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SCALE: 1/72 |
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INITIAL RELEASE: 2003 |
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MEDIUM: Resin/Polystyrene |
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RARITY: (2) |
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ABOUT THE DESIGN |
ABOUT THE KIT |
In an attempt to improve "stealth" technology, many aircraft designers and engineers have tinkered with the idea of eliminating tail and rudder surfaces altogether and instead using "thrust vectors" -- tiny onboard jets -- to provide yaw, pitch and roll control. In 1999, the U.S. Air Force began development of the X-44 MANTA (Multi-Axis, No-Tail Aircraft) based on the YF-22 Raptor as an experimental test bed for this research. Although initially scheduled to fly in 2007, the MANTA project has allegedly been scrubbed due to lack of funding. |
This 1/72 scale resin kit was released by Sharkit of France in 2003. Although it comes with numerous resin
parts and a vacuform canopy, Sharkit recommends cannibalizing an actual
F-22 model (Testors or Italeri) for most of the add-on detail and cockpit
details. This model was built from an original issue. |
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Original Box Art |
X-Planes & Prototypes |
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