This my attempt at the Anigrand 1/72 XF-12/XR-12 Rainbow, one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built and the epitome of piston-engined aircraft design. Flown in 1946, the XF-12 was capable of 400mph at 40000ft. Only two were flown before the project was cancelled.
The Anigrand kit is in resin and quite heavy so the landing gear has wire inserts for extra strength. Construction was actually pretty straight forward and the fit was pretty decent. The only area I had difficulty with was the vacform cockpit parts. New ones are on order from Angrand....
An astonishing amount of weight was needed in the nose, even in the engine nacelles. I ended up by putting more weight in the nosegear bay as well.
Finished in Vallejo silver and aluminium and the rather sparse markings of the first Rainbow prototype.
20180401_192851_edit by dereknferguson, on Flickr
20180401_192837_edit by dereknferguson, on Flickr
20180401_192827_edit by dereknferguson, on Flickr
20180401_192803_edit by dereknferguson, on Flickr
20180401_192758_edit by dereknferguson, on Flickr