Another new model kit, coming soon.

[ET2SN]

After submarines, my favorite airplane kit is the B-52.

I started seeing vids about Great Wall Hobby's new 1/144th scale Buff last week, I found a nice kit review and initial build:







It looks good so far and I hope to get one or two on order by next month (?).

This kit builds a modern B-52H, namely an aircraft modified to "Phase VI" standards (the updated, lengthened tail section with phased array antennas and final version of the EVS turrets under the nose), the addition of a "sniper pod" on the STBD wing and a "Bobbited tail"*. The B-52 can best be thought of as the airplane the USAF can't get rid of, no matter how hard they try.
There are already "3rd Generation Crews" flying the same aircraft their grandfathers flew and the B-52 will easily last in front line service until the 2040's. The Pentagon has already ordered new, more efficient engines and there are plans for the B-52 to become an electronics jammer/ECM aircraft. To put it in better perspective, consider that the B-52 has outlasted the planes that were supposed to replace it. The B-58 Hustler, the B-70 Valkyrie, the B-1 (A and B) Lancer/BONE and the B-2 Spirit were or will be retired before the B-52.

From what I've seen, Great Wall did a CAD re-scale of their 1/72nd scale B-52 kits from last year. This could be good or bad, Great Wall wound up getting thrashed with their initial releases of these kits and had to offer updated nose parts and still got the tail and horizontal stabs wrong.
The good news was that they offered multiple versions of the B-52G and B-52H in 1/72nd scale, so we should expect a couple more kits in 1/144th scale.

While Academy released a 1/144th scale (modern) B-52H several years ago, it has massive problems in how the fuselage and EVS turrets were modelled. The only other alternative in this scale came from Revell, who offered "modern" B-52G and H models back in the early 1990's via Revell USA and Revell Germany. I built a couple of these kits in the barracks at Pearl when we weren't at sea and managed to snag one more on EBay a couple of years ago that I work on from time to time. Buffs in 1/144th scale are mostly the perfect size, large enough to show off detail work and painting but not so big that they don't fit on the display shelf. Paint is really easy, B-52's have been painted over-all in Gunship Gray (FS 36118) since the mid 1990's. Make sure to weather and fade the paint on the upper wings and fuselage, B-52's don't spend much time in a hanger. If the instructions tell you to apply "stars and bars" to the wings, don't. The B-52 has such a unique outline that , since the mid 1990's, national markings are only applied to the sides of the fuselage. Decals are provided for half of the six current squadrons (plus nose art) and hopefully there will be some aftermarket decals available.

To sum it up, I'm looking forward to ordering a couple of these kits and hopefully there will also be a B-52G in the pipeline. There are two things that still concern me, the first is that Great Wall never really got their 1/72nd scale kits "right" although they did the right thing by remolding the nose and fwd fuselage (on this kit, the one internal item you will be able to see, the head rests for the pilot and co-pilot, are missing and will need to be carved then painted red). The second is price, for a 1/144th scale kit expect to pay somewhere in the 30-40 US Dollar range once it becomes available.

For that kind of money, you do get a decent amount of plastic and its nice to see the selection of weapons and the sniper pod. The CSRL (combined stores rotary launcher) is a nice detail for the bomb bay but might be better saved for a side display/diorama.





*- By the early 1990's, the USAF decided to retire the B-52G's and remove the M61 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon from the tail of the surviving B-52H's plus the enlisted gunner from the crew. The loss of weight in the tail was compensated for by adding slabs of high tech concrete and this "less manly" mod was named in honor of John Wayne Bobbitt who's angry wife cut off his *ahem* late one night while he was passed out.
In theory, the USAF has kept the M61's in storage in case they are ever needed again, but this would be a long term refit, much like Mr. Bobbitt's reconstructive surgery.

[ET2SN]

So, after a bunch of pacing back and forth on whether or not to buy this kit- it showed up in today's mail.

The over-all point of this review is whether this kit is worth the price, so I'll say right up front that I shelled out $73 USD on Amazon (via Sprue Bros. out of Liberty, MO) with free shipping. There were other options on EBay that fell into the $50 USD range ($30 for the kit plus "when ever the boat gets there" shipping) but Sprue Bros. is relatively close to me and I wanted to try a first order with them.

Let that sink in for a minute.

This kit is freaking expensive for what it is. What it is, is very nice but can you justify the dent it puts in your wallet?

