TWA Mach 3 Jetliner Concept (1958)

Scale: 1:180
Initial Release: 1958
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 5

About the Design

This was Paul Lindberg's speculative civilian SST version of the Air Force's XB-70 bomber, which was then still under development.  Note that this airframe design had only one tail, whereas the actual XB-70 had two. From the instruction sheet: "By the early 1970's, supersonic jet airliners are expected to be used by nearly all of the major airline companies, and travel from New York to Paris will take approximately 3 to 4 hours." 

​Ah, those were the days! 

About the Kit

Lindberg based this kit on its own 1/180-scale XB-70 model.  (In fact, the stand's nameplate reads "XB-70"!)  The "Future Mach 3" airliner was released in two versions, TWA and Continental. This TWA version was the most common, and in fact was re-released briefly in the mid 1960s. This model was built from the original 1959 kit.