Fantastic Plastic 1/72 USAF 40 foot flying disc, previewed by Scott Van Aken

"In 1967, Former US Navy pilot and aviation writer Jack D. Pickett and his business partner Harold Baker visited MacDill AFB to gather information for a USAF sponsored article on historic experimental aircraft. At the edge of the base, they were shown four de-commissioned X-planes - all of they flying discs - measuring about 20, 40, 70, and 116 feet across.

Through interviews with various base personnel, Pickett and Baker concluded that, during the 1950s, the USAF had developed several models of jet-powered flying discs for recce flights over the Soviet Union. In addition to having radar evading abilities, the discs could fly at supersonic speeds and, on occasion, even reach altitudes that approached the edge of space (50 miles). Many disc flights - particularly those of the highly successful 40 foot version - were no doubt responsible for the many "flying saucer" reports during that period.

The proposed article was ultimately cancelled, no doubt for reasons of security. Years later, the amazing story was published by Michael Schratt, who generously provided background material for this scale model."

You may well be tempted to say "this looks like an Anigrand Craftworks kit". Well, you'd be right as they did the master and casting under contract from Fantastic Plastic. The result is a kit that is like all the other Anigrand kits you may have ever bought or built. The detail is well done and while seems a bit overdone, when it is painted it will look just fine. There are a few air bubble holes to deal with as well as some resin flash, but nothing out of the ordinary for those of us who love resin kits.

Basically, most of the kit mass is the upper and lower fuselage halves. No need to fuss over wing alignment on this one. It appears that there are alignment pins/slots for the upper fuselage, but I'll have to wait to see how this works once I remove some of the resin pour stubs. There is a cockpit which includes a seat and control stick. The kit seat is detailed with belts and is much better than the average Anigrand kit. Canopy is fairly well done, but lacks easy to see framework detail so masking will be tricky. You get sturdy landing gear and wheels and since the kit isn't very heavy, with these short gear, things should be just fine in terms of weight warpage. There is also a set of louvered jet exhaust and an upper wing fin assembly. Gear doors are a tad thick, but well formed. Thanks to a non-complex shape, those wishing to replace them with card stock or brass sheet won't have any problems in this area. While it doesn't seem as if any nose weight is required, I'm gun-shy and will put in a tad just in case.

Instructions are quite different from the Anigrand varieity. The single sheet has a historical background and actual construction steps with photos. There is a small two view of the kit to help in decal placement. It shows a multi-hued unpainted metal craft. The decals are ALPS printed (or something similar) by JBOT and very nicely done. They come on a single carrier so will have to be cut separately prior to application. This will help in reduction of carrier film that always seems to be so obvious on unpainted metal models.

This is the kind of stuff that many of us really like. It is perfect for the 'whiffers' out there to put in SEA camo or some other unusual marking. The rest of us will be happy to do it as it comes and then wait to see what else about this comes out in the public over the years. I encourage you to give Fantastic Plastic your support so he can bring out some of his most interesting projects. Unsurprisingly, this one is already being prepped for construction!

My thanks to Fantastic Plastic for the review kit. You can order yours direct from the link provided and get rapid delivery.

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KIT:	Fantastic Plastic 1/72 USAF 40 foot flying disc
KIT #:	001?
PRICE:	$48.00 from Fantastic Plastic
DECALS:	One option
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	Resin with vac canopy