Revell F-89D/J Scorpion 1:72 – build review

by Jezz Coleman

A note from Geoff…
This is one of those occasions when one of your contributions falls right in the middle – not having enough or any build-up photos but does have some great pics of the finished model and a very good, detailed write up of the build. Absolutely no criticism here to anyone, this material has been offered in good faith and I want to bring you the whole thing because it will offer excellent insight for you if you build this Revell F-89 as well as showing you what Jezz did to create the excellent results he has.

We have a detailed Here Now in-box review for the Revell F-89D/J Scorpion 1:72 – so take a look to see all the photos and initial assessment of the release.

Here’s a little bit of background to the F-89 Scorpion – just to get you in the mood! It did it for me, both seeing Jezz’s completed model and also the great pic of the F-89s on Wikipedia.

The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather interceptor built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed as such from the outset to enter service. Though its straight wings limited its performance, it was among the first United States Air Force (USAF) jet fighters equipped with guided missiles and notably the first combat aircraft armed with air-to-air nuclear weapons (the unguided Genie rocket).

The major production model was the F-89D, which first flew 23 October 1951 and entered service in 1954. It removed the cannon in favour of a new Hughes E-6 fire control system with AN/APG-40 radar and an AN/APA-84 computer. Armament was two pods of 52 2.75 in (70 mm) “Mighty Mouse” FFAR rockets, for a total of 104.A total of 682 were built.[1] In August 1956 a pair of F-89D interceptors were scrambled from Oxnard Air Force Base to shoot down a runaway F6F-5K drone leading to The Battle of Palmdale incident.

So… over to you Jezz…

Read on…