Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera by Modelsvit
1/72 scale
Kit No. 72024
Cost: $60.00 -$70.00
Decals: Two versions (one for Aeroflot)
Comments: Engraved panel lines, highly detailed ejection seat
History
The Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera was a high-altitude subsonic interceptor initially designed to hunt American reconnaissance balloons. The M-17’s history goes back to the 1950’s, when the Soviet Union grew concerned about two American reconnaissance platforms: high altitude reconnaissance balloons, and the Lockheed U-2. In combination, these platforms were used to gather intelligence via overflights of the USSR and People’s Republic of China.
To combat these high altitude incursions Myasishchev proposed Subject 34, a single-seat turbojet powered twin-boom high aspect ratio aircraft—nicknamed Chaika (“Seagull” in Russian) due to its anhedral wing design. Its armament was to have been two air-to-air missiles and two GSh-23mm cannon with 600rpg in a dorsal turret. Before Subject 34 could be developed into operational hardware, the threat receded due to the success of the Keyhole reconnaissance satellites of the American Corona program, and the emergence of the Lockheed SR-71/A-12, which far outstripped the performance of the U-2.
The design of the Chaika was adapted as a reconnaissance aircraft and emerged as the Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera with a revised airframe, including straight tapered wings, also with and anhedral design, shorter fuselage pod and a non-afterburning Kolesov RD-36-51 turbojet engine. Flown for the first time on May 26, 1982 from Zhukovsky airfield, the M-17 prototype was soon given the NATO code name “Mystic-A” and was used to investigate the ozone layer over Antarctica in 1992. It was also capable of other reconnaissance duties, but none have been admitted either by the former Soviet Union or the current Russian government.
The M-17 set a total of 12 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records, five of which still stand today. On March 28, 1990, M-17 (Serial CCCP 17401) piloted by Vladimir V. Arkhipenko set an altitude record of 21,830 m (71,620 ft) in class C-1i (Landplanes: take off weight 16,000 to 20,000 kg).
M-55 Geophysica
The M-17 balloon-interceptor program was terminated in 1987, but a modified version remains in service today in the form of the M-55. The M-17 was replaced by the M-17RN, later known as the M-55 Geophysica, NATO dubbed “Mystic-B.” First flown on August 16, 1988, the M-55 airframe was modified with a longer fuselage pod housing two Soloviev D-30-10V non-afterburning turbofan engines, shorter wings and a comprehensive sensor payload. Twenty-three meters long with a wingspan of more than 37 meters and a cruise speed of 750 kilometers per hour, it can stay aloft for 6.5 hours.
The M-55 set 15 FAI World Records, all of which still stand today: On September 21, 1993, an M-55 piloted by Victor Vasenkov from the 8th State R&D Institute of the Air Force named after V.P. Chkalov at Akhtubinsk reached a class record altitude of 21,360 m (70,080 ft) in class C-1j (Landplanes: take off weight 20,000 to 25,000 kilograms (44,000 to 55,000 lb)).
A dual control version, the M-55UTS, was developed by adding a second cockpit behind the original, displacing some avionics and/or sensor payload. Several M-55 Geophysica remain in service in research roles; one M-55 took gathered data on the Arctic stratosphere in 1996–1997, with similar experiments performed in Antarctica during 1999.
An Irish headquartered company, Qucomhaps, with a focus on South East Asia, has entered a $1 Billion deal to use the M-55 as a High Altitude Platform Station for digital communications. A new version of the M-55 is reportedly being developed, with wingroot mounted engines installed in a conventional fuselage carrying a sweptback tail unit. As yet unconfirmed intelligence reports indicate that an unmanned version is being developed.
The Kit
Modelsvit’s Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 166 parts, including three clear parts for the canopy to depict it open (two parts) or closed (one). The kit is so large that at first blush you are inclined to check the box to confirm that it isn’t 1/48 scale after all. The sheer size of the fuselage and the span of even the unassembled wings emphasize what a big aircraft the M-17 is.
The kit bears lightly engraved panel lines which may be easily obscured by sanding, so the modelers so inclined may need to gear up for some re-scribing. Early on, the instructions highlight the need to decide which version of the prototype you will build, as they have each have a different antenna/sensor array on their dorsal spine aft of the cockpit.
The cockpit features the most intricately detailed K-36 ejection seat I have ever seen in a kit; it consists of 23 individual parts, and after that effort you may have no thought of doing anything but leaving the canopy open. A detailed control yoke and set of rudder pedals complement the seat nicely. After being treated to such extravagance, if you anticipate exquisitely detailed instrument panels, you are in for a let-down; all the engineering went into the seat, and the instrument detail is provided by decals. The fuselage interior is equally bare of cockpit sidewall detail.
There is an assembly for a short span of intake trunking aft of the cockpit that splits around it to meet the intake ramps on either side, and parts are included for intake and exhaust fans. Before the fuselage is sealed the kit will need a nose weight, since the twin booms with the T tail are likely to have the kit resting on its tail. A weight of 14 grams is illustrated but in my opinion not sufficiently emphasized in the kit instructions.
Minor surgery will be required to remove a small panel in the ventral surface just aft of the nose wheel well to make way for a part containing what appears to be a small convex-shaped sensor. The twin booms are to be cemented to separate nacelles beneath the wing; this will be where seam-hiding skills are a must. The landing gear are fairly detailed, with each of the main gear including doors coming in at 18 parts each; the nose gear consists of a mere 12.
Markings
The decals are disappointingly flat, and for a kit first released in 2016, are already showing signs of oxidation three years out; close examination revealed fine, alligator-skin cracks in some of the markings, so there’s no telling what will happen when they hit the water. A point of concern is that Modelsvit did not bother to seal them in their own plastic bag, something more and more manufacturers have begun to do. Aftermarket examples may well be in order.
Markings are provided for one of two prototypes, one of which bears an Aeroflot logo in Cyrllic lettering and is now housed at the Air Force Museum at Monino in the former Soviet Union; the second prototype bears more extensive stenciling and logos, but both aircraft bear the paint scheme displayed on the box art of Light Grey and White Satin, with Red wingtips and Red on the tips of the horizontal stabilizers. The instructions identify colors with Humbrol codes only.
Conclusion
This kit is among the more refined to emerge from the former Soviet Union in recent years, as it bears evidence of significantly improved mold technology, providing for a quantum leap in detail. Highly recommended.
References
- www.sputniknews.com
- wn.com
