Probably one of the most secret and least know project aircraft was the Sanger-Bredt Spaceplane. Designed to be thrust into space, the plane would then bomb its target several thousand miles away and then return to earth in several  ever shallower 'skips' off the atmosphere. Maximum speed was to be around Mach 10 and maximum altitude 180 miles. The flat bottomed design was such that it could withstand the heat and pounding that the aircraft would endure. Though the science had not evolved such a concept at the time, the plane was very much a 'lifting body' despite the short wings. Today's shuttle is a very similar aircraft.

After the war, Eugen Sanger worked for a European space group until his death in the mid 1960s. Following on with his work, there is a proposed space plane, the Sanger II, that is scheduled to fly around 2005. It will be interesting to see if the project actually reaches fruition.

The KVW kit is what we'd call a basic vacuform kit. As such, it is not recommended for beginners, however, if  you have built several vac kits, you should have no trouble at all with this one as it is really quite straight-forward. The kit includes two vacuformed 'hulls' as well as several sheets of  thick plastic, a clear section, and much metal tubing. Enough to build two complete models. All of this is packaged in a very sturdy cardboard box with an illustration of the spaceplane on the cover. 

The instructions are superb offering a brief history of the aircraft, a section on what you will need to complete the kit, and detailed, step by step instructions on building the model. The instructions also include steps on how to build construction jigs as well as mounting it on a base. The kit is designed to be a stand model and does not include landing gear, though that should not be difficult to build from parts in your spares box. A set of three-views is included to assist with construction.

Again, this is not a kit for beginners, but it is also not beyond the skills of most intermediate modelers. If you are looking for a very interesting addition to your model collection, you should consider this kit.

Review kit courtesy of The Kingston Vacuum Works and can be ordered direct from their website. Thanks for your support.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that averages over 3,000 visits a day, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.