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ET2SN · 09-21-21, 03:03 AM

Just to post an update..

As I had hoped, we're seeing more kits in 1/144th scale of US heavy bombers.

Last year, Academy released their re-tooled B-1B (kit # 12620). There are video builds of this kit on YouTube so I'll keep my review simple. Its great.

Slightly pricey but all of the modern Academy touches are there (fine Tamiya/Bandai-quality moldings, Cartograph decals, more than enough ordinance, canopy masks, etc.). Just be careful of two things- make SURE you order kit # 12620 and not their first gen B-1B, the other is the plastic itself. This kit has the softest plastic of all the kits in this thread. Not a deal breaker, just be aware of it. This stuff will tend to "mush" if you file or sand it too much and drilling holes can cause problems. Otherwise, highly recommended and I'm seeing signs of a new release B-1A (in reality, only 3 "A" models were built for testing before the "A" model program was cancelled).

Meanwhile,

.
GWH has released another late model B-52. This time its the B-52G from Desert Storm. My kit showed up today and it looks like GWH has learned some lessons from flirting with this beast but they still have some work to do.

To start off, I ordered my kit on EBay from a seller in Shanghai (?) and paid $50 US including shipping. So, the price has come down by $20 US.

Shipping took about two weeks.
What's in the box should not raise eyebrows, its a re-do of their B-52H with the older G model tail and engine pods. Still, there are some nice parts included in this kit.

What's still wrong- Those pesky fairings on the fuselage side of the tail planes. Sand them smooth and build them with a slight amount of gap.
The nav/id marker lights just in front of the tail are still missing and must be added and the fuselage antennas just don't look "right" for this plane. The head rests for the pilot and co-pilot are still wrong but are now easier to fix.

What's missing- There are nice decals to build one of the Senior Surprise/Secret Squirrel aircraft from the start of Desert Storm plus a nice load out of CALCMs (we'll get to them in a bit) for the rotary launcher in the bomb bay. The big problem is that the "strakelets" for the shoulders of the main wing are not included to build a cruise missile launcher. Likewise, the bomb bay is limited to using the rotary launcher, which is just wrong for a conventional "777 mod" B-52G.

Back in the late 70's and early 80's, the US and USSR signed various documents referred to as "SALT". To keep it short, the US/SAC had also planned to convert roughly half of its B-52G fleet to carry cruise missiles (like the B-52H) while the other half got another conversion that allowed them to carry conventional munitions (think ARCLIGHT during the SEA war). One of the key items in SALT involved verification and the USSR had to be able to tell the difference between a B-52 armed with nukes and one armed with iron bombs. From a satellite's point of view, its easy to spot the difference between the B-52G and the B-52H (the engine pods). For the nuke and conventional B-52G's, SAC had designed fairings for an ECM refit that didn't pan out. The fairings could house antennas but were neutral in terms of lift and drag. They also stood out compared to a normal B-52 wing root, which was all that mattered, so all of the cruise missile B-52G's had the fairings (also known as Strakelets) added to them.

In other words, if you want to build one the Secret Squirrel aircraft- invest in some putty and get ready for a LOT of work.

Or, just ignore that detail and build away. The truth of the matter is that by adding a detailed bomb bay, GWH opened a large can of worms for itself.

What's new- The engine nacelles look right for the G model. The lumps and bumps are in the right places and the assembly is fairly simple (two engine intakes plus a top and bottom complete each pod). The tail section looks good and the quad mounted 50 cals look good enough.

The phased array radar panels look to be standing a little proud but this may have been done to aid in painting them.
Ordinance is the highlight of this kit.

You get a snot load of AGM-86 ALCMs/CALCMs to hang off the pylons, OR Harpoons, OR Paveways, OR even Penguin missiles (

but it was planned to carry them at one time). Pretty much everything except the Popeye missile is included.

Plus the usual iron bombs and CBUs.

Decals are great. Markings are provided for "Hard T'Get" and "Valkyrie" from Barksdale AFB and "Eternal Guardian" from Loring AFB. Wing, tail, and fuselage walkway stripes are provided in dark gray.

