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F-108 Rapier (1960)
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SCALE: 1/48 (est.) |
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INITIAL RELEASE: 1960 |
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MEDIUM: Polystyrene |
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RARITY: (5) |
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ABOUT THE DESIGN |
ABOUT THE KIT |
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The F-108
"Rapier" was an actual plane being developed by the North
American Aircraft Co. during the late 1950s. Designed to be a Mach 3
interceptor/escort for the XB-70 Valkyrie, the double-delta-winged
"Rapier" made it to the mockup stage before the project was abruptly
cancelled in 1959. A year later, ITC released its own version of the F-108 -- one strikingly different from the actual plane. This "Rapier" launched like a rocket -- a concept intended to overcome the vulnerability of conventional airfields -- and was designed to carry atomic-tipped missiles that could be fired from up to 1,000 miles away from its target. Although it bore a superficial resemblance to the actual F-108, this design could never be confused with its real-world counterpart. |
This ITC product is
considered by most modelers to be one of the most beautiful and rarest
conceptual aircraft kits ever made. It was released only briefly in 1960
before being pulled from the market, probably because of the cancellation of the
actual F-108 program. The model was built from the kit's one and only issue. |
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Original Box Art |
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