What if

I think we've decided this was a bad idea. I just have to come up with a backstory that makes it a particularly bad idea.

Anigrand 1/72 Rockwell XFV-12A experimental supersonic V/STOL shipborne fighter.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54358894630_313481df28_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qPvxxd)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54357620792_b334e8fe8a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qPp1Su)NASA image

Come up with some cynical business+politics maneuver to force a barely-working version into service, then have it let the Navy down horribly?

ohh, like this!

how heavy would you say the kit is?  Like 4-5 times an injected kit? 

I loved that plane since the first time I saw it ..one thing tho ..is that a A-4 cockpit canopy I'm seeing cause I thought I've seen it before but could never be bothered to find out  ;D

I've been thinking of getting this kit myself, but have to many others to do first. And yes, wasn't it an A4 cockpit, F4 fuselage and then the rest was the experimental stuff?

Weight? Maybe twice injection moulded. I'll find an A-4 kit and compare. It's not heavy but I still might try to find substitute injection-moulded landing gear, to be safe.

And yes, A-4 nose, F-4 intakes and F-4 wing box. I am not planning to deviate such from the stock kit. Maybe make the cockpit a full bubble as it comes that way.

Artists' impressions of the planned operational aircraft show it with twinned Sidewinder rails on the outsides of the endplate tails, so that's a possibility.

Thanks for that chaps ..the feeling has been made happy 😊
Least landing won't be a problem to get ..they are A-4 Skyhawk and there's plenty of models of those out there 😉

Quote from: CammNut on March 01, 2025, 04:03:43 PMWeight? Maybe twice injection moulded. I'll find an A-4 kit and compare. It's not heavy but I still might try to find substitute injection-moulded landing gear, to be safe.

And yes, A-4 nose, F-4 intakes and F-4 wing box. I am not planning to deviate such from the stock kit. Maybe make the cockpit a full bubble as it comes that way.

Artists' impressions of the planned operational aircraft show it with twinned Sidewinder rails on the outsides of the endplate tails, so that's a possibility.

See if an A-4M canopy might fit. Or bulge it outward like a Malcome hood.

I built that many moons ago. I like Anigrand, they are chunky and take some cleaning up, but do some great subjects  :thumbsup:

Anigrand moulds the thrust-augmentor flaps on the canard and wing so they can be cut free and posed open for vertical flight, if desired. I so desired.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54360969473_65555bee87_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qPGbjn)

Also I hunted out some injection-moulded A-4 landing gear (Hasegawa) and I need to find better F-4 inlet ramps, which I have somewhere.

Two J85s scabbed onto the fuselage purely used to increase the flow of air through
the silly lift system. Complete dead weight when not in operation.

Scans of a Rockwell brochure available here:
Rockwell XFV-12 brochure (https://boxartden.com/reference/gallery/index.php/Historical-Library/Rockwell-International/Rockwell-XFV-12A)

IMG_4803.jpeg
IMG_4804.jpeg

No J85s that I can see, just the one Pratt YF401 and lot of ducting.

Inlet ducts painted to clear the way for fuselage join (I need to do another degrease of the resin, I think). Anigrand's wall thicknesses are not as bad as some resin makers', but nowhere near as fine a Planet Models!

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54363886438_2362b6dc08_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qPX8qS)

Located F-4 inlet ramps, but will need some surgery. There are photographs of the XFV-12A online with the perforated panels removed from the inlet ramps and the boundary-layer ducting exposed and these must have persuaded Anigrand to mold the ridges onto the ramps - erroneously.

The other thing missing from the kit is the plug for the nozzle. This was used to block the nozzle in vertical lift mode and divert the engine exhaust to the thrust-augmentor ducting. The plug moved aft  to unplug the nozzle for horizontal flight.

As a build this is going along quite well.

Quote from: CammNut on March 03, 2025, 02:13:43 PMNo J85s that I can see, just the one Pratt YF401 and lot of ducting.

Inlet ducts painted to clear the way for fuselage join (I need to do another degrease of the resin, I think). Anigrand's wall thicknesses are not as bad as some resin makers', but nowhere near as fine a Planet Models!

