|
AMT Northrop
SM-62 Snark |
| Depending on how you look
at it, the Northrop SM-62 Snark was either a stop gap or bridge
between atomic weapons delivered by a manned aircraft and our
currently familiar ICBMs. More closely related to modern
cruise missiles, it was an air breathing, winged drone...before the
word drone was ever coined. Its development timeline was so
long that its operational life was a mere four months, though some
data claims it was in service for a few years. Keep in mind
that 'in service' and 'operational' aren't necessarily synonymous.
Still, it fills an important niche in aviation history and deserves
a place in your scale model showcase. And that's where the rub
is. The very first Snark plastic kit was produced by Revell to a box scale of 1/81st. A slew of other companies offered the Snark in a plethora of odd scales until Lindberg produced a 1/48th scale offering in 1988, then repopped it 2007. That would be the same year that Sharkit got around to offering one in 1/72nd. Of course it wasn't long before Snark kits were nowhere to be found in any scale. Whatever the reason for its absence, it's been 16 years since a Snark has landed on a modeler's bench.
But what happened when 2023 rolled around to brighten our modelbuilding days? A very nice repop of Lindberg's 1/48th scale Snark Intercontinental Guided Missile. This time it's under the AMT brand from Round2. So how have the molds held up? Let's see.
The kit comes packed in a conventional 17 1/4" x 8 1/4" x 3 1/8" top over bottom box . Small it ain't, mainly because this kit gives you everything you need for a complete diorama...including 9 very nice figures...if you choose to go that route. Parts are molded in white except for the black vinyl tires and tractor tracks. MSRP is $42.99 which is definitely reasonable when you consider all the equipment pieces you get.
The instruction sheet folds out to 25 1/2" x 11" with information and illustrations on both sides. What I love about this style of instructions is that not only do they identified the part, they also tell you what each part is and/or what it does. Makes life a lot easier, even if it will take another three pages to reproduce the entire instruction sheet for this review. ********** Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, back to home page
|
