New 1/144th Scale B-52D/F

[afspret]

Got me two of the new Minicraft 1/144th scale B-52D/F kits the other day and while I haven't yet given the parts a good look over yet, I can say, from my point of view, they will look like  'Nam era BUFFs when finished.  The only things I've noticed so far is the HSAB (Heavy Stores Adaptor Beam) for the underwing pylons looks too long and Minicraft missed the small, but obvious, fairings that are supposed to be above the alternator housings on the left side of each engine pod for the F model. 

 

My plan is to build one as a D and the other as an F and as long as look like a BUFF, that's all I care about.  The only thing left to ponder after that is what to do with Tamiya 1/100th scale B-52D that been my stash for almost a year, but I'm thinking about finishing it up as a C or E model which, according to Squadrons B-52 in Action, are externally similar to the D.

 

 

 

[Ben Brown]

Did they get the wing right, or did they just recycle the too-thick wing from the H kit? 

 

Ben

 

[afspret]

I do have a Minicraft B-52H in the stash, but its an early version (w/o all the FLIR/LLTV bumps and other assorted fairings), and haven't had a chance to compare the two yet, which I'll probably do this weekend, if work don't get in the way.

[pminer]

How does the Minicraft 144 BUFF compare to the 144 Revell BUFF? Ideas?

[Gator52]

Overall the Revell G/H kits are quite nice in my opinion; the biggest issue is with the windscreen.  The framing around the center window is way overscale. 

 

Jonah

[Sabre Freak]

Hmmmm

 

the sprue shot I saw at NATS I thought they had separate engine panels w and wo the alternator faring for a D/F

 

ill have to go back through my pics

[pminer]

3 hours ago, Gator52 said:

Overall the Revell G/H kits are quite nice in my opinion; the biggest issue is with the windscreen.  The framing around the center window is way overscale. 

 

Jonah

 

Which is better in your opinion?

[Gator52]

I prefer the Revell G/H, but that's partly because I model the 1980s-present timeframe, which is much better represented by Revell.  Like the 1/72 AMT kits, they represent a late 80s fit, most notably with the EVS & ECM mods.  The G includes stub pylons with AGM-84 (though it also features the ALCM/SALT wing root fairing) while the H includes external AGM-86.  It's much better detailed overall.

 

The base Minicraft kit represents the H as originally produced, with none of the EVS/ECM mods.  The boxings have included decal options for the natural metal over white as well as the green/tan over white SIOP scheme.  It includes a nice variety of external weapons: AGM-28, AGM-69, and Skybolt, all with appropriate pylons, plus a display ADM-72.  One advantage of the Minicraft kit is the option for lowered flaps.  The external fuel tanks look oversized to me.

 

A couple of years ago, Minicraft added a sprue featuring the more prominent EVS/ECM/communications components to bring it up to a 1990s/2000s timeframe.  Even considering those updates, the shapes and outline of the Revell kit look better to my eye.  Decals were updated for the overall FS 36118 scheme.    No new weapons were added when the kit was updated, so none of the weapons in the box are appropriate for the timeframe represented by the updated boxing.  That said, the weapons in the Revell kit don't help much either with current loadouts.

 

If you want an early H, the Minicraft kit will get you there OOB.  For a later G/H, I'd go with the Revell kit.  As a side note, Revell reboxed Minicraft's early H tooling in the 1980s before releasing the new-tool G/H, so watch out for that.  

 

Jonah

 

 

Edited December 2, 2017 by Gator52

[pminer]

3 hours ago, Gator52 said:

I prefer the Revell G/H, but that's partly because I model the 1980s-present timeframe, which is much better represented by Revell.  Like the 1/72 AMT kits, they represent a late 80s fit, most notably with the EVS & ECM mods.  The G includes stub pylons with AGM-84 (though it also features the ALCM/SALT wing root fairing) while the H includes external AGM-86.  It's much better detailed overall.

 

The base Minicraft kit represents the H as originally produced, with none of the EVS/ECM mods.  The boxings have included decal options for the natural metal over white as well as the green/tan over white SIOP scheme.  It includes a nice variety of external weapons: AGM-28, AGM-69, and Skybolt, all with appropriate pylons, plus a display ADM-72.  One advantage of the Minicraft kit is the option for lowered flaps.  The external fuel tanks look oversized to me.

 

A couple of years ago, Minicraft added a sprue featuring the more prominent EVS/ECM/communications components to bring it up to a 1990s/2000s timeframe.  Even considering those updates, the shapes and outline of the Revell kit look better to my eye.  Decals were updated for the overall FS 36118 scheme.    No new weapons were added when the kit was updated, so none of the weapons in the box are appropriate for the timeframe represented by the updated boxing.  That said, the weapons in the Revell kit don't help much either with current loadouts.

 

If you want an early H, the Minicraft kit will get you there OOB.  For a later G/H, I'd go with the Revell kit.  As a side note, Revell reboxed Minicraft's early H tooling in the 1980s before releasing the new-tool G/H, so watch out for that.  

 

Jonah

 

 

 

Thanks man! Very good. I'll go with the Revell...

[afspret]

Okay, I took a set of wings from the D/F and slotted them into the wing root slot of the H and it matched up exactly, so no, it doesn't look like they made any changes to the wing thickness, but like I said, as long as it looks like a BUFF when done, I'll be happy.

[Drifterdon]

On 12/1/2017 at 9:18 AM, afspret said:

The only things I've noticed so far is the HSAB (Heavy Stores Adaptor Beam) for the underwing pylons looks too long and Minicraft missed the small, but obvious, fairings that are supposed to be above the alternator housings on the left side of each engine pod for the F model. 

 

 

Just picked this kit up from my LHS and it pretty much uses much of the H kit in it.   Even includes the sprue containing the TF-33 engines from the H kit.  They did do a completely new sprue updating the fuselage with the tall tail and I did find the fairings for the alternator housings in my kit.   Enough stuff to do either D or F engines.   Agree that the beams and MER's look wrong.   Minicraft gives you the entire weapons sprue with all the SRAMs, Hounddogs, Skybolt and Quail decoy.   The only parts that are supposed to be used are the main pylon, gear struts and wing pogo wheels.   The canopy looks spot on and Minicraft even gives you a decal for the windshield which is good considering there is nothing representing any kind of flight deck.  Does it look like a BUFF, heck yes and I plan to pick up a couple more of these kits.