The kit contains no photo-etch, just a couple of shades of gray plastic plus the clear glass. A small sheet of photo etch would have been welcome for two antenna masts that are shaped like a T (actually more like an F with a mirror image F next to it) plus some doo-dads for the flight deck and a better cover for where the rotary cannon used to reside in the tail.

The plate you get to plug that hole is OK but if you're really into detail you'll need to drill a bunch of 0135/80 sized holes in the plastic part, something I'm not looking forward to.

It seems like EVERY B-52 kit that has ever existed has had its issues in terms of basic shapes and dimensions, so we may as well get this part out of the way.

Yes, there are some minor accuracy issues with this kit, mostly with the way the horizontal stabilizers are depicted. On this kit, they are nicely faired into the sides of the fuselage, just like a 737 or an Airbus main wing. This is totally wrong, the horizontal stabs of the B-52 pivot to control trim. There should be a "hard' break between them and the fuse. Call up some side-view images of the Buff and you'll notice a bare-metal panel on the fuse from the half-way point of the stabs to just in front of their leading edges. It isn't painted for a reason, its a tight fit but the stabs have to be able to move. To be fair, this is one of the more confusing features of the real aircraft. The parts that look like trim tabs are actually the elevators while the entire surface of the stabs are the actual trim tabs.
There should be six flare ejectors on the bottom of each stab. I'm not sure why this was omitted, the chaff ejectors are nicely molded into the bottoms of the main wings.

One topic people always seem to obsess over are the vortex generators on the main wings and stab, so let's look into that. The vortex generators on the REAL plane are small and there are a lot of them. There, happy now?
To be fair, Revell did a better job on their B-52 G and H 1/144th scale kits back in the 1990's and they were over-sized. GWH includes them but you'll need to set your airbrush to "wisp" and cross your fingers, otherwise they will sink into the paint.

OK, on to the main wing(s). They look right. You'll need to drill some small holes and add the nav lights, but that's minor. The one issue with the wings is that you HAVE to model the plane as landed with the wheels firmly on the ground. The wings are molded with a slight downward sag which is accurate for the real article if its full of fuel and travelling slower than 50 knots. There is no way its accurate for a plane in the air. If you want to build this thing "wheels up", drink several cans of beer before you start to bend them slightly up. Its a $60 kit and you won't feel so bad when you hear the loud CRACK.

I also don't see this covered in the instructions but the insides of the flap wells and the doors for the tip gear should be painted Zinc Chromate Green (which tends to fade into almost a Chrome Yellow). These green areas tend to get filthy, so weather them accordingly.

Some other obvious things to high-light- GWH modelled the COMPLETE flight deck, both levels. Why? Well, why not, I guess? The seats are there for all seven crew members (a jump seat is included for an Instructor Pilot on the top deck) but you'll need to add the triangular head rests for the two seats you'll be able to see and paint them red.
The main wheels and tires are nice. The tires don't have "weight-on-wheels" bulges but the tires on the real article have something like 38 plies to them so they aren't going to bulge a lot.
There are supposed to be two red, rotating beacon lights on top of the fuse, about 3/4ths of way back from the nose. These lights are unique to the B-52 and are considered a design characteristic. Its not a big deal to add them by drilling out the holes and "over filling" them in with clear red paint, but they should have been included.

"Cheek dimples"- The B-52 G and H have a very complex shape to the nose and forward fuse, even before the FLIR and LLTV turrets were added below the cockpit. This resulted in a very slight crease or dimple between the nose cover and the lower part of the fuse. On the old Revell kit, the dimples were were fairly deep. GWH has toned this dimple down a little more and it looks "right". The cockpit area should also have wrinkled skin due to the cockpit being pressurized, but this effect is very slight especially at this scale. You can create this effect using a thick primer/surfacer or some mottled highlights, just don't go overboard.

Engines- Basically the same as the pods found in the old Revell B-52H, only different. Both designs are valid and accurate, IMO. Revell got the complex shape of the inlets closer to reality but GWH includes the "blow in" bypass doors which are open at slower speeds and higher power settings.
Really, this is a "push" between both kits. Just be sure to paint the nose cones of the actual engines NATO Black then weather/chip the snot out of them. Revell didn't mold the bypass doors, GWH did but they're almost "too prominent" and you'll need to do a little bit of filling and sanding to tone them down slightly. The bypass doors should be one of those "Oh, of course" items if you know what to look for.

