Ron Denning
Kansas City, Missouri
“Parasite” fighter concepts, in which a larger plane carries smaller aircraft aloft for greater range or operational abilities, seem to go down in history as oddities. So it is with the U.S. Air Force project “Tip Tow,” which featured a B-29 with an F-84D attached to each wingtip. The docking would happen in flight, and each attached fighter was controlled manually by its pilot.
Ron started with Monogram’s 1/48 scale B-29, removing the guns and fabricating attachment points for the F-84s (also 1/48 scale kits from Revell). PropBlur photo-etch propellers gave the Superfortress an in-flight look. He finished all three aircraft with Testors Model Master Metalizers and a final coat of Testors clear gloss from a spray can.
And what of Tip Tow? The project was cancelled soon after a fatal crash in April 1953.