Card 1/32 scale
X-15-1 66670
Flight 1-3-8

by David Hanners

This is my 1/32-scale cardmodel build of X-15-1, 66670, as it appeared on Flight 1-3-8, the program’s first flight for NASA. The pilot was Joe Walker, and it took place on 25 March 1960.

The model was printed on 170gsm semi-gloss cardstock using an existing cardmodel of the X-15A-2 as the starting point. It required numerous modifications and scratchbuilding to shorten it into the original X-15.

Visually, two things stand out about 1-3-8. The first was the yellow NASA banner on both sides of the dorsal rudder. This was the first flight that carried the banner, and the “NASA” was in a non-standard font, as was the serial number. This particular version appeared on only a few flights, and it may have appeared on both sides of the tail only on this flight. As NASA and the U.S. Air Force began alternating flights, the banner was often removed from the starboard side.

The second thing to stand out visually was that the vehicle had a uniform semi-gloss black color. The X-15s arrived from North American Aviation Inc. painted semi-gloss black. Eventually, the paint melted off and wore off and the Inconel alloy airframe took on a splotchy bluish-black appearance we often see in photos. But Flight 1-3-8 was only 66670’s second powered flight, so the airframe was still black — including the rows of rivets that would kind of come to define the X-15’s appearance in later years.

A friend did the digital repainting necessary to replicate the markings as they appeared on 1-3-8. I shortened the model’s fuselage and side tunnels, and built a new, longer tail section. The model required a fair amount of scratchbuilding and accurizing, including fabricating the XLR-11 motors, the nose boom, the bug-eye camera housings and the various jettison and vent tubes.

Model and Text Copyright © 2025 by David Hanners
Page Created 27 February, 2025
Last Updated 27 February, 2025

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