Decals- To be really honest, "meh". The GWH decals look fine but my first impression was, "I can't wait to see what the aftermarket decal companies come up with". One thing that's glaringly off is walkway stripes for the main wings and fuse. There aren't any which would rate a "Harumph" even if the kit was sold for $20 or less. Either wait for the aftermarket to come to the rescue, buy the Minicraft late-model B-52H for the decals and junk the plastic, or get ready to lay down masks for pin striping. Really, GWH. I don't mind paying top dollar and the plastic is fantastic, just humor me a bit and go the extra mile. I shouldn't have to be looking for decals and photo etch at this price point.

Don't get me wrong, I gripe because I can. The parts just click together after clean up (the way the parts fit together on this kit is just sick, everyone needs to experience a kit like this at least once) and everything tends to look right. If this is your first B-52 kit, you could do worse. Much, much worse...
One quick note on cleaning up the parts, GWH uses what I call "flush" sprue connections. Not quite the same as a standard plastic model, the sprue connects to the part at the seam of the part. This results in much cleaner molding but you need to be careful when removing the part from the sprue. Cut the part loose leaving a bigger chunk of sprue on the part than normal then carefully file/sand the sprue away until you get a smooth, flush seam.
If you've never built a kit like this, take your time and work slowly at first. You'll see the advantage to molding a kit like this but it usually happens after you screw up one of the parts.

What else? Detail tends to go over-board a bit, but at least its there. You get a full crew compartment even though you'll only be able to see the front seats. You get a full bomb bay even though you can only pose the model on the ground, with the bomb bay doors open and almost touching the pavement. You get the rotary launcher and its support members which, again, you won't be able to see. There are multiple pylons for the different weapon types (basically nuke and conventional) so you might want to try adding some magnets to hold the pylons in place. The only true gripe I have with this kit are the blade antennas, and there are a LOT of them. For some reason, they are not as sharp as the antennas on the older Revell Buff. Which is a shame. Again, we're back to having the aftermarket save the day which will still be tough. Photo etch would be too thin and cast resin would be way too fragile. That leaves scratch building with plastic sheet stock for a 1/144th scale $60 kit. As far as nit-picking, there is an error where the bomb bay doors joint the fuse. There are actually four doors on each side and the upper doors are the same length as the lower doors. Not a big deal, some quick scribing will fix this.

So, do I recommend this kit? For North America, this is a lot tougher than it should be. The engineering is top-notch (mostly) and there are some very minor flaws. There's also the price tag which makes this kit tough to recommend to new builders. I'd like to see some photo etch hit the market plus some better decals. An optional tail gun would have been great for a pre-2000 build (the gun part is easy, the fairing that goes around the barrels is a lot tougher) as well as an option for "in-flight" or "parked" wings.
Am I hoping to see GWH do it again as a B-52G? Well, heck yeah! Figure out an option for the wing roots so its either a "straklet" cruise missile carrier or a "777" conventional bomber. Add an option to pose the FLIR/LLTV turrets open or closed (for once) and figure out those blade antennas and these kits will become highly recommended, even at the current price.

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks for the update. Pictures?

[mapuc]

Since it's some years back been popular to famous bomberplane in scale 1:32-I made a search to see if B52 was in such a scale.

It would be huge-that for sure.

As Neal I also hope to see the progress of your building adventure

Edit
The cockpit of the B-52H is available in scale 1:32.
End edit

Markus

[ET2SN]

I don't "do" pictures. Cameras tend to break if my face gets in them.
Besides, IMO this is a hands-on hobby. You really need to do this stuff live and in person. Pics tend to make people lazy and I'd rather see you try it rather than me showing off what I've done. I'll tell you what I use on my builds and how I do it, however.

Actually, I was goofing around with this kit last night and I think I nailed how to paint the engine fans. Its really easy, I used Tamiya Gunmetal (X-10), Tamiya NATO Black (XF-69), Tamiya Black Panel Liner, and a small brush.

