Convair Kingfish

[Archibald]

After reading the thread on the subject recently, I built a model of this fabulous Convair design from cardboard (yum!!! )
Mirage IV undercarriage, Lightning canopy

I also plan its forerunner, the fabulous Fish (mach 4.2 with ramjets, launched from a B-58B, flight back and landing on a JT-12 turbofan.  Canopy protected by ceramic heatshield, crew vision assumed by cameras (that's not a joke).

[B777LR]

strange but nice  

[Hobbes]

You know, when I first posted the info on the Kingfish I was wondering how long it would be before someone built a model. You beat my estimate by about a year...

Cool model! Did you just use the 3-view drawing from this forum, or did you have more information to go on?

Tip for next time: try taking some photos in daylight. The details will be more visible then, especially when the aircraft is painted black.  

[Archibald]

You're perfectly right about the photos! This damned attic is as dark as as a cave!!!    
And yes, I've used the 3-view from the website you mentionned (well, its the only one available)


More pics to come...

The Fish was even more fascinating! I plan skid instead of wheels for this one (no way of having wheels : no tire could resist mach 4.2 heat, same thing for the Mach 6.7 X-15 or Dyna Soar)

Problem of the Fish was the lack of an adequate mothership. B-58B and SR-71 were too small, Valkyrie was too big.
Ideal carier for the Fish would have been the Rockwell B-1A, or... the Backfire.
Maybe something linked to the ISINGLASS Fish follow-on, in the late 60's...

[Howard of Effingham]

archie! yer gonna make rafa very jealous!

this i like.  

t.

[Rafael]

Jealous?!?!?![/size]

If I had that airplane here, my wife would have kicked me out!!!
First, I'd have a bathtub built in my bathroom
Second, I'd spend the whole day zooming and landing this beast in it, and strafing red rubberducks
Third, when I'd finished bathing, I'd zoom the plane around the whole appartment, dripping and naked (DUUUUUUH!!!)

That's how much I like this plane!!!

Very ingenious!!!
And made of cardboard (Cardboard, Yum!!!)!!!

I don't like it. I freakin' love it, Archi!!!    

Plez, show that puppy from the front and bottom!!!

Rafa

[Archibald]

I built the Fish yesterday. Now I've both Convair projects

Here's a whole bunch of pics

Now I understand why the black projects are painted black... black objects are really a pain in the donkey when you want to take photos of them!
No way of having a decent photo of the intakes of the Kingfish    






Here's the Fish. Mach 4.2, ramjet only so it was launched from a B-58B and gladed at landing. As in the X-15, there's skids on the rear, and forward wheels  



Two Convair bolids side by side... These projects were really awesome!




FISH with its strange cockpit ala Canberra B(I)8...

[cthulhu77]

Awesome concepts...now, start working on the replacement for the shuttle !

[ysi_maniac]

Two good and difficult models of two supercool subjects.
         

[Brian da Basher]

Yowsa Archie, another pair of winners! I am simply amazed how you're able to build such wonderful models out of scrap material!

Brian da Basher

[B777LR]

Jealous?!?!?![/size]

If I had that airplane here, my wife would have kicked me out!!!
First, I'd have a bathtub built in my bathroom
Second, I'd spend the whole day zooming and landing this beast in it, and strafing red rubberducks
Third, when I'd finished bathing, I'd zoom the plane around the whole appartment, dripping and naked (DUUUUUUH!!!)

So its true, the temperture really does affect humans!      

[Archibald]

Awesome concepts...now, start working on the replacement for the shuttle !

What do you mean ?

Got my own plan for shutttle replacement, called the ESS (Evolved Space Shuttle, on the model of EELV)
The plan is to light the SSME after take off (not AT take off) to have a smaller external tank
(I red somewhere that the Shuttle use something like 80% of its fuel to reach... mach 1.5!)
so the booster(s) would do all the job at take off. No way of keeping the SRBs in this case... better to use a flyback, liquid-fueled rocket booster    
Got this idea four years ago, found a 1/144 shuttle some months ago, but I feel lazy... I have to dust off the project...

[B777LR]

How about...

Straping a space shuttle to a A-380? If wings break off during decent, there is allways superman...

[Rafael]

Archi, These concepts are supercool!!!

I specially like.....BOTH!!!

Rafa
(I love kitbashes/scratchbuilds)