Grumman X-29 Hasegawa 1/72 - With a Twist

[Moose135]

Yes, to the amazement of many, I've actually been working on a model of late...

Growing up on Long Island, I've always had a soft spot for the Grumman Iron Works. I was fascinated by the X-29 Forward Swept Wing Demonstrator they built back in the early 1980s. Years ago, I built the 1/72 Hasegawa kit, OOB in the white with red & blue scheme. Earlier this year, I picked up another copy of the kit at a show, and for a 25 year old kit, it is quite nice. I got to thinking about what I wanted to do with it - I wondered what they would have ended up with if, rather than just a technology demonstrator, this had been the prototype of a next generation fighter...

The main changes were the addition of F-16-style missile rails to the wing tips, and an avionics spine to the top of the fuselage using some round Evergreen stock. I'll probably add a few other bumps and bulges before I'm done.

Fairings on either side of the forward fuselage are for gun barrel ports. I also removed the molded in pitot boom and the small chines on either side of the nose cone.

I've raided the the parts box for weapons - a couple of AIM-7s that I'm going to modify a bit and hang on the wingtip rails, as well as a pair of underwing pylons to hang AIM-9s and an ECM pod (which I still have to scrounge up...)

I started going through my decal box to figure out what markings to use, figuring I would grab some F-16 markings. Then I came across this sheet, and was sold. Checking photos online, I saw that Israeli F-15Cs used for air defense are in a two-tone gray, similar to USAF schemes, rather than desert colors, so I plan to go with that look.

Comments and suggestions welcome...and before anyone says it - yes, I know I put the wings on backwards! :huh:

[Jamie Cheslo]

Very cool! Haven't seen this kit in a while. I shall watch your build with great interest.

Good luck!

[Karl Sander]

Always thought this plane was cool too, can't wait to see a model of it! :)

[172flogger]

This is the Grumman F-29 RETALIATOR:

http://f-19.hp.infoseek.co.jp/retal/index.html

I'll soon build the same!

[Emvar]

Have fun..... I did.

Here is mine.....

My Dual X-29B

[Jinxter13]

Great looking start...watching this one closely...This is one of the most intriguing planes ever developed.....why it was only Tech demo bird is far beyond me......imagine the possibilities!!!!. Probably had real short legs though.

Yes, to the amazement of many, I've actually been working on a model of late...

Hey...me too...almost there....almost therrrrrre... ; finishing the build, that is

Edited August 30, 2010 by Angels49

[Moose135]

Thanks, guys...of course, now there is the pressure to, you know, actually finish this thing...

Emvar, your two-seater looks great! I have another one in my stash, that gives me more ideas! 172flogger, I hadn't seen that before, I'm looking forward to seeing your build as well. But I don't know about that name - it's from Grumman, I'll have to come up with a "cat" name for her.

I got a little more work done the past couple of nights. Did a little clean up on some filler work, and shot some more primer on it.

I also worked on the underwing pylons. I scrounged a pair of pylons and Sidewinder rails from the Hasegawa F-4E/J - I cut down the length to better fit the X-29. And since I couldn't find any ECM-type pods in the spares box, I made up a couple myself.

Here they are, pinned onto the pylons. Actually, in 40 years of model building, this is the first time I remember drilling out and pinning parts together like this! Once they have something other than primer on them, they should be a little easier to make out from the pylon. The pod on the left started out as the front half of a bomb rack from the ancient 1/72 Revell F-16A with some additional strip stock added. The one on the right is a variety of plastic stock.

I also added chaff/flare housings on the back end of both pylons.

And here is a look with the pylons on the aircraft. I was feeling proud of myself with how well these assemblies worked out, and how they look on the aircraft, when I thought "Will these things clear the ground???" I know, I know, good time to think about that...fortunately, the main gear struts are a one-piece unit that could slide into place and allow the model to sit on the gear. Sitting it on the workbench, even without tires, I had sufficient ground clearance - dodged a bullet on that one!

I do want to see what I have by way of a centerline tank. So far, everything I've found in the stash is too big, but I've got 40 years worth of spare parts to check.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Moose135

[Aggressor Supporter]

Wow, a production version of the X-29. Very neat and watching with interest.

[Moose135]

...it's from Grumman, I'll have to come up with a "cat" name for her.

Poked around the 'net a little bit tonight, and it appears the Hebrew word for cat is "khatul" חָתוּל, so I bring you the F-29I Khatul.

And let me add...here I am with the original, at the USAF Museum in 2007:

Edited September 2, 2010 by Moose135

[Jamie Cheslo]

Poked around the 'net a little bit tonight, and it appears the Hebrew word for cat is "khatul" חָתוּל, so I bring you the F-29I Khatul.

[/quote

Great progress so far! Also love the name. The Hebrew sounds a lot more fitting for a fighter than say the Yiddish for "cat" which is ketzel.

[ST0RM]

Pretty cool What-ifery.

It's like painting with a blank canvas. No limits.

-JS

[gaz262]

Here's one I made earlier......

It's a Grumman RF-29G (for Germany!) in its special Tiger Meet scheme:

There's some more pics if you wanna see 'em.

Good work Moose! These planes are quite distinctive huh? :)

Gaz

[Emvar]

I do want to see what I have by way of a centerline tank. So far, everything I've found in the stash is too big, but I've got 40 years worth of spare parts to check. :)

I used a C/L Tank from the Hasegawa F-20 Kit...... Did a little sanding at the trailing edge of the tank to make it fit.

[ChernayaAkula]

Oooh, an X-29 whif! Nice work so far!

I really like your idea of using F-4 pylons with the Sidewinder launchers! It's quite hard to place enough pylons under those short wings.

Will you keep the main landing gear doors the way they are? Whenever I think of an X-29 whif (got three in the stash...), that's what I want to change to allow carriage of a centre-line tank or ECM pod. Maybe F-16 style doors? Or maybe even doors split half-way like the weapon bay doors on the F-106?

Nice model, Gaz! Sure looks good in tiger stripes!

Edited September 3, 2010 by ChernayaAkula

[TaiidanTomcat]

Looking great!

[Ken Middleton]

Moose - that's pretty cool - looking forward to more!