Paint the fan blades Gunmetal and let them dry. Again, I did this using a brush.
Then paint the engine cone Nato Black. Once dry, add a touch of Panel Liner to the fan blades. That's it. I checked the colors using a color photo of a TF-33 engine from my copy of Squadron's Walk Around #6, B-52 and it looks about right. Remember these engine fans go a little deep into the pods. You don't want the fan blades super bright but you do want them to "poke out" a bit. If you want to weather/distress the engine cones, try dry brushing them slightly using Tamiya Titanium Silver (X-32) or a dark shade of Aluminum. These aren't big parts, so just a little of an effect goes a long way.

The engine exhausts are basically black. You could try using a darker jet engine exhaust paint or just go straight to flat black.

A couple of other build notes:

This kit includes the six air probes that glue to the side of the fwd fuse. They are SMALL and you'll need some good tweezers and a liquid-type glue. I also recommend gluing them in place early in the build, way before you do any painting. Just paint them in the final steps of your build using a color like Titanium Gold (X-32) or a darker shade of Stainless Steel or even a dark-ish brown metallic (these probes are heated in flight and tend to get some heat staining but are also really small).

The flight deck and interior parts of this kit are overkill. With that being said, paint the flight deck walls and floor(s) using a lighter gray (something like Gull Gray). The Inst Panel shroud should be painted Nato Black and this where it pays off to know someone who smokes Marlboros. Ask them to save the foiled pull-out tab the next time they open a new pack. This foiled paper is a very quick and dirty way to replicate the flash curtains that cover the cockpit windows. The bomb bay is mostly white. Don't go too crazy with weathering unless its the sides of the bomb bay. Pipes can be a darker silver for contrast and hoses are "gas station red/orange". The rotary launcher is mostly white, however, the framing that holds it in place should be painted black.

The landing gear bays are tricky. The normal way to build landing gear is to weather them up heavily and add streaks and stains. On the B-52, the main gear parts are painted gloss white and are inspected and cleaned prior to and just after flight. In other words, don't go overboard like its a Mig.

The Cruise Missiles in the kit are AGM-129s. These are the more modern, stealthy versions of the good 'ole AGM-86 ALCM (or later CALCM). I need to dig into this a little more, but I don't think the -129 was retro-fitted with a conventional warhead. Aside from the kit's painting guide, I don't think they are painted Olive Drab like the conventional bombs. In all the photos I've seen, they are painted a "stealthy black" or maybe a charcoal gray. You could try just painting them Nato Black or maybe toning it up slightly with just a hint of Gunship Gray (maybe one drop of gray to ten drops of black).

The walkway lines on the main wing are still bugging me. I'm 99% sure they SHOULD be there, I want to dig into this to prove myself wrong. The modern photos I have show Gunship Gray with a slightly darker gray walkway line and stenciling, but this may have changed recently.


Otherwise, take your time cutting the parts off the sprues and filing/sanding them. Dry fit the parts to make sure they fit (this kit basically "clicks" together so make certain there is no paint between parts that join together, like the bomb bay, flight deck, and fuse). After that, assembly goes quickly.

[ET2SN]

So, I've gotten some work done on the basic build.

I'm still in the middle of planning what this thing is going to look like while staring at the box that contains my other B-52H and wondering if that kit is going to get built or donate some parts to this kit. The other kit is a 1990 era Revell B-52H with a full load of AGM-86 ALCMs under the wings and the distinctive Sea Eagle/Sea Hawk tail art from the 92nd BW at Fairchild AFB. The plan was to build the old kit basically box-stock with the Fairchild tail art and the older "Euro two" camo pattern of gunship gray with patches of "NATO green" on the upper surfaces and sides with lighter gray "tiger stripes" under the wings and fuse. I've been keeping an eye out for another version of this Revell kit from the same time period. A "modern" (1990's) B-52G that included a full load of Harpoon missiles under the wings. While all or at least most of the B-52 crews practiced shooting Harpoons at ships, only a handful of bomb wings actually got the missiles to load on the plane. The 92nd BW inherited this mission from the 93rd BW at Castle AFB in the late 1980's, so its possible to load them onto a B-52H.

Anyway, the one problem of having BOTH the Revell and GWH kits happens when you hold one fuse next to the other. They ain't the same. I always thought Revell got the shape right, or at least the most right but the GWH kit is just better. Where the GWH kit stumbles a bit is the external antennas, wing vortex generators, and some fuselage stiffeners that were added to the outside of the fuse. The stiffeners are easy to create using strips of thin styrene sheet and some sanding once they are glued in place. The antennas and vortex generators are not so easy and its very tempting to start cutting parts out of the old Revell kit.

