X-15A-2

[Deanflyer]

Well, after the trials and tribulations I had to go through to get this kit, I'd better make a good job of it! It was supposed to be my Christmas present, but what with one thing and another, including wildly optimistic promises about delivery from a certain model shop which will remain nameless, I only got hold of it a couple of weeks ago. As with most things, life got in the way a bit, and I've only got as far as the cockpit as yet. It's a very complex kit, with lots of resin and PE parts in addition to the plastic bits, but surprisingly doesn't seem to be all that detailed. Although the ejection seat alone comprised 25 kit parts, I added as many parts again scratchbuilt. The rest of the cockpit got the same treatment, as the cockpit walls had no detail whatsoever, and I reckon so far I've added 53 extra parts to it overall. And I haven't even started on the bare underside of the canopy yet...

Settle down for the long haul folks, this might take a while! Here's the results so far...

The unique ejection seat before and after painting:

Same with the cockpit, before and after - any white bits are scratchbuilt:

The view from outside - don't worry, the IP won't be that loose when it's fixed in!:

Parts added to the interior cockpit walls:

Cheers,

[xffw45343tg]

Really crisp work. Beautifully done seat.

Wouldn't fancy banging out of the real thing though, would you?

[Shar2]

Beautifully done. I keep meaning to get one of these, so will be watching closely.

[Obi-Jiff Kenobi]

Lovely work so far. I'm watching with envy, as I'd like one to go with the 32nd X-1.

[James V]

Looks cracking so far....

Can't wait to see more

[Dr.Jellyfingers]

Lovely work so far, looking forward to seeing more !

Si.

[yardbird78]

Fantastic work so far. The seat and cockpit are superb.

Darwin

[Pappy]

G'day Dean,

You now have my full attention,

Lovely work as always!

cheers,

Pappy

[HOUSTON]

Clean, crisp, flawless work.

[crookedmouth]

That cockpit is looking great. Can't wait to see the how rest of it turns out.

[Skii]

Fabulous start Dean, the rocket plane that Mr Armstrong himself had a fair few adventures in. awesome work in that cockpit.

[Deanflyer]

Thanks for the encouragement so far folks - here's the next instalment, although as it's not got wings it makes me wonder if this is the right place to post it...

The X-15 had a skid undercarriage, which made ground handling difficult, so someone designed a two wheeled hydraulic jack to drag it around on. The Special Hobby kit provides this as a resin kit within a kit, and it's almost unbelievably delicate. It even bolts together with 1/32 scale bolts - I kid you not! I've counted a total of 72 parts in this dolly, 18 of which you have to make yourself, such as the hydraulic hoses, suspension axles, jack handle securing pins, etc. If you're considering this kit, you WILL NOT be able to construct it without a set of micro drills and a razor saw - every bolt hole had to be drilled out, and the same goes for the axle mountings. I took four evenings and over eight hours to produce the finished product.

Here's the business end in bare resin and PE, with the white hydraulic lines made from plastic rod:

Looks pretty complex, doesn't it? That's because it is...

Taking one view, here it is bare:

Add a coat of Mr Surfacer 2000:

Spray it all over yellow (Tamiya thinned with cellulose - brilliant!):

Then do some detail painting, weathering, and add a couple of data placards from a Reheat set:

Just to give it some scale...you can appreciate how delicate these details are, then:

That's all for the moment folks...considering the nose wheel well next, as there's nothing in it at all and I need to get that done before I can even consider closing up the fuselage.

Onwards and upwards,

Dean

[AnonymousDFB1]

Nice work Dean

[kev67]

Very nice, I like the attention to detail, looks very realistic

[Moofles]

my word,that really really looks good.

[crookedmouth]

Wow! That is a work of art in itself. You could ditch the X15 and win prizes for that dolly.

[Deanflyer]

Thanks for the comments folks, it's appreciated.

Just a small update - after a few days working away from home, here's the nose wheel well. The kit gives you nothing but an empty box with a big seam down the middle- can't have that, so four hours and 29 extra parts later, we have a wheel well which looks a bit busier.

First off, the internal structure scratchbuilt from plastic card and rod:

Then added into the well with some other bits and bobs and wiring:

Then a couple of shots after painting:

The well is about an inch long, to give some sense of scale.

The crumpled silver paper is meant to look like that, by the way - I assume it's some sort of heat insulation to protect the tyres from the air friction heat...

More when I've done it,

Dean

[Mantog]

That dolly really is superb, good luck with the rest of the build, can't wait to see more progress

[Peter W]

I've got the 1/48th scale version of this Aircraft to build one day but I don't think I'll be lavishing this much extra detail on it.

Nice build so far.

Pete

[Deanflyer]

Thanks for the comments chaps, much appreciated.

I've been messing about with the small details on this build, and there are a lot of them to attend to as the kit itself isn't that detailed. One area which lacks is the rivets on the tail surfaces and wings. After studying online drawings and making careful measurements, I broke out the riveting tool and did the tailplanes last night. Here's one of them:

Took me about an hour and a half to do them both, top and bottom. The hard part is getting the lines of rivets parallel to each other and not riveting over things like the centre spar. I know the rivets themselves look a bit crude, but once they've been rubbed down and painted they look quite subtle.

This morning I had a go at the wing, and so far, after 45 minutes, this is what the result is:

(I've rubbed a bit of pastel dust onto the wing to try to make the rivets more visible in the photo, which is why the wing looks so grubby.)

I've got another three panels to do like this, but you can see the difference between the riveted wing on the right and the bare wing on the left (I hope):

In other news, I've joined the fuselage front halves to their respective back halves, and offering them up to join top and bottom looks like it'll be a nightmare fit. I've also started work on one of the fuel tanks - more on that when progress occurs. in the meantime, I've got another date with Rosie...

Onwards and upwards,

Dean

[Iain Ogilvie]

Stunning work Dean - I love this aeroplane - was always my favourite Top Trumps card at school

Will be following this closely - is yours with, or without tanks?

Iain

[Deanflyer]

With tanks, Iain...as I mentioned in my last post, I'm in the process of constructing the first one now.

Thanks for the compliment,

Dean

[general melchett]

Nice work old fella, funny, most folks spend hours rubbing rivets off and there you are putting 'em on!!...looks great though. Look forward to seeing it all come together.

I've got another date with Rosie...

Car, plane or Laydee???

Edited March 20, 2011 by general melchett

[Deanflyer]

Car, plane or Laydee???

None of the above, sadly. An exotic Czech piece called Rosie d'Riveter...a cruel mistress.

Cheers,

Dean

[Iain Ogilvie]

With tanks, Iain...as I mentioned in my last post, I'm in the process of constructing the first one now.

Thanks for the compliment,

Dean

Doh! Missed that - was so taken with the pix!

Have you seen the superb build done a few years ago by a guy in France? I loved what he did with the weathering...

Edit - LINK found

But I think yours is inspiring me to dig out one of mine

Iain

Edited March 20, 2011 by Iain (32SIG)