Special Hobbies' X-15 A-2

Kit Summary

I've waited many years for a large scale X-15 injected model. I still remember the old Aurora kit fondly. This Special Hobby X-15 A-2 is like so many limited run kits, a hybrid of high quality resin and softly injected  plastic. The recessed panel lines are there, but soft.
 

As you can tell from the photographs, the model breaks down into a few basic plastic parts, fuselage halves, wings, tail units and fuel tanks. After that, all the detailed parts are resin; cockpit, seat, rocket engine and various piping. The model also supplies a replica dolly, which is one of my gripes. I wish one could model the kit out of the box standing on the rear skids and nose gear. I always like the rakish looks that stance gave the X-15. This is a model of the A-2 version of the X-15, which had a little longer fuselage than the "basic" X-15, and was equipped with extra drop tanks for longer sustained powered flight. It was the 'A-2 model that set both the altitude and speed records that stood until the Space Shuttle flew. Not bad for 1950's technology.
 

The decals look to be pretty good and thin, but I wonder how they will stand up to being put on a black surface. The instructions are quite good, but references will probably be needed to super detail the cockpit. The rear of the box has many color photographs of the 'A-2 from the USAF museum.
 

This kit fills an important gap. It shouldn't require too much work to turn out an excellent replica.