Summer is here, so there’s little modelling being done. I’m too busy with things like the allotment. However, as I am guesting on the UAV blog, I thought I’d see how this relatively new type of plane was represented for modellers.

The first stop on this tour is Unicraft, which is pretty much your one stop shop for UAV modelling needs. They have 1/72nd scale models of-

Bell EAGLE EYE, Boeing X-45A UCAV, Boeing X-36 UAV, Boeing BIRD OF PREY, “Piloted UCAV”(?), DRAGON WARRIOR, Northrop-Grumman X-47A Pegasus UCAV-N, GA Prowler II, RQ-1 Predator, RQ-2 Pioneer, RQ-3 DarkStar, RQ-4 Global Hawk, RQ-5 Hunter, MQ-9A Predator B / ALTAIR, ALTUS and Aurora THESEUS. They also do the Boeing SENSOR CRAFT in 1/144th (though that link wasn’t working when I tried). For British modellers, Hannants stock a few Unicraft kits.

With that fairly exhaustive list you hardly need to go anywhere else, but I thought I’d have a look anyway.

French company Sharkit does a NASA HyperIII, actually a remotely piloted test bed for lifting body designs, but a UAV precursor of sorts. They also have a few other UAV grandparents in the North American X10 and Vought Regulus 1 (more of an early cruise missile really). And there are a number of unrelated but interesting models such as the Davy Crocket atomic gun and Bell rocket belt (in either 1/12th or 1/35th).

Wings models do 1/48th and 1/72nd scale vacform model of the GTD-21, a Kennedy era reconnaisance drone.

I’m sure there are more, but if I carry on looking I’m going to lose a day to finding ever more obscure and fascinating model companies.

Technorati tag: Scale Models, UAV