|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCALE: 1/144 |
|
|
INITIAL RELEASE: 2005 |
|
|
V.2 RELEASE: 2008 |
|
|
MEDIUM: Resin |
|
|
RARITY: (2) |
|
|
LENGTH: 13.5" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avro 730 Version 1.0 - Released October 2005 |
||
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avro 730 Version 1.2 - Released December 2008 |
||
|
|
|
Avro 730s Over Scotland |
|
ABOUT THE DESIGN |
ABOUT THE KIT |
|
In 1955, Britain's Avro company
began to develop plans for a high-altitude Mach 2.5 reconnaissance aircraft.
Several configurations were examined, but all centered around a
straight-wing design featuring a thoroughly enclosed cockpit with no
windscreen to reduce drag, large canards, and two engine nacelles,
each containing multiple power plants. (Early plans called for wing-tip
nacelles, but these were later moved closer to the fuselage.) A retractable
periscope would be used to aid the pilot with take-offs and landings. By December 1956 the final design had been developed. The plane would carry a crew of two--a pilot and a navigator--who would sit by-by-side. Each nacelle would contain four Armstrong-Siddeley P.176 engines. And, most important of all, the plane could also function as a bomber, carrying either a specially designed short-course weapon or Britain's Red Beard tactical bomb. Unfortunately, the Avro 730 project was cancelled in 1957, a victim of the U.K.'s infamous Defense White Paper. |
The Avro 730 was the first model kitted by Fantastic Plastic Models. Mastered by Scott Lowther and cast by Controlled Energy Designs, the kit had 17 pieces and decals by JBOT. A "desktop" model, the Avro 730 is designed to be displayed in the in-flight, wheels-up configuration. A display stand, inspired by the classic Aurora stands of the 1960s, was also created for this kit and is still available for use with other, similarly sized models. The Avro 730 went out of production in early 2007, but was resurrected in December 2008 as a virtually new kit. Not only were the original fuselage, body and engine pieces rescribed, but the kit was upgraded to include a detailed cockpit with hatch, landing gear and bay doors, and a bomb bay featuring a "Red Beard" tactical nuclear bomb. The Avro 730 V.2 is now available for purchase in the Fantastic Plastic Virtual Museum Store. For more information about this kit, CLICK HERE. |
|
|
|
Avro 730 Original Box Art |
|
|
|
|
|
Avro 730 V.2 Release Box Art |
|
X-Planes & Prototypes |
Home X-Planes Concept Aircraft Spacecraft & Missiles Concept Spacecraft Science Fiction Grab Bag
Space Concept Spacecraft Pop Culture Grab Bag