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54363886438_2362b6dc08_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qPX8qS)

Located F-4 inlet ramps, but will need some surgery. There are photographs of the XFV-12A online with the perforated panels removed from the inlet ramps and the boundary-layer ducting exposed and these must have persuaded Anigrand to mold the ridges onto the ramps - erroneously.

The other thing missing from the kit is the plug for the nozzle. This was used to block the nozzle in vertical lift mode and divert the engine exhaust to the thrust-augmentor ducting. The plug moved aft  to unplug the nozzle for horizontal flight.

I was joking about them adding two J85s in an attempt to get the lift system to work.
;)

Quote from: jcf on March 04, 2025, 10:40:59 AM

Quote from: CammNut on March 03, 2025, 02:13:43 PMNo J85s that I can see, just the one Pratt YF401 and lot of ducting.

Inlet ducts painted to clear the way for fuselage join (I need to do another degrease of the resin, I think). Anigrand's wall thicknesses are not as bad as some resin makers', but nowhere near as fine a Planet Models!

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54363886438_2362b6dc08_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qPX8qS)

Located F-4 inlet ramps, but will need some surgery. There are photographs of the XFV-12A online with the perforated panels removed from the inlet ramps and the boundary-layer ducting exposed and these must have persuaded Anigrand to mold the ridges onto the ramps - erroneously.

The other thing missing from the kit is the plug for the nozzle. This was used to block the nozzle in vertical lift mode and divert the engine exhaust to the thrust-augmentor ducting. The plug moved aft  to unplug the nozzle for horizontal flight.

I was joking about them adding two J85s in an attempt to get the lift system to work.
;)

Only if they point straight down!

 ;D  ;D

some progress - flaps cut out, fuselage halves, wing, fins and canard joined - I suck at gluing resin kits

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54384751633_caa4953a15_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qRN4VB)

Man that's looking so damn cool 😎 😍 👌

Ditto.  :thumbsup:

That's looking a nice clean build, far better than mine from memory

 :thumbsup:

Very cool. Always nice to see something completely different !

Some progress, a blast of primer - and I've added a 20mm Vulcan cannon under the fuselage as was originally planned. Now I need to address some joins and repair some panel lines.

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 :thumbsup:  :thumbsup:

Still watching and waiting 🙃 😌

Looks like an atrocious idea. Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

I need to make sure I don't mix up the flaps during painting!

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54433534832_b54ca0dbbc_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qW76tf)

Oh this is getting very technical now 😆 🤣
 :thumbsup:

Quote from: CammNut on April 06, 2025, 12:03:51 PMI need to make sure I don't mix up the flaps during painting!

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54433534832_b54ca0dbbc_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qW76tf)

Don't overspray the 'L/R' notations on the paper...  ;)  :rolleyes:

Great shape, working out nicely.. or should that be badly  :thumbsup:

A bad idea can look very good indeed ... until you try to put it into practice....  ;)   ;D

Managed to do some work on this - some retouching required

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54480804318_6606b06a23_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r1hn3o)

Oh so super cool. Like this even more after a bit of paint

The Real Thing looked pretty cool. A whif will almost inevitably look even cooler.

Bloody hell that looks good ...is it me or would that look amazing if ya slapped wheels on it and turned it into a landspeed record car  ;D

Not sure about that but it wouldn't look out of place in a Thunderbirds episode  ;D  ;D

Mog
>^-.-^<

Quote from: Robomog on April 28, 2025, 08:31:22 AMNot sure about that but it wouldn't look out of place in a Thunderbirds episode  ;D  ;D

Mog
>^-.-^<

Very true!

Awesome looking aircraft! If you did a scale-orama, it would make a great SF dropship.

As I expected, attaching all the flaps was a challenge. Not helped by me painting the wrong sides of a few of them (despite careful labeling)! Some touchup required.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54519518894_0f8994fd3e_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r4GMx5)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54519518954_39a285bd35_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r4GMy7)

Damn that still looks absolutely kick buttocks  :o  ;)

 :mellow:  :mellow:  :thumbsup:

That scheme brings it together nicely, certainly suits it  :thumbsup:

Inlet ramps attached. From an Airfix Phantom (that has resin replacements).  The Anigrand originals are totally wrong. Have ridges on them. There is one photo online of the aircraft with the ramp faces removed, showing the boundary-layer suction ducting exposed and that is what they reproduced. Vacform canopy just sitting there for now. Real XFV-12A had an A-4 nose and cockpit, but artists' impressions show an operational version with a more F-16-like bubble canopy, which is how I think I will do it. Needs a good dusting!

