Convair Kingfish

Supersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft Concept (1959)

Scale: 1/144
Initial Release: 2022
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 2

About the Design

In the late 1950s, the U.S. Air Force realized that it's U-2 high-altitude spy plane was becoming increasingly vulnerable to Soviet air defenses. A new, "stealthier" plane would soon be needed.

Among the companies to proposal a successor to the U-2 was San Diego's Convair, maker of the B-58 Hustler bomber. Like many of their aircraft, Convair's "Kingfish" proposal featured a delta wing. Advantages it offered over the U-2 included:

• Speed. While the U-2 was subsonic, the Kingfish was designed to have a maximum speed of Mach 3.2, which would have made it difficult to track on the Soviets' still-primitive radar;
• A Low RCS. Decades before the F-117 stealth fighter fighter took to the skies, aircraft designers understood that a simple, angular design could give an aircraft a low "radar cross section" (RCS), thus making it virtually invisible to radar.
• Embedded Engines. Again, like later stealth aircraft, the Kingfish had its two J58 engines embedded deep within its fuselage, thus minimizing its infrared signature. 

Perhaps "ahead of its time," the Convair Kingfish was ultimately passed over in favor of Lockheed's A-12, the plane that would eventually evolve into the SR-71 Blackbird.

About the Kit

This 1:144 kit was produced exclusively for Fantastic Plastic by Anigrand Craftswork of Hong Kong. It featured a clear resin canopy, landing gear, and decals by JBOT.
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This kit was built from an original issue.