Building Academy's 1/35 RQ-7B Shadow
By Djordje Nikolic
Overview
The RQ-7B Shadow is a UAV used by both the US Army and Marine Corps as well as several other world armies. It was extensively used in Iraq in the counter-insurgency role.
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The Kit
Academy's model comes in 1/35th scale. This is interesting and I presume Academy thought that modelers would include this kit in a diorama setting with another armor piece. The assembly was straightforward, with some fit issues between the two nose halves. The twin tail posts were very finicky and they actually broke on me twice during handling but I had them repaired rather quickly.
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I added the following details that were missing:
- Actuators for ailerons and flaps
- Pitot tube to scale
- Communications antenna
- Arrestor hook
The model was painted with Model Master enamels and weathered with oils and pastels until I was satisfied with the "used in desert conditions" look. I chose the decals for the RQ-7B named "Immortal" as this sounded cool. I was unable to find the information on the unit; however, it appears that the drone was used in Iraq in 2008. Decals used were straight out of the box and they gave me some trouble, as they were extremely sensitive to even slight adjustments immediately after I placed them on the kit and had some Mr. Mark Softener applied.
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The base is made out of airbase tarmac printed on cardboard and has a sun bleached look to represent Iraqi air fields.