YF-12 and X-15) have a tendency to reflect back the ambient light - so, if they are parked out in the bright sunlight of the Mojave Desert, they acquire a blueish sheen.
I am a big fan of Monogram kits. They were always well engineered and stand up well to many more modern ones.
I built a lot of Monogram 1/48 aircraft, up to and including the B-29, which was well beyond the limits of my teenage patience; there was a Space Shuttle, too.In some ways, the A-2 version was a bit beyond what the X-15 had originally been designed to do. The airframe was well capable handling speeds up to around Mach 6. Once they went beyond that, the material couldn't really cope. That's why they came up with the spray on ablative coating.
They had hoped that the A-2, with the coating, could achieve Mach 8. The Mach 6.7 flight showed that it wouldn't survive - and that is one of the reasons why they didn't bother repairing it for another go.
I have noticed that black, metallic aircraft (like the SR-71/A-12/YF-12 and X-15) have a tendency to reflect back the ambient light - so, if they are parked out in the bright sunlight of the Mojave Desert, they acquire a blueish sheen.
I am a big fan of Monogram kits. They were always well engineered and stand up well to many more modern ones.
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 17th September 11:08
Another great model in your space race series.
Did you sort out the panel lines or just leave them raised?
There's a documentary on the X15 that's well worth half an hour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM4Flfa1gXU
The undercarriage popping out at 3:10 must have inspired Thunderbirds.
Did you sort out the panel lines or just leave them raised?
There's a documentary on the X15 that's well worth half an hour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM4Flfa1gXU
The undercarriage popping out at 3:10 must have inspired Thunderbirds.
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