Whirly Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 The North American XF-108 Rapier was a proposed long-range, high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by North American Aviation intended to defend the United States from supersonic Soviet strategic bombers. The aircraft would have cruised at speeds around Mach 3 (3,200 km/h; 2,000 mph) with an unrefueled combat radius over 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi), and was equipped with radar and missiles offering engagement ranges up to 100 miles (160 km) against bomber-sized targets. To limit development costs, the program shared engine development with the North American XB-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber program, and used a number of elements of earlier interceptor projects. The program had progressed only as far as the construction of a single wooden mockup when it was cancelled in 1959, due to a shortage of funds and the Soviets' adoption of ballistic missiles as their primary means of nuclear attack. Had it flown, the F-108 would have been the heaviest fighter of its era. This is the Wikipedia abstract, full story here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_XF-108_Rapier I recently completed this build from the Anigrand resin kit: since both incarnations of the mock-up (overall metal or white) were quite bland and uninspiring I chose to depict a fictitious evaluation a/c from Edwards, as imagined by the artist on the front cover of this Airpower Magazine issue: The build thread can be found here for those interested. As you will read it was truly a collaborative effort with great inputs from BM members, thank you again to all! So here are the images. Thanks for looking! 56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hacker Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 how was the kit over all? Hacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Corrrr...... luvverly! It looks like the didn't quite get the canopy right, though Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Wow!! Very nicely finished!! I have built several of their 1:144 kits so I know how tricky they can be. I have one of these in my stash but in 1:144 scale. Miguel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdauben Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Whoa! That is one sexy fighter! A really clean, beautiful job on assembling and painting that lovely thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearmatt Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 This is...awesome! Made out of an Anigrand kit, I mean... Congrats, what a beauty. Very nice scheme you've chosen. B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Ranger Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Absolutely gorgeous! If mine turns out half as good as yours I'll be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 7 hours ago, Whirly said: It is photos of beautifully finished models like this that inspire others to build a model. Perfection. BM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getting Old Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Wow, that is very nice and a model I haven't seen before. Well done and thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Nice work! And quite the good looking aircraft, just like it's older sister, the XB-70! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil.C Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Clicked on as I had never hear of this aircraft before - glad I did. Really lovely build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 What a beauty! Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 (edited) That's brilliant, definitely not the easiest kit to build but what a flawless finish 👏👏👏 (I'm definitely nicking your idea for the decals, love it.) Congratulations, it's a beauty. Alan Edited September 19, 2019 by Alan P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 Hello, sorry for the long absence, it is a hard period with my daily job and family commitments so I couldn't make up my mind to post a proper reply On 9/16/2019 at 2:09 PM, hacker said: how was the kit over all? Hacker Hi Hacker, as you can see from the WIP posts there were some basic issues to address even considering it is nearly a What-If. Overall I would say it is quite buildable with average accuracy considering its low appeal to the market. On 9/16/2019 at 2:30 PM, RidgeRunner said: It looks like the didn't quite get the canopy right, though Martin Hi Martin, I guess you are referring to the rear canopy windows being round instead of angular shaped? This detail changed during the mock-up life and the model shows the latest configuration. To @Mig88 @Corsairfoxfouruncle @mdauben @bearmatt @Space Ranger @Blue Monday @Getting Old @RMCS @dnl42 @Neil.C @Vultures1 @Alan P : thank you all for the very generous appreciations, I liked it very much! I enjoyed building this model for its futuristic appearance and wanted to bring back a little bit of forgotten history from the Cold war years, I'm very glad people liked it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 12 minutes ago, Whirly said: Hi Martin, I guess you are referring to the rear canopy windows being round instead of angular shaped? This detail changed during the mock-up life and the model shows the latest configuration. No, mate. I was referrring to the front end. The mock up and images show a very angular frame, rather than the model's more rounded appeareance. Nonethless its an awsome build Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 I like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 8 hours ago, RidgeRunner said: No, mate. I was referrring to the front end. The mock up and images show a very angular frame, rather than the model's more rounded appeareance. Nonethless its an awsome build Martin Now I see what you mean! Obviously you are right and I admit I really hadn't noticed despite having it in front of me for weeks... Well, you live and learn. Hope this will come useful for anyone eager to tackle the same subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Superb build and finish,what a great looking Aircraft too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomBigStu Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Now there’s a type not seen every day, truly super build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Absolutely superb job, and on an Anigrand kit no less. Respect! I have this kit in my stash, so I know the raw materials you started with. You can be right proud of this one. Cheers, Bill PS. How cool would it have been if the XB-70, XF-103, XF-108, XF-109, CF-105, and the TSR.2 had all gone into production - we can all dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 9 hours ago, Navy Bird said: PS. How cool would it have been if the XB-70, XF-103, XF-108, XF-109, CF-105, and the TSR.2 had all gone into production - we can all dream. and the TSR-2, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelman182 Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 She's turned out a real beaut, Whirly! I'm looking forward to getting round to mine before too long. 9 hours ago, Navy Bird said: PS. How cool would it have been if the XB-70, XF-103, XF-108, XF-109, CF-105, and the TSR.2 had all gone into production - we can all dream. Wow, four of those are on my "must build" list (and I already own three of them). Couldn't remember the 103 or 109 but a quick google reminded me that they're not to my taste. We may not see them in the sky, but we can always model the dream 🙂 Kev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobo Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 Absolutely beautiful work Whirley. I've always loved the Rapier. Would have been a beautiful bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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