Special Hobby have announced the reissue of their impressive 1:32 kit of the X-15A-2.

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Thanks!

Rowan,
Thanks for the rundown. It’s great that SH is bringing this kit back, as it’s been OOP for a while now. The ablative coating on the real thing was actually pink, but covered in Dow Corning white paint to prevent a chemical reaction with the oxidizer fuel. The A2s also had an “eyelid“ on the left cockpit window, since the heat would melt the coatings off, and splatter it over the windscreen. The left window “eyelid” would be closed at the start of the flight, and could be opened by the pilot for visibility after the record attempt in the second half of the mission for landing. I’m not sure the original SH kit had this, I assume this one will. It’s great they’re including a display stand with this release. These would have been the last X15 flights, as the high heat of the speed attempts severely damaged the aircraft.

Here’s a rundown on modeling the X-15 by IPMS Stockholm, which explains the ablative coatings very well:

https://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/03/stuff_eng_x15.htm

VR, Russ

It would be fun to do it in the overall pink as it was before they painted on the white. I'll bet that would open some eyes around the display tables

Yes, it would. I’d like to see one built representing the post-speed record attempt too, it was still mostly white, but badly damaged in several areas, so much so it was retired. The lower fin where the scramjet dummy was mounted was burned through— so it would be the ultimate “space age” battle damage. The original SH kit is really nice, with a nice iconel “corrugation” effect along the sides near the spine. I’ve got that kit in my stash, and have an acquaintance who’s built it— it’s not the easiest kit to build I’ve been told, but it sure looks good on the shelf.
VR, Russ