This all began with a partially-built 1/300 Academy/Minicraft 'Sky Giant' XB-70 Valkyrie model that showed up in the mail.
Isn't that box art something? You've got to admit, it certainly stirs one to action!
Some actions, however, may be ill-advised.
Since this was already put together except for attaching the canards and vertical stabilizers, I was stuck with whatever flaws were there. No matter, I'm used to dealing with a few shortcomings.
First off, I needed to close up the gap beneath the intake with card.
Then there was some puttying and sanding after I got the new tail feathers on. Those were swiped from a box-scale F7U Cutlass.
Here's how it looked before I got the registration and Delta Airlines livery on.
The model is brush-painted in acrylics, Model Masters White Primer mostly and Flat Black on the nose. The rockets were given an undercoat of Rust and some Gold over that. The kit burner cans were given a base of Drab with some Jet Exhaust on top. I found the under-coats gave the top colors more depth.
The rocket engines were scratched from a refueling boom cut in half and some bits of plastic tubing.
I added these because obviously there weren't enough nozzles.
The window decals were snipped with extreme prejudice from a sheet for a 1/200 TWA 747. The windscreen is the "eyebrows" from a 1/144 Airbus and two more 1/144 window decals were also used inside the intakes.
Once I got started, it only took me four days from start to finish. I had a blast the entire time!
Many thanks to my kind benefactor for sending the kit.
I hope you enjoyed this bit of movie magic and reading more forgotten airplane history even if the so-called "experts" refuse to believe it and think the whole thing is just a bad story from some bloody hack.
Brian da Basher
