For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/48 scale Skunkworks Workshop MQ-9 Reaper. Developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the MQ-9 Reaper is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (also known as a Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV). The United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the Italian Air Force, and the British Royal Air Force fly the MQ-9. Note also, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) flies the MQ-9 Reaper. The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance.

The MQ-9 can fly pre-programmed routes autonomously, but the aircraft is always controlled by an aircrew (pilot and sensor operator) in a Ground Control Station. Sometimes the Ground Control Station is 10,000 miles from the aircraft.  Weapons deployment is always commanded by the pilot, thus the reference to the MQ-9 as a Remotely Piloted Vehicle. Operator commands take approximately 2 seconds to reach the aircraft via a satellite link.

 Operators can hunt for targets and observe terrain using a number of sensors, including a thermal camera. One estimate has the on-board camera reading a license plate from 10,000 feet two miles away. A Reaper can stay aloft for 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions.  MQ-9s carry a variety of weapons including the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles, the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and recently, the GBU-38 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition).

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Construction
The first thing you notice when you start to build the model is that the part numbers in the instruction booklet do not match the sprue numbers. However, the illustrations in the instruction booklet are good enough so that even with the mislabeling you can build the model correctly. The kit goes together easily because the parts fit is quite good—very little filling and sanding.

Painting
Paints used for the MQ-9 were airbrushed and hand painted with Model Masters, Floquil, and Alclad II enamel paints. I airbrushed the overall model with Light Ghost Grey. The nose gear and wheels were hand painted with Floquil Weathered Black. The propeller hub was first primed with Model Masters Gloss Black, followed by a coat of Alclad II Polished Aluminum. The propeller blades were airbrushed with Model Masters Gloss Black—the prop blade tips were hand painted with Insignia Yellow. The GBU-12 bombs and Hellfire missiles were hand painted with Model Masters Olive Drab and Light Ghost Gray.

Decals
The decals for this kit were quite good, easily placed on the model, and snuggled down nicely to the model with help of some Micro Sol setting solution. The kit offers decals for two aircraft. I chose to go with the decals for an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, USA. The 432nd AEW is currently flying Reapers over Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

Comments
Despite the mislabeling of parts in the instruction booklet, the SKUNKMODELS MQ-9 Reaper was a nice build. The parts fit was decent, the detail is good, and the decals went on without problems. A word of caution, the Reaper has a big wing span so you will need a large area to display the finished model. 

Burt Gustafson

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