I got the AZ Models 1/72 Gotha P.60 model a while ago, since I love flying wings...
...but I'm tired of displaying loser NAZI crap on my shelves, so the Gotha P.60 became the Douglas F-60C heavy fighter. I started this model in December and had it mostly finished by the end of the year, but work, other commitments and a general lack of interest left it languishing on the shelf until this month.
I wasn't in love with the original engine placement, so I borrowed the two Allison J35 engines from a Victoria Products 1/72 XB-43 vacuform kit. The J35s are quite a bit more powerful than the BMW 003 engines on the original. The shape of the vertical fins has been modified by squaring them off slightly, making them less German.
For weapons, I added four Albion Metals brass tubes, to represent 20mm cannon. I also added four AAM-A-2/GAR-2/AIM-4 radar guided missiles from a Hasegawa set under the wings.
The landing gear came from my spares box. It may be from an F-117 kit but they have been heavily modified. The nose gear is from some anonymous kit. I followed the instructions and packed the nose cone with the recommended weight (20gms) and it's ridiculously nose heavy. The nose gear wobbles a bit when I put the plane down.
I added the shark teeth from a decal sheet I had printed up years ago. It doesn't quite match on the bottom, but who cares. The "egg" at the end of the "fuselage" is a rear warning radar. It also covers the hole I made to hold up the plane while I painted it. The hole in the middle was going to be for a drop tank, but I skipped it. The main gear well was detailed as well:
The slightly lighter panel colors on the wings were the result of mixing blue ink into the Testors metalizer. The decal setting solution managed to leach out some of the ink, but the mess wasn't too bad. The decals are from a 1/72 F-104 kit that I bought at a used kit store. They're ancient, dating from the late 70s or 80s. I added a thick coat of Future on them and let them dry before cutting them out of the sheet. They worked well.
The whole mix is a bit anachronistic, but the back story is that the Douglas Aircraft Company was given a fighter program as a consolation prize for losing the XB-42/XB-43 program. Using captured Gotha P.60 design documents, they produced the F-60 in 1949. By the early 1950s, the F-60C mission was as a long distance heavy fighter, capable of intercepting Russian bombers well before they entered North American airspace.
Thanks for looking!
Frank
