ROCKET PLANES

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The Messerschmitt Me 163B 'Komet' (Das Kraft-Ei). This was the first operational rocket plane. The first tries were in the late thirties, and the first powered flight of this type B was in April 1942. The model is a Revell 1:48 kit. I also used a Czech Master detail set, although the Revell kit is so well detailed, there was little need for it. The kit went together well with no specific problems. Incorporating the detail set was a bit more difficult, this was my first detail set, and opening up a perfectly well fuselage was a rather scary thing to do. In some cases it was hard to figure out where certain details should go, and I never figured out how use the under wing airbreaks untill the kit was finished. Since it is a cheap kit, with lots of detailsets and other stuff available, I am planning on builing a group of these planes. Stay tuned...

The Bachem Ba 349 'Natter', a vertical launched rocket plane with a combination of solid fuel boosters and a liquid fuel rocket engine (like the space shuttle), 1945. This must be the reason why all mad scientist in movies speak with a German accent. Build in plywood, this little plane was launched, radio-guided during the first part of the flight, with the pilot only taking over once enemy bombers were in sight. Aften one salvo with rockets (not visible in my model, they would be in the nose of the plane), the pilot had to disconnect the entire nose, open a parachute at the back of the plane, drop out and land with his own parachute... The model is a 1:48 Revell kit with a launch tower that takes up more time to build then the actual plane. It went together very well, and made a neat little weird thing. I have a full build review of this kit up at Modelling Madness

The Bell X-1. This was the rocket plane that broke the sound barrier and survived, 1947. The model is a 1:48 Eduard profipack, with etched and resin parts. Building it was more difficult than a good kit from Revell, Tamiya or Hasagawa, but not more difficult that building a good kit with a detailset added. Panel lines are very shallow, a problem for builders like me who prefer hand painting over airbrushing.

The North American X-15 A-2. The first plane that reached space, al be it for a very short time... I think it is one of the most successful research planes ever build, with over 200 flights (3 models were build and flown). It was instrumental for high speed research, reaching speeds of over Mach 6 and heights well over 100.000 metres... The kit was a 1:48 Hobbycraft kit with resin parts. Like the Eduard kits, these are no 'snap together' kits, but the end results are pretty good. In my kit, the fuselage was slightly warped, but could be forced and glued together without much hassle. It also has a very nice cockpit that remains invisible with the canopy closed. Opening the canopy ruins the slick shape of the plane, so I opted to leave the canopy loose, able to take it off for closer inspection. I am still not sure weather to leave it glossy, or use a dull varnish. The original was glossy, but glossy varnish on a model is just a bit too much I think...

The NF 104A Aerospace trainer. This is a modified F 104 Starfighter with an additional rocket engine, for training astronauts that would fly the X-15, 1962. The kit, when I build it, was by far the most expensive project I took on. A 1:48 Hasagawa kit of a F 104 G was modified using two Cutting Edge detail kits. Looking back, I could have done without the cockpit detail kit, just the new nose cone, wing extensions and tail from the other detail kit would have been fine. The kit is still not finished. It was my first natural metal paint job, and I still had to figure out things at the time. By now I am ready to finish it, and I just need to drum up courage to start. Especially the huge numbers of decals I have to add are a daunting prospect...

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