ryan x-13

Ryan X-13 VertiJet
Eagles Talon vacuform
X-13 model in 1/72 scale
The Ryan Vertijet, designated X-13, flew in 1953. It was to investigate the possibilities of Vertical take-off and landing VTOL with a Jet aircraft. It only flew with a few prototypes, engine reliability imposing to big problems. A lot was learned however about stability control with jet valves and transition behaviour.
The model is a vacuform in 1/72 from The Eagles Talon from the US. There is also a kit from MACH2 from France on the market, but it's a bit rough. It Eagles Talon kit is a good kit but a vacu form, so you need extra work. The only difficulty being the careful sanding of the parts and fitting the canopy. Add the pitot, make the undercarriage with plastic rod and some spare wheels and that's about it!
The kit is finished with a typical fixed undercarriage. This was supposed to be unnecessary for the true VTOL aircraft later on.
The model was finished in simply silver as it is so small! It's only about 3 inch long! The markings came with the kit, but apply a gloss coat of Micro Decal Film first over the decals to avoid these to break up, let dry and apply later on...
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