Bell X-5 (1951)

Scale: 1/40
Initial Release: 1960
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

Based on the German Me P.1101 swing-wing fighter captured by the Allies at the end of WWII, the Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing its wing positions while in flight.  (By contract, the P.1101 could only swing its wings while on the ground.)  First flown on June 20, 1951 and retired seven years later, the X-5 proved that swing-wing aircraft could achieve high speeds while also taking advantage of short runways -- a benefit later realized by such swing-wing, carrier-based fighters as the Navy's F-111 and F-14 Tomcat.

_

About the Kit

This handsome, large-scale kit was first issued in 1960, reissued as part of Revell's "History Makers" series in 1982, and then subsequently re-released as part of its "Yeager Super Fighters" franchise just a few years later.  Yes, the model's wings are moveable.

This model is a copy of the "Yeager" edition.  The nose "spike" has been lost to time.

.