But, I'm resisting that temptation. I still want to complete the Revell model as a "retro build" from 1990 in period-correct colors, lettering, and load-out with some resin wheels and underwing pylons. The GWH kit has some more possibilities and I'm still hoping to start seeing resin and photo etch become available. As far as decals, at the moment it ain't so good. I'm very sure at this point I will build the GWH kit as a modern B-52H from Minot AFB, 23rd BS*. The kit decals include a "boss bird" from Minot's 69th BS (yellow tail stripe) but "boss birds" are boring to me. So, I ordered the one decal set available in north America from Caracal decals to get the red and gold "Bomber Barons" tail stripe and the BW and BS logos. It should be noted that Caracal has a new B-52 decal set "in the pipeline" and that Cartograph does their printing in Italy. I'm hoping the new set includes wing and fuse walkways in dark gray instead of black.

At this point I should also point out that I'm really into Flight Sim (FS2002 and FS2004 to be precise) and I've racked up a lot of time in the old Alphasim B-52 G and H models. If you dig around at Flightsim.com, you'll find some B-52 repaints that I posted which includes a B-52H named "Minot Betty" from the 23rd BS. The "Betty" nose art is fictional, its basically Betty Boop in a short red dress with some fancy script work that I came up with when it felt like the Air Force was naming anything with at least two tires "The Memphis Belle". The other nose art I was playing with for that plane came from a WWII B-17G named "American Beauty" which featured a (tasteful) naked blonde laying in a bed of roses. Ironically, I borrowed the artwork from Caracal's web site which was why "Betty" showed up on the version I uploaded. So, I knew Caracal did the "American Beauty" nose art in 1/48th scale, what about 1/144th scale- could I get that lucky?

Well yes, yes I could. Kits World did print the decal sheet in 1/144th scale. A while ago.. In the UK...

After a couple of days of beating up the WWW, I tracked down a sheet on EBay in the UK and its on its way to Iowa. Whether I can get the nose art from a B-17 to fit on a B-52 and "look right" is one of those bridges I'll cross when its time.


Meanwhile, there's more than planning going on with the GWH kit. I mentioned that I'll toss out some hints on building and painting at this scale and I also mentioned this kit doesn't include lights. So, here's how you add stuff like landing and nav lights:

All you need is a pin vice, clear paint, clear red, clear green, and clear blue (preferably Tamiya's acrylics) and some "clear parts" PVA glue. You'll also need a bright shade of silver paint or a Molotow chrome silver pen (the smaller the tip the better).

In the case of the GWH kit, you'll need to find the locations of the lights and mark them in pencil. Then, drill a small hole into the plastic. Not too deep, just deep enough so it looks right. For older nav lights that look like a teardrop, start the hole like normal then rotate the bit 45 degrees towards the front of the wing so the hole looks more like an oval. Clean up the inside of the hole using glue or even surfacing primer, what's important is getting the hole just deep enough so it looks like it belongs there while still having a definite rim. Next, paint the inside in either chrome or a very bright silver and allow to dry fully.
Depending on how much you want the light "lens" to poke out of the fuse, use the PVA/clear parts glue to build up the face of the "lens". Allow some room for the clear paint. This isn't anything like painting, just drop or blot the clear into place and let it set. You want the surface to form almost a bubble shape. Finish with the clear paint. I like to use Tamiya's clears because they dry so hard, I also don't thin these paints like I would with normal Tamiya acrylics, you want them thick so they can be applied with a toothpick or even a pin. This is usually a lengthy process, expect the glue and clear paints to shrink as they cure. If the colored paints start to look too dark, switch to adding layers of just the clear. This little trick works nicely once you're comfortable doing it. You can do the drilling during the early parts of the build and save the painting for when the kit is almost finished or an assembly is complete.

I mentioned a while ago that the B-52 has two red beacon lights on its back. You can add them easily using this technique. On the GWH model, locate the "mushroom/saucer" shaped antenna on the rear top of the fuse. Its about 1.5 cm from the leading edge of the vert tail. Staying square to the fuse, measure down the side .5 cm and mark the spot. Do the same for the other side of the fuse. When you're done you should have two marks 1 cm apart when looking directly down at the fuse halves with the "mushroom" antenna in the middle. Drill the holes ( I use a "65" / .035 drill bit ) square to the curve of the fuse. These holes are small, but they will "pop" just enough when the kit is complete and painted. Paint the hole with bright silver and allow to fully dry, then start filling in with clear red. Build up the "lens" so its defiantly sticking out of the fuse, on the real plane these lights are round and about three inches tall so you want a small but definite "blob" on the fuse.

