Yet another X-15.....

**dhanners** · #1 07-29-2020, 09:51 AM

Either I'm persuasive or I've turned Yukonjohn into an X-15 enthusiast like myself. Here's another of his repaints of Henry Yuen's model.

Throughout the X-15 program, the three vehicles were used to test various ablatives, paints, optics, avionics and other materials that would one day find their way onto everything from the Saturn V to the Space Shuttle.

In the autumn of 1961, X-15-2, 66671, was used to test ablators and two different temperature-sensitive paints, and it produced one of the more colorful X-15s. On 28 September 1961, Forrest Petersen hit Mach 5.3 in this X-15.

There were green panels on the fuselage and the port wing and stabilizer were light gray. (Throughout the program, most test paints were applied to the port side of the vehicle.) The vehicle carried the normal markings on the fuselage, although the patch of green infrared paint covered part of the national insignia on the port side.

The wings carried no national markings. The port side of the upper vertical stabilizer carried the yellow NASA banner but no serial number. My documentation was contradictory as to whether the serial number was on the starboard side of the vertical stabilizer; some sources said it was, some said it wasn't, and I was unable to find a photo online from that flight that showed the starboard side. (It wasn't unusual for X-15s to fly without serial numbers, or just the serial on one side of the tail.)

The model is 1/72nd scale and I added a few scratchbuilt details and improved the XLR-99 motor.

Again, I'd like to thank Henry for designing a good model and Yukonjohn for doing yet another wonderful repaint.

**yukonjohn** · #2 07-29-2020, 11:14 AM

Repaint has been uploaded awaiting approval. I think there will be one more repaint at some time to complete the series if David is game for one more version.

John

**dhanners** · #3 07-29-2020, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukonjohn

Repaint has been uploaded awaiting approval. I think there will be one more repaint at some time to complete the series if David is game for one more version.

John

If you repaint it, I'll build it....

**rickstef** · #4 07-29-2020, 11:21 AM

File has been approved

**dhanners** · #5 07-29-2020, 10:35 PM

Here's the collection, so far....

**Texman** · #6 07-30-2020, 04:45 AM

Quite the collection. Great work on those!

**Revell-Fan** · #7 07-30-2020, 05:37 AM

Wow! The white one looks hot!

**Hans Christian** · #8 07-30-2020, 08:11 AM

I'm not worthy!!!

**Algebraist** · #9 08-06-2020, 04:11 AM

They look really nice. How many different looking X-15's were there?

**dhanners** · #10 08-06-2020, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algebraist

They look really nice. How many different looking X-15's were there?

The three X-15s flew a total of 199 flights and markings often changed from flight to flight or month to month. Also (as on this model) various panels were replaced or covered with test paints and ablators. Also, keep in mind the high speeds the X-15 flew often burned off the paint. Safety and warning placards and vent markings were usually static, but there were variations. Modeling an accurate X-15 involves picking a mission or a time period, finding photos and going from that.

The main variations in markings were on the fuselage, wings and vertical stabilizers/rudders:

Fuselage -- Going from fore to aft.... On rollout, all three X-15s carried "X-15 NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION INC." on both sides of the nose in white. These markings usually only lasted a few weeks or months, and were eventually replaced by the NASA meatball on a yellow stylized spearhead. (The yellow paint was hardier than the blue used in the meatball; it isn't unusual to see post-flight photos of the blue burned off.)

As an aside, I get so tired of seeing plastic modelers build the X-15A-2 and stick the white "X-15" and NAA markings on the nose. The X-15A-2 never carried that marking. You'd be surprised how many do that....

The "U.S. AIR FORCE" legend was carried mid-fuselage, but it's location could change. On the X-15-1, the legend was split horizontally between the fuselage and side tunnels; in later interations, it was entirely on the side tunnels. Conversely, in the early months of X-15-1's life, the national insignia was entirely on the side tunnels, but in later iterations, it was split horizontally between the fuselage and side tunnels.

Wings -- The "normal" markings were the national insignia on the upper port wing and lower starboard wing, and "USAF" on the upper starboard wing and lower port wing. But some flights flew with no markings at all on the wings, or just the national insignia on the upper port wing.

Vertical stabilizers/rudders -- On rollout, the X-15-1 had its serial number on the moving portion rudder and that was it. Later, though, the "normal" markings were the serial number (66670, 66671 or 66672) on the fixed portion of the stabilizer and the yellow NASA band on the rudder. The font and size used for the serial numbers and "NASA" could change, depending on the flight, although in the early 1960s, they settled on a single font for the NASA legend.

However, the upper stabilizers were an area of great variation from flight to flight. The yellow NASA band could be carried on both sides or just one side; same with the serial number. It wasn't unusual to see the NASA band on the left side and the serial number on the right side.

That's it in a nutshell....