Anigrand has released another kit in their line of weird and wonderful 1/144th scale bombers, this time being Northrop’s XB-35 flying wing. Originally proposed to meet a USAAF specification for a bomber to carry the war to Germany from the Continental US in the case Great Britain fell, the aircraft actually did not fly until June of 1946. And by the time that development had proceeded enough to begin delivering production aircraft, interest had shifted to jet designs, and the XB-35 never became an operational design.
The story of the XB-35 also oncludes some great conspiracy theory sidenotes, mostly centered around the Secretary of the Air Force trying to force Jack Northrop to merge his company with rival Convair. Some charged that his refusal to do so was what got the project killed. Of course, the design had some well-documented performance problems, so maybe that had more to do with it’s demise.
Still, it doesn’t take more than a glance to see that interest in the flying wing concept has never gone away, evidence being the B-2 bomber.
Anigrand’s Arnold Chiu says this in his email announcement:
The XB-35 was the first Northrop flying wing bomber design with intercontinental range. It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 turbo supercharged radial engines initially driving dual contra-rotating 4-blade propellers. The XB-35 Flying Wing could carry a 10,000-pound bomb load a distance of 10,000 miles that will cross the Atlantic and hit Germany. Though XB-35’s concept was innovative, it never a mass production.Anigrand Craftswork’s 1/144 Northrop XB-35 is the first detailed scale model kit in the market with this scale. It comes with many high detailed precisely resin parts and decals, as well as the clear resin casting canopy. It also includes three 1/144 U.S. war-time experimental airplane kits as bonus.
The unit price is only US$82 plus US$14 shipping charge.
Anigrand kits go together well, and though much of the detail is simplified, they’re still an enjoyable build. And the wide range of “odd” kits allows a modeler to have quite a collection of aircraft that you’re not likely to find from other sources. And though the price may seem a bit steep, Anigrand typically releases additional “secret” kits with their 1/144th series of aircraft, this one being no exception, with three “war-time experimental” airplanes as a bonus, as Mr. Chiu mentions. So you’re getting four very unusual kits in the bargain.
If you’re looking to try a resin model kit, I highly recommend giving Anigrand a try!