You can also use a variation of this trick on the Sniper Pod. GWH says to paint the window blue, but I want to do some research and create a more 3D solution.

Otherwise, I have some paint on order. The GWH kit includes a bunch of AGM-129 cruise missiles and, well, Google it. The -129 is painted an odd color. It defiantly NOT Olive Drab and it isn't black but its darker than Gunship Gray.
I wound up ordering some Tamiya "German Gray" which is fairly dark but also has some hints of blue in it. We'll see what arrives..





*- Bonus material: I mention the 23rd and 69th BS's at Minot and they have an odd history. The 23rd BS dates back to 1917 and its unit shield shows five bombs dropping into a volcano, which really happened in Hawai'i back in the 1920's. The idea was to divert a lava flow that threatened a town. After that, the 23rd BS went on to become a B-17 and B-24 squadron in the Pacific during WWII and eventually wound up at Travis AFB flying the B-36 and later the B-52D.
The 23rd transferred to Minot AFB in 1968 to fly the B-52G and has stayed there ever since. Then, 2008 happened..

The 23rd BS, or The Barons or The Bomber Barons sent one of their B-52H's down to Barksdale AFB with a full load of cruise missile "shapes" loaded on the pylons under the wings. The shapes are used to train ground crews in handling cruise missiles and the flight crews in getting used to the additional weight and drag without having to haul nukes around the country. They are identical to real cruise missiles but are completely inert and un-armed. There was just one problem, what was bolted to the pylons of the plane that landed at Barksdale weren't dummies but instead were the Real McCoy. Not armed but ready to launch with a nuke payload.

This was about as bad it gets for losing control of 100 Kiloton warheads. In the complicated chain of control and delivery, NO one spotted an error until the plane had flown from North Dakota to Louisiana.

The Air Force immediately put the 5th BW (which also includes a lot of missile silos in North Dakota) "on ice", grounding the bombers while installing "watchdogs" for the missile crews. This is standard Air Force business when chains of nuclear custody fail and heads are about to roll, except this was also Minot which carried more than its fair share of the US Nuclear Triad.
While the Navy had its Trident bases and Ohio class boomers, the Air Force has the missile wings and the B-52s. By 2008, the B-52s were based at either Barksdale or Minot. Barksdale is located just down the road from Bossier City, La. There are restaurants and bars and movie theaters and the weather is nice. Barksdale by this time had also become the prime B-52 base in the Air Force where some of the squadrons became specialized at dropping conventional bombs on military targets. Which became very important for an officer who wanted to get promoted up the ladder. The nuclear mission was as important as it always was (Well, mostly. The Triad was mostly running in Idle, Putin was fairly quiet and China had other things going on.) and it was the only mission at Minot, but it was also becoming a dead end to a career. Minot also had, well, not much really. There were two seasons (Winter and July), a lot of wind all the time, and no where to go unless you craved to travel from the prairie to the Canadian prairie, which looked pretty much the same.

After a couple of weeks of harrumphing, the Air Force still had a problem. The 23rd BS had been grounded pending a grueling inquiry and re-certification process but the 23rd BS was a key part of the 5th BW's mission.
The answer was to re-install the old 69th BS (which had formerly been located near my old stomping grounds at Loring AFB in Maine) using the same aircraft and crews (who survived the inquiry part) plus some planes that were transferred from Barksdale and paint the tops of the tails yellow and black.

[ET2SN]

Whoa, coming up on a thousand views for the thread.

I found a nice walk-around for a B-52G on display in Darwin. Keeping in mind that this is a G model and the tail art traces it back to Andersen AFB on Guam, its fairly accurate as a painting guide. I like the guy's enthusiasm, but the B-52 didn't drop the X-1. I think he meant "X-15".

[ET2SN]

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.

[ET2SN]

So, just a quick addition.

Its great when inspiration smacks a model builder up-side the head. I had gone over to YouTube to check if there were any new videos for that AMP B-2 I mentioned and there was also a vid of some guy in India building this horrible looking Su-30 in 1/144th scale. More like a cross between a toy and a model, these things are known as F-Toys from Japan and come with some of the major parts pre-painted. Big deal, right?

