X-15

[Scale-Master]

1/72 Monogram kit.

Kind of a rescue; the tail was broken off and the rear fuselage top was mashed and broken with many spider cracks where the tail was.  And the tail was oddly fractured with similar cracks on one side too.

(I didn't realize the damage until I looked at the instructions trying to figure out what part number the tail was…)

Fixed…

[Scale-Master]

It's not like the interior can be seen through the tiny window, but I just had to paint it.

[bisc63]

Cool to save an old kit like this! I really like the x-planes.

[mustang1989]

Looking forward to this one. Don't see many of these being built....at all. 

[Scale-Master]

Thanks Guys!

 

I gave it a base coat of black, but it still needs more work before the final finish.  The canopy section is temporarily held in place with white glue, and the window that will get a clear piece is "masked" by filling the hole with white glue.

[porschercr]

11 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

Looking forward to this one. Don't see many of these being built....at all. 

x2

[Kit Basher]

It's fun to see you working on this. I have no doubt you will find a way to make this very basic kit into a masterpiece.

[Scale-Master]

Thanks guys.  It's just a fun side project.

 

I wet-sanded the base black with 1000 and went with Tamiya TS-29 for the final paint.

[Scale-Master]

Like the rest of the kit, the landing gear is pretty simple.  Painted with Tamiya acylics.

[Scale-Master]

The fuel tanks are two shades of silver.  I used flat and gloss aluminum.  It wasn’t worth the effort to create a polished "chrome" look for the shiny sections.

[Scale-Master]

The decals responded well to soaking them in solvent during application.  They are a little out of registration and heavy on the clear, but on par with much of the rest of the kit. 

[cobraman]

Very sharp, looks good.

[mustang1989]

The cals and markings are my favorite part of aircraft building. Gives the bird a true identity/ personality. Lookin' really good there Mark.

[Scale-Master]

Thanks guys!

 

Next I dry buffed the black with a small amount of SNJ aluminum powder to soften the harshness of the black.  This was followed up with a coat of Testors Metalizer Sealer to give a semi-gloss sheen and to seal it.  Photos of the real plane range from nearly gloss black to multiple sheens and shades including some flat areas.  As far as I'm concerned, this is fine for this project.

The fuel tanks have been added too.

The little canopy window had a crack in it that I didn't notice before so I used Krystal Kleer for it and the camera window in the belly.

[Scale-Master]

I originally put the wheels on the wrong nose gear & dolly parts, (I should have noticed earlier, but mostly working on it during late nights I missed it…).   Even when I swapped them to the correct ones, the nose gear door was still longer than the wheels.  So I trimmed the door so the tires would touch the ground.

[mustang1989]

I tip my hat to anyone that can take these old Monogram kits and turn 'em around to make them look this good. It takes alot of time, effort and grit to get them this way but the work is truly worth it. Looking great so far Mark.