Revell 1/144 Sea Shadow

It 1970, the Lockheed Corporation started work on (what would become) the F.117 Stealth fighter (attack aircraft, actually), which was to feature radar-countering technology. The first production aircraft was delivered in 1984, and the F.117 Nighthawk went operational in 1983.

In 1984, Lockheed applied stealth technology to a ship. The concept was to build a stealthy fleet/convoy outer-guard ship that, being invisible on radar, could essentially ambush an attacking air-group with volleys of surface-to-air missiles (aka, SAMs). The result was a very unship-looking ship. Lockheed made maximum use of automation to minimise the crew size (to 4), and a Small Water-plane Area Twin Hull (or SWATH) design. The two hulls were submerged, each with an inboard forward hydrofoil, aft stabiliser, and an internal diesel/electric propulsion unit.

Only one prototype was built - the IX-529. As it was only a technology demonstrator, it was never commissioned into the US Navy, so it was never the USS Sea Shadow. Nor was it armed. It proved to be very stable in very-rough (wave height of 18 feet/5.5 m) or State 6 seas, but with a maximum speed of only 15 knots. The US Navy cited lots of reasons for rejecting it, including that it didn't have a paint locker. What doomed the concept was that it didn't work because it WAS visible. As a ship, it left a visible wake. Because it WAS stealthy, it showed-up as a void against the return on a radar scope, from the sea-state (like a hole in the water).

In 2006, the Sea Shadow was put-up for sale as scrap (a condition of the sale), but the sale didn't happen till 2012. So the Sea Shadow is no-more - except it (and the HMAS Jervis Bay) was the inspiration for the villan's (media mogul, Elliot Carver) HQ/stealth ship, the Sea Dolphin II in the James Bond movie ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’.

I bought this kit many years ago, though I can’t recall from where. It musta’ been cheap because the box was crushed, and the decals were gone, but all of the plastic was still inside the sealed bag. Scalemates advises that it was released in 1995/96 before production ceased. Other sources show that the missing decal sheet is large with the calibration markings as shown on the boxart. The kit comes in a 15”x9” lid-&-tray box with a single bag that holds four black sprues of 40 parts (some very large and some very small), and a small sprue of 7 small flat clear parts. Details vary from very-fine raised panel lines to large cast-on blocks. The instruction sheet shows 13 assembly steps with progressive internal detail painting directions (but will it be seen?). Externally, Sea Shadow is flat black, which will play havoc with the large mostly-clear decals (shown on the 6 decal-placement views). There are a few splashes of colour – in the cockpit/bridge and external extended sensors (that may be left-off = in a retracted position).

This model will require a lot of care in the positive gluing of the very-large pieces along their very-long construction seams, and the painting to avoid a bland monochrome finish. The Internet shows some photos of Sea Shadow WITHOUT the calibration markings, and an other-than-all-black measure (also without markings). Other modellers may wish to indulge their inner modeller by painting Sea Shadow as a commissioned ship of the US Navy (USS Darth Vader anyone?), possibly in a non-standard measure, and possibly with open panels that reveal the missiles of her guard-ship role.

The instructions and internet research.

George Oh

November 2025

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