Try finding seated pilot figures in 1/144th scale, it ain't easy.
BUT, this Su-30 has two pretty decent-looking figures wearing helmets and O2 masks and, POW, inspiration smacks me up-side the head and I go over to Amazon and EBay to check out these F-Toys and see what's available.

I scored two of these Su-30 "kits" from a seller in Australia for about $30 US (shipping included) on EBay. That's four pilot figures, all told roughly $7.50 per figure, and I won't have to sweat any scratch building, bending, or swearing.

[ET2SN]

So, my AMP 1/144th scale B-2A Spirit Bomber (kit # 14002) showed up from Ukraine a couple of days ago.



It should be noted that this is a "limited run" kit. It isn't exactly molded for a new modeler, you should already have some experience with things like scratch building, carving plastic, and kit bashing. Not that you'll be doing anything like that, but you do want more than a "newbie experience" level. In other words, if your idea of building a model involves the word "Tamiya" and cutting off all the parts and throwing them in a box with some glue, you may want to pass on this one.

What you get is actually quite good, especially at this scale. So, let's dive into this thing.

I ordered this kit on EBay, direct from the factory (or barn or shed) somewhere close to Kiev and paid US $50 which also included shipping. Total shipping time was 20 days, which is fair enough. As I had mentioned, this is considered a "limited run" kit. Meaning, it won't be produced in the same numbers as kits from the big companies.

Surface detail is somewhere in between the GWH and Academy B-52s.
It really isn't bad at all, the recessed panel lines are thin but crisp. The "shark tooth" panel edges the B-2 is famous for are reproduced well, as are the refueling doors (open or shut options) and separate crew access hatch.
Landing gear and bomb bay doors look great while the complex engine inlets and even more complex exhausts look really good. How well they all fit together is yet to be seen, but I feel confident. Still, at this level of detail at this scale, you WILL want to dry fit everything, before and after laying down your paint. This kit is engineered to the same level of detail as a modern 1/48th scale airplane kit but the parts were then scaled down to 1/144th. Something has to give, and it will probably be somewhere in the landing gear or the bomb bay.
Canopy glass features clean moldings and lines and my only gripe is that the clear parts look just a little too thick, but not by much. A pre-cut canopy and wheel mask set is provided.

Decals are.. freaky good. No kidding, this kit has a lot of high points but the decals are over the top. They are printed for AMP by a company in Ukraine called Decograph. They are seriously giving Cartograph a run for their money, the level of detail is almost impossibly crisp (ALL of the stencils like "no step" are legible) and the colors look accurate. How they lay down and perform is yet to be seen, but I'm looking forward to building this thing. If you buy this kit, make sure you have a good magnifying glass on hand when you check out the decal sheet. Markings are provided for four Spirits from the 509th BW at Whiteman AFB, Spirit of New York, Indiana, Arizona, and California.

Like all kits, there are some weak points. First and foremost are the instructions. AMP assumes that you know what you're doing and many of the detail parts assemblies are just lacking in how to put them together.
If you know how to dry fit parts and assemble them without looking at the instructions, pat yourself on the back. The color for the main body is listed as FS 36118 Dark Gray and I would really want to verify that. Check online sources, other B-2 kits, or builds on YouTube. The tires and bombs (you only get 8 MK82 "slicks") are the "soft" parts of this kit. They just look to be slightly lacking, resin replacements might save the day. The bomb bay features two rotary launchers and these things are a nightmare to assemble. Don't panic, drill out the two points that join together, and drop some thin metal rods into the joint. Same basic idea with the landing gear, the struts just look like a disaster waiting to happen.

Oh yeah, there is also FLASH on some of the parts. Not like the old days with Airfix or Italieri kits, but there is FLASH. Either write to your elected officials, cry and whine online, or just remove it.
One area that WILL require some time are the edges of the bomb bay on the lower fuse half. The open bay had a sprue inside it in order to mold the part and you'll need to CAREFULLY remove the attachment lumps on the edges. A small file and some careful scribing or carving should produce good results. One more thing to mention, like most "limited run" kits, there are NO alignment pins or holes inside the body and wings. You're on your own, so glue carefully. A little on the pricey side but recommended for the advanced or experienced builder and the decal sheet really needs to be seen to be believed.