Which brings up the question, how will I build it? I grew up near Loring AFB and watched those folks fly over the house all the time. Some "the moose is loose" tail art would look good on the shelf. Then again, I got interested in the 43rd BW on Guam in the mid 80's and a hold-over SIOP paint scheme of gray, tan, and black over satin white just looks B.A. along with a load of Harpoons on the pylons. Either way, I think I've already decided to glue the bomb bay doors shut. Its just easier that way. Which is ironic- GWH designed all of this detail but then goofed on the execution.
OK, some of you will be thinking (as I already have), why not steal the bomb bay parts out of the Academy B-52H and build the B-52G right? Its easy, both of those kits sell for $50. You don't kit bash at this price range.

Anyway again, this kit is recommended more for the casual builder if you can hack the budget and ignore the details. You can knock this thing together over a three day weekend without much drama. Engineering and parts fit is top-of-the-shelf. For the serious builder, things start to get strange.

Do some research and you'll find-

-Strakelet wings means cruise missiles.
-Clean wings means conventional stores, no rotary launcher, and bomb "clips" in the bomb bay.
-Seven B-52Gs carried 35 CALCM missiles for Secret Squirrel at the start of Dessert Storm. Do the math.

That's five CALCMs per plane. They weren't carried in the bomb bay but on the external pylons. That's also what's known as an asymmetric load- three on one pylon and two on the other. Why? Well, that was just about ALL the CALCMs that existed at the time.

So, hat's off to GWH for tackling this plane in the first place. I just wish they had done a little more research.

Next up, and in the mail somewhere between here and Kiev, is the AMP 1/144th scale B-2A Spirit Bomber. You can find build videos of this kit on YouTube. While its considered a "limited run kit" (no part #s on the sprues, no locating pins in the plastic, etc.) it does look like a nice model kit with no nasty surprises (I'm also almost out of Ukrainian hard candies

). More later after it arrives.

