Having darn little info on this aircraft, I'll quote out of the Observers book of aircraft: 1958. "One of the first mixed power interceptor fighters, the Trident II was flown for the first time on July 17, 1955.  A preproduction order for ten machines was placed with the French Air Ministry in January 1956, but this has been reduced to six aircraft. There are now likely to be of the Trident III type which has modified and strengthened undercarriage and afterburning Gabizos delivering a combined thrust of 6, 660 lbs." This info and the following specs are for the SO.9050 Trident II, but the prototype kitted should be similar.

Max speed 1,320 mph at 40,000-70,000 feet. Initial rate of climb 20,000 feet per minute. Time to 50,000 feet; 2.5 minutes. Armament: one Matra guided missile. Power plants 1 6,615 lbs of thrust SEPR-631 liquid fuel rocket motor and two GAMD Viper or Turbomeca Gabizo turbojets.

As you can see from the specs, the Trident was developed to be a point defense fighter. Similar to the Me-163 in approach in that the main motive force is a liquid fuelled rocket. However the wing-tip mounted small turbojets would provide take off  and cruise power. They would also allow for a normal landing after the rocket has expended all of its fuel. Needless to say, the program was eventually terminated as it was seen that while the aircraft would have been effective, it just wasn't the best way to do this kind of mission. This was especially true once the Mirage III had flown as the Mirage was a normal jet fighter that had the ability to add on a small SEPR rocket motor to help it get to altitude quickly.

This is one of Pend Orielle's first kits and as an early work is not that bad. Every thing is solid so rather heavy. Detailing is fair and the resin itself is free from air bubble and any glitches, though there are a few rough spots that will need cleaned up. There is no way to easily install the nose weight that would be required on such a tail-heavy model. The parts themselves are a bit heavily detailed with some trenches that would make Matchbox proud. The wing tip engines are solid and two piece. The landing gear are molded out of metal which is very well thought out as a kit of this weight will need sturdy gear. The wheel wells and cockpit area are hollowed out to allow you to properly install the pieces. The cockpit doesn't really have much more than a seat and headrest so the other bits will have to come from your spares box. A single vac canopy is included in the kit.

Actually, building the kit should not really be a problem at all due to the simple construction and rather straight-forward assembly sequence. As you can see from the image to the right, not much to the kit and lots of room for any additional detailing that you might want to do to it. 

A problem for some might be that the kit has no decals. The box art shows just a letter Y on the rear fuselage. The image in the Observers book for the Trident II shows a tri-colored rudder and national insignia in addition to the rear fuselage letter. To find out what the prototype (which this kit is) carried in the way of markings, some research is going to be needed. 

As to availability of the kit, that is an unknown. I bought this kit nearly 2 years ago and have just now gotten to reviewing it. Looks like it will be an easy

Observers book of Aircraft, 1958 edition

Review kit courtesy of me and my wallet!

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