General Atomics MQ-1B Predator
This is the semi-famous Predator spy plane that occasionally makes it way to the headlines. It's being heavily used in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has played a part in several high profile operations. You may remember that a CIA plane shot a missle at some Al Queda guys in a SUV a while back. Well, this was the plane. Or at least a plane like this one. I fly this plane, so I figured that I would build a model of it.
This plane has been around for a while actually. They used them in Bosnia and over Iraq in support of Southern Watch. Now they are in the news for the "War on Terror", more specifically Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. They carry Hellfire missles on them now days, and you wouldn't even know you were being attached until the large boom that happened. Their long loiter time coupled with the missle's small blast radius makes this a great asset to ground commanders.
Yes, the propeller goes in the back, and the tails point down. Yes it's all backwards, but it doesn't matter. Aerodynamics don't care if the tails point up or down or where the propeller is (for the most part). The plane is made by a small company called General Atomics. They make a few UAVs (Unmanned Aireal Vehicles), with Predator being their golden child right now. They are developing a bigger, faster, better UAV called the 'Predator B' (real creative on their part) that looks like a Predator in steroids. That's not important right now, though.
Building the Model
So, about the model. This is an all resin model from Unicraft Models. They are in the Czech Republic I think, but I may be misaken. Dispite the cheesy shark teeth pictures and decals, the model is actually pretty accurate. You get parts to make an RQ-1A, RQ-1B, or an MQ-1B. Some of the parts are pretty small, so if you get this model be careful with it. The detail is decent, but there are some missing parts. That's mostly due to the fact that they would be really thin.
I had to add the three antennas on the top of the plane, the two pitot tubes on the wings, and the AOA probe on the nose of the plane. I also decided to replace the missles that were supplied with the kit. I had some extra 1/72 Hellfires in my spares box, so I used those. The missles and plane are painted as you would see them out there right now. Just a tail number and a handfull of stripes on the plane. There are more decals, but they are for another squadron and for an older version of the plane.
This model is pretty darn small. Then again, so is the plane. You can actually push the plane around by yourself, it's so light. Compared to the other models I have, this one is tiny! But, hey, I flew it, so I wanted to make a model of it.
Overall, its a pretty decent model, and I'd recomend it to anyone who wants to try their hands at resin models. For those of you who have made resin models, this one is a piece of cake. If you want to see what the model comes with, I took a few pics of it fresh out of the box.