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54522327258_f4db2106e6_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r4Xbn9)

Looking better all the time!
My only $0.02 is that a wildly bulged canopy could be said to improve the pilots vision when moving vertically. Looks like you might be beyond that phase so no worries.

Looking good ! Neat looking machine for sure.

On its legs

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54531728520_c42e8555d4_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r5Mn2S)

Great modelling.  :thumbsup:

Yeah man!! ..still a sexy beast of a plane 😍

Got its identity

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54544973946_233069fb04_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r6Xfrh)

And its armament

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54544974006_4ea320bb5c_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r6Xfsj)

Some cleanup to come

Sweet!  :thumbsup:

Looks good in that plumage  :thumbsup:

Bloomin' excellent stuff there!

Quote from: Doug K on May 26, 2025, 12:18:11 AMLooks good in that plumage  :thumbsup:

Does indeed  :thumbsup:

Quote from: Doug K on May 26, 2025, 12:18:11 AMLooks good in that plumage  :thumbsup:

I wouldn't go that far!  :blink:

"Looks its best in that plumage", yes.  :thumbsup:

But, let's face it, its a plane only its mother could love.  :rolleyes:

Quote from: Old Wombat on May 26, 2025, 07:21:31 AM

Quote from: Doug K on May 26, 2025, 12:18:11 AMLooks good in that plumage  :thumbsup:

;

Quote from: Old Wombat on May 26, 2025, 07:21:31 AM

Quote from: Doug K on May 26, 2025, 12:18:11 AMLooks good in that plumage  :thumbsup:

I wouldn't go that far!  :blink:

"Looks its best in that plumage", yes.  :thumbsup:

But, let's face it, its a plane only its mother could love.  :rolleyes:

I wouldn't go that far!  :blink:

"Looks its best in that plumage", yes.  :thumbsup:

But, let's face it, its a plane only its mother could love.  :rolleyes:

🤣

This has so much right and wrong all in the one package.. awesome work  :thumbsup:  :thumbsup:

So, is it called the Norwegian Blue in FAA service? :wacko:  Because while it has beautiful plumage, it certainly won't VOOM...even if you put 40 thousand lbs of thrust behind it

All I know about this bird is that it gets better and better everytime I see it 😁😁

Quote from: scooter on May 26, 2025, 04:20:31 PMSo, is it called the Norwegian Blue in FAA service? :wacko: 

 :angel:  ;D  :angel:

Quote from: scooter on May 26, 2025, 04:20:31 PMSo, is it called the Norwegian Blue in FAA service? :wacko:

If it wasn't before, it will be now... or to some here, anyway.  ;D

Quote from: scooter on May 26, 2025, 04:20:31 PMSo, is it called the Norwegian Blue in FAA service? :wacko:  Because while it has beautiful plumage, it certainly won't VOOM...even if you put 40 thousand lbs of thrust behind it

Just use C4, that will get it to shift  :wacko:

Done. Finished model on May 31 but didn't photograph it till June 1. I'm counting that as my first ever group build finish

Anigrand's1/72 Rockwell XFV-12A (failed) experimental supersonic V/STOL fighter finished as a Royal Navy Sea Sabre F.1..

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54560407346_7e9346e68d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r8jmfo)
Backstory in Finished Entries

That looks  REALLY good, despite not being able to actually fly.  :thumbsup:  ;D

[Later]
And having read the backstory, that's as impressive as the model.  :thumbsup:  :bow:  :drink:

I agree - the backstory is as fascinating and accomplished  as the model.

David

"Throw more money at it, and it will ALMOST work"  ;D

It does look cool, and the concept is tempting.

yes, I do like that. And there's a kit for sale on The Bay right now.......