Space reserved for a winged Vietnam machine: Recce SAAB Draken

[Daryl J.]

 


Backstory under development.
Kit ordered.  Resin bits need ordered.

[Daryl J.]

The predictable:  

Tan FS 30219, Green FS 34079, Green FS 34102, Grey FS 36622   Debating using Testors MM or mixing my own Tamiya acrylics.
USAF markings
Circa 1968.

The resin:

Quickboost seat
Possibly something else as well

The scale:
1/48

The possible rub:
Now the purveyor lists the kit as Discontinued rather than In Stock.   Not a total roadblock but it would mean some unplanned conversion work.     Oh well, best that happen at the beginning right?  

Off to research.  

[Daryl J.]

The research:
 
37 annex information exchange under President Eisenhower.
The USAF flew into mainland China from Okinawa in the 1950's.   This story is 1960's. And 1950's.  And to a point, 1940's as well.
A variety of airframes were used by various groups for intelligence gathering.  Flights originated from various nations.  Not all crew were US citizens or US military.
Field prototype testing can be very helpful in product development. Especially if your customer is Denmark. Danes like things that work very well.  
Speed is good. Usually.  Unless you had a VW Type 2 bus. Then speed is for others.
This part of the story does not involve a Phantom.   That comes later and involves Grand Forks, North Dakota.  And whales.  And Russians.   So the Phantom is Part B of the story which should happen later in 2013.  
Part A belongs here.   Suffice to say the Danes were very happy.  But, the product is not Danish.   And therein lies the Whiffverse.

[NARSES2]

Intriguing 

[eatthis]

cough tsr 2 cough 

[Daryl J.]

Nope. 
The TSR.2 looks beautiful in USAF SEA, however doesn't it.   Well, it looks beautiful no matter what unless the builder really futzed

I hemmed and hawed about that kit over and over and over and finally elected to skip it based on mouldings. 


This kit's a little more eccentric than TSR.   

[Daryl J.]

 Note to self:  learn about film.  And camera body sizes.
And AIM-9 Sidewinders available to the USAF in 1968-ish.   

[eatthis]

Nope. 
The TSR.2 looks beautiful in USAF SEA, however doesn't it.   Well, it looks beautiful no matter what unless the builder really futzed

I hemmed and hawed about that kit over and over and over and finally elected to skip it based on mouldings. 


This kit's a little more eccentric than TSR.   

iv just made 1 and its the best looking model iv ever made

[Daryl J.]

Not surprising.  

cough tsr 2 cough  

Unfortunately, it's not a CF-105 Arrow either.    .   Yet.


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Edit:  

OK.....the item just shipped; I'd ordered it and immediately the online purveyor listed it as Discontinued....  For a while I thought a scratchbuilt recce nose was going to have to be built for my spare Draken kit or worse still I was worried I was going to have to issue an apology and retract the build.   Apparently it was their last one and it's on its way.    

The kit is the Hasegawa Danish RF-35 Draken in 1:48.  Whether or not it will be given some resin and styrene gubbins to augment the build remains to be seen.   Target time for completion is near the end of the Asiarama GB.   Family and Profession come first and I desire to enjoy this build thoroughly.      

The current plan is to use the daytime USAF TAC SEA scheme in vogue circa 1968-ish.   Dates may need to be worked on still.  

While the backstory is still under development, we are going to take advantage of the real world secret ''37 annex'' signed into policy in 1960 by then President Eisenhower with the Swedes to share technology with each other and the US would wind up with intelligence about the communists.   Apparently there were not all that many who knew about it on the Swedish side of things because of the political climate there at the time.   It did, however, seem to function quite effectively.   Give a Scandinavian the sense of need with a bit of urgency and one will have a highly effective individual or team.      

It is known SAAB wanted to develop a reconnaissance version of the Draken.     So what the kit is going to represent is a Draken RF-35/S35E prototype and being tested with American cameras under American authority.  Rather than being kept in Sweden, the airframe was sent to the US for ''testing''.   As it turns out the testing grounds was the Vietnam conflict itself.   Recce flights were conducted over N. Vietnam and indeed into Communist China regularly over its months of field testing.    The Swedes were never informed of the location of the aircraft once in US hands save for a few.