May 012010
The 1/144 scale “XAB-1 Atomic Bomber” model that I mastered for Fantastic Plastic is now available:
http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/ConvairXAB-1CatalogPage.htm
This model was created in CAD, so there’s none of that horrible “hey, this ain’t symmetrical” you get with so many resin models. It’s based on the Hawk model, originally released in 1959 at 1/188 scale… but now done in larger 1/144 scale. It’s a substantial model when assembled.
Comes with landing gear and separate parasite fighters.
6 Responses to “XAB-1 Atomic Bomber Now Available”
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I must have had the Hawk kit that’s based on around four times.
You really should have included the transparent red exhaust flames.
The Aurora “Impetus” nuclear-powered hypersonic SST also had a turbojet powered aircraft attached to the rear, but in that case it was to help get it airborne, not as a fighter escort:
http://modelarchives.free.fr/archives_P/Aplane/Aplane_Impetus_K.html
As a follow-up to that, I always got a kick out of the Hawk model – in that it allowed you to detach the wingtip nuclear jet engines, and implied in the instruction sheet that you could drop them on the the God-damned commies as some sort of isotopic bombs before high-tailing it back home under the power of your conventional turbojets.
I’d really hate to be one of the fighter pilots hitching a ride so close to those unshielded reactors.
I’d worry about the aircraft hitting turbulence and the noses of the fighters snapping off.
Shouldn’t they be called “Symbiotic Fighters”?
That would make more sense, and gives me the perfect excuse to link to one of my favorite crazy aircraft, the XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter, designed to be carried inside the bomb bay of the B-36:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XF-85_Goblin
The Goblin was quite the fighter; in most cases the pilot used the throttle to adjust the engine thrust via cables attached to the jet engine; in the case of the Goblin he merely had to reach down to the exterior of the jet engine he was straddling and move the throttle control mounted on the engine’s exterior itself.
Note the red stripe around the aircraft fuselage to warn of the area where the turbojet exhaust turbine was located, as that was an area to avoid in case it failed and sprayed fan blades out through the exterior of the fuselage; note also that the red stripe was around six inches behind your head on the Goblin. 😀