MPM 1/72 Ryan XFR-1 Dark Shark

MPM 1:72 RYAN XFR-1 DARK SHARK

Reviewer: Richard Stracey (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 30 January 2003 (#61)

Kit Details:

MPM # 72039 1/72 RYAN XFR-1 (Model 29) DARK SHARK

Aircraft History:

The one and only Ryan Model 29 was simply a Model 28 with a fin fillet and it’s radial piston engine replaced by a General Electric 1700shp T100 T31-GE-2 Turboprop driving a Hamilton Standard four blade Super Hydromatic propeller while still retaining the General Electric I16 turbojet in the tail. First flown in November ’46 a turboprop height record of 39,160’ was achieved by test pilot Al Conover. The Dark Shark had a top speed of 500 mph compared with 404 mph for the Fireball.

The Kit:

I had considered including this kit in the Fireball review but decided that it was different enough to warrant a review of it’s own. This limited run kit consists of forty five hard plastic parts, a vac form canopy, photonegative instruments and the same Eduard photo etch sheet as the Fireball except that it is in steel rather than brass.

Construction:

The cockpit floor (7) dashboard, bulkhead (12) and tail pipe (10) (that I replaced with a length of drinking straw) can be fitted before the fuselage halves are joined. Now the seat and joystick can be added. This way one can make sure that they are central. Due to the exhausts intruding into the cockpit area there isn’t enough room for the side consoles. The nose wheel bay (11) can be added from below but not before weight is added to the nose. Unlike the Fireball and due to the longer nose it isn’t a problem to get this model to sit on all three wheels. The canopy needs careful trimming as, unlike most vac form canopies, there is no indication as to where to cut. The three wing sections go together well but their fit to the fuselage requires much trimming of the fuselage and lots of filler for the “canyon” between the upper wings and roots. AS correctly shown in step five, the Dark Shark didn’t have an arrester hook even though one (28) is supplied. I managed to break a blade off the propeller in attempting to remove it from the sprue. Not difficult due to the large gate and awkward joint! I suppose that it would be possible to make the propeller moveable but I simply glued it to the bulkhead. I do feel that with the backing plate (34) in place the whole assembly sticks out too far so I left it off.

Many of the photo etch parts are either too small or too delicate to be of any practical use. I replaced the two pitot tubes (L12/15) with wire, a much more suitable medium. Alternative main wheel well doors are supplied, plastic for up and photo etch for down. I left off parts L4 & 5 as I couldn’t figure out how to fit them without interfering with the undercarriage location. I also left off the brake units (L3) as the axles were too big for the holes.

Versions/ Decals:

The XF2R-1 was blue all over for which I used Humbrol 181 (FS 15042) (ANA 623) covered with a coat of satin varnish to seal in the decals and to tone down the over glossy paint. The only splash of colour comes in the form of the huge red spinner. The excellent Propagteam decals proved to be no problem and consisted of just the stars and bars and prop markings.

Conclusion:

The Dark Shark gets a mention (along with good photos) in the Fireball article in the August ’75 issue of Aeroplane Monthly and the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aircraft V12 p.2836 deals with it too. The Dark Shark looks very different to the pugnacious, snub nosed Fireball also modelled by MPM (# 72040)

RHS/61

Related Reviews:-

MPM 1/72 Ryan FR-1 Fireball

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