09-21-21, 03:03 AM	#14
ET2SN ET2/SS Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,515 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	Just to post an update.. As I had hoped, we're seeing more kits in 1/144th scale of US heavy bombers. Last year, Academy released their re-tooled B-1B (kit # 12620). There are video builds of this kit on YouTube so I'll keep my review simple. Its great. Slightly pricey but all of the modern Academy touches are there (fine Tamiya/Bandai-quality moldings, Cartograph decals, more than enough ordinance, canopy masks, etc.). Just be careful of two things- make SURE you order kit # 12620 and not their first gen B-1B, the other is the plastic itself. This kit has the softest plastic of all the kits in this thread. Not a deal breaker, just be aware of it. This stuff will tend to "mush" if you file or sand it too much and drilling holes can cause problems. Otherwise, highly recommended and I'm seeing signs of a new release B-1A (in reality, only 3 "A" models were built for testing before the "A" model program was cancelled). Meanwhile, . GWH has released another late model B-52. This time its the B-52G from Desert Storm. My kit showed up today and it looks like GWH has learned some lessons from flirting with this beast but they still have some work to do. To start off, I ordered my kit on EBay from a seller in Shanghai (?) and paid $50 US including shipping. So, the price has come down by $20 US. Shipping took about two weeks. What's in the box should not raise eyebrows, its a re-do of their B-52H with the older G model tail and engine pods. Still, there are some nice parts included in this kit. What's still wrong- Those pesky fairings on the fuselage side of the tail planes. Sand them smooth and build them with a slight amount of gap. The nav/id marker lights just in front of the tail are still missing and must be added and the fuselage antennas just don't look "right" for this plane. The head rests for the pilot and co-pilot are still wrong but are now easier to fix. What's missing- There are nice decals to build one of the Senior Surprise/Secret Squirrel aircraft from the start of Desert Storm plus a nice load out of CALCMs (we'll get to them in a bit) for the rotary launcher in the bomb bay. The big problem is that the "strakelets" for the shoulders of the main wing are not included to build a cruise missile launcher. Likewise, the bomb bay is limited to using the rotary launcher, which is just wrong for a conventional "777 mod" B-52G. Back in the late 70's and early 80's, the US and USSR signed various documents referred to as "SALT". To keep it short, the US/SAC had also planned to convert roughly half of its B-52G fleet to carry cruise missiles (like the B-52H) while the other half got another conversion that allowed them to carry conventional munitions (think ARCLIGHT during the SEA war). One of the key items in SALT involved verification and the USSR had to be able to tell the difference between a B-52 armed with nukes and one armed with iron bombs. From a satellite's point of view, its easy to spot the difference between the B-52G and the B-52H (the engine pods). For the nuke and conventional B-52G's, SAC had designed fairings for an ECM refit that didn't pan out. The fairings could house antennas but were neutral in terms of lift and drag. They also stood out compared to a normal B-52 wing root, which was all that mattered, so all of the cruise missile B-52G's had the fairings (also known as Strakelets) added to them. In other words, if you want to build one the Secret Squirrel aircraft- invest in some putty and get ready for a LOT of work. Or, just ignore that detail and build away. The truth of the matter is that by adding a detailed bomb bay, GWH opened a large can of worms for itself. What's new- The engine nacelles look right for the G model. The lumps and bumps are in the right places and the assembly is fairly simple (two engine intakes plus a top and bottom complete each pod). The tail section looks good and the quad mounted 50 cals look good enough. The phased array radar panels look to be standing a little proud but this may have been done to aid in painting them. Ordinance is the highlight of this kit. You get a snot load of AGM-86 ALCMs/CALCMs to hang off the pylons, OR Harpoons, OR Paveways, OR even Penguin missiles ( but it was planned to carry them at one time). Pretty much everything except the Popeye missile is included. Plus the usual iron bombs and CBUs. Decals are great. Markings are provided for "Hard T'Get" and "Valkyrie" from Barksdale AFB and "Eternal Guardian" from Loring AFB. Wing, tail, and fuselage walkway stripes are provided in dark gray. Which brings up the question, how will I build it? I grew up near Loring AFB and watched those folks fly over the house all the time. Some "the moose is loose" tail art would look good on the shelf. Then again, I got interested in the 43rd BW on Guam in the mid 80's and a hold-over SIOP paint scheme of gray, tan, and black over satin white just looks B.A. along with a load of Harpoons on the pylons. Either way, I think I've already decided to glue the bomb bay doors shut. Its just easier that way. Which is ironic- GWH designed all of this detail but then goofed on the execution. OK, some of you will be thinking (as I already have), why not steal the bomb bay parts out of the Academy B-52H and build the B-52G right? Its easy, both of those kits sell for $50. You don't kit bash at this price range. Anyway again, this kit is recommended more for the casual builder if you can hack the budget and ignore the details. You can knock this thing together over a three day weekend without much drama. Engineering and parts fit is top-of-the-shelf. For the serious builder, things start to get strange. Do some research and you'll find- -Strakelet wings means cruise missiles. -Clean wings means conventional stores, no rotary launcher, and bomb "clips" in the bomb bay. -Seven B-52Gs carried 35 CALCM missiles for Secret Squirrel at the start of Dessert Storm. Do the math. That's five CALCMs per plane. They weren't carried in the bomb bay but on the external pylons. That's also what's known as an asymmetric load- three on one pylon and two on the other. Why? Well, that was just about ALL the CALCMs that existed at the time. So, hat's off to GWH for tackling this plane in the first place. I just wish they had done a little more research. Next up, and in the mail somewhere between here and Kiev, is the AMP 1/144th scale B-2A Spirit Bomber. You can find build videos of this kit on YouTube. While its considered a "limited run kit" (no part #s on the sprues, no locating pins in the plastic, etc.) it does look like a nice model kit with no nasty surprises (I'm also almost out of Ukrainian hard candies ). More later after it arrives. Last edited by ET2SN; 09-21-21 at 03:14 AM.