X-30 Hypersonic Bomber Concept (1988)

Scale: N/A
Initial Release: 1989
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 4

About the Design

This is not the actual X-30 National Aerospace Plane (NASP- below) once under development by NASA, but a purely conjectural design developed by Monogram models.  Featuring a legitimate "lifting body" shape, the Monogram X-30 was to employ hydrogen-burning engines to boost itself to the edge of space, then re-enter the atmosphere at five times the speed of sound to deliver nuclear weapons to enemy targets

About the Kit

A generation earlier, the Lindberg Line adapted their XB-70 model to create its civilian Mach 3 Jetliner. Here, Monogram took a similar approach, developing a single airframe concept but releasing both military and civilian versions (In this case, the X-30 Bomber and the Orient Express Hypersonic Airliner). Both kits were produced in a simple "Snap-Tite" format designed to appeal to beginning modelers.

This model was built from an original 1989 issue.