X-15-1 - 1/144, Dragon

[Lejgo_inc]

Chronology failed me with this one - this is my first attempt at 1/144th scale, from some 5 years ago. 

 

The model represents first produced (second flying) X-15 in its earliest stage of life. This offers the opportunity to present XLR-11 intermediate engines along with boom nose. This airplane logged rather low flying hours, having its propulsion replaced to XLR-99 in 1961. No chance for spectacular wear and tear then... To make the model more attractive visually I did some cheating. Or speculation. Or both. I used well known X-15-2 photos for reference of surface wear and panel color variation. As for blue/green wingtip containers - the X-15-1 flew with them in 1964, and I found no reference against flying them earlier in life of this airframe. So there you have me...

 

Dragon chose to best Matchbox in panel lines department. I must admit they succeeded, especially if you compare this kit to, say, latest Eduard, or Platz releases. They also badly misinterpreted the back of the airplane. Those were two main gripes I tried to tackle while building this model. I dealt with panel lines by spraying several coats of primer and sanding it down to bare plastic. Looking at finished model I cannot say this was a successfull attempt.
The back of the model is where almost all of the things happen. This had to be improved, because Dragon got everything wrong: the XLR-11 location, depth of nozzles, shape of fuselage, landing skids... To deal with this I used some putty, 1.2mm diameter brass tubes, injection needles and thin wire. I also used several items from Brengun PE set (front gear cover, aero-brakes actuators and blade antennas). Nose boom was made of needle, wire and PE vanes.
Paint job consist mostly of multiple layers of Lifecolor Tensocrom smoke, burnt brown, kerosene, rust over black and rubber-black base. Frost at the bottom of the fuselage is simple white Tamiya acrylic. 
Decals provided by Dragon were quite good - thin and with minimal film around markings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at it now I would seem therre is very little photos from front quarters. Hm, well.

Thanks for watching!

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Lejgo_inc
image re-link

[JeffreyK]

Great job, very convincing, even in this scale! The landing skids and engine area are particularly impressive as is the paint finish! Very well done.

Yes, you're right - by the time the wing tip pods were used, the nose boom and XLR-11 engines were long gone. Also the bug-eye cameras aft of the canopy were gone by then. The dorsal sensor probe should be a bit further forward... Those panel lines on the fuselage top, near the wing centre are from the extended X-15A-2, so they shouldn't be there on a short X-15...But those are nit-picks from an X-15 nut.

The only thing that makes the model look a tiny bit "funny" are the oversized nose wheels...kind of like an off-road X-15

 

Cheers,

Jeffrey

[Mig88]

Fantastic job! Looks great!

 

Miguel

[Mark Joyce]

Superb work on such a tiny model, which the match in the photograph really indicates.  I have one of these Dragon X-15 kits in my stash and knowing how small it is, there is no way I can do as nice a job on mine as you did on yours.  Pity the kit has so many issues and inaccuracies; I was unaware of this when I purchased mine.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[RMCS]

Brilliant 

[Antti_K]

Very nice work with such a tiny kit! The frost on the fuselage gives that little extra to a beautiful model.

 

Cheers,

Antti

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Scary good in this scale  ... Impressive next to the match. 

[goon]

What a lovely little model. Great work.

[spiton]

hello. It is nice to see You Leszku, and your model. Model is really Good !!! Impressive!