This is the 1:72 scale Hasegawa model form the 1980s of the CIA's famous top secret
SR-71 spy-plane code-named
OXCART. I call this model "Oxcart 4" as there is a big red 3 on the tail. Remember, this was the CIA's aircraft, and even the flash numbers on the side were changed to fool anyone who managed to get a glimpse or a photo.
The US Air Force version was supposed to be designated the RS-71, but was mistakenly announced by L.B.J. as the SR-71.So the new name stuck.
Paint is the Vallejo matte black primer, with various Vallejo airbrush metallic colours for the engines. I added the hydraulic tubes for the main gear. The decals were solid and would never come off the backing sheet. So other means were necessary. The entire kit went together and was painted in six days. The shinier silver on the tips of the engine shock cones comes from using an undercoat of black printer, then using a Tamiya rattle can of silver, then using a fine mist of Vallejo metallizer dark aluminium. This shows up in the photos quite well. A silvered toothbrush was used for bringing out the old raised panel lines and producing weathered edges.
It is very difficult to photograph a long all-black aircraft with a simple camera. Sorry about the rather low-quality images.
It came in second place in the 1:72 aircraft category at the Montreal MIMM 2016 contest.
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| C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71 |
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| C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71 |
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| C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71 |
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| C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71 |
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| C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71 |
