1/144 Dragon X-29

Gallery Article by Donn A. Wells M.D. on May 16 2013

 

 

The X-29 was an experimental project to test the possibility of increased maneuverability in supersonic flight, using forward swept wings.  Grumman put together an F-5 fuselage with F-16 landing gear and a new wing for this evaluation.  This is a recent build of the new 1/144 scale X-29 kit by Dragon.  

 

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The parts are well detailed and fit very well.  The ejection seat is impressive when painted and given seat belts.  There is very little else visible in the cockpit, so the canopy was positioned in the closed position.  A separate canopy is provided which has a mounting tab allowing it to be open.  The general outline of the model closely resembles the X-29.  Painting was very straight forward, using Model Master white.  The decals are great, and are the feature that attracted me to the kit. 

I have included a couple of in-progress pictures, which give some sense of the diminutive size of this model.  It was a fun, easy build, but a good magnifying glass is recommended !

Donn A. Wells M.D.

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Photos and text © by Donn A. Wells M.D.