Modelcollect B-52H Construction Thoughts

[BillS]

   When this kit was announced it caught my interest but I told myself over and over I’d never buy it. Then it hit the market, the box art looked appealing, I shopped it for the best price and bingo, it mysteriously landed at my door. I’ve been following everyone’s musings so I knew this was’nt going to be a Tamiya F-14 sort of build but hey, I cut my teeth on Comet and Aurora kits so I figured I could stomach this bad boy.

    Forgive me for being too lazy to take pics but I wanted to share my experience with this kit thus far since nobody else seems to have made the plunge. I’m at the point where everything is filled and ready for a blast of primer. In 3 or 4 days I expect it will be ready for decals (Caracals of course, since I don't want to be an ARC heretic). Oh, in departing from the orthodoxy of the day, I’m going to rattle can this thing with Tamiya Gunship Gray 2. As a side note, I’ve turned to these fantastic spray products wherever there is a match. Their various silvers have replaced Alclad and every other bare metal product in my armamentarium.

   I’m one of those model builders who develops my own sequence for assembly while loosing half the parts in rhe process. Anyway I determined straightaway  I was going to glue all of the fuselage segments together forming complete halves vs making a forward section, intermediate section etc. and glueing them together as per the plans. That method in my experience leads to mis-match. Upon mating the fuselages halves, i think I was correct. But before all of that, I built up all of the interior components but only painted what would be seen on my model; the pilot stations, gear wells and bomb bay. I used Danny Cormoran’s book for a color reference. I used the photo etch instrument panels/consoles and spent too much time detailing those because when closed up, they’re invisible. Duh. Oh, ACEs seats. After some research, I discovered AF funded ACEs for a 2018 retrofit. Since I’m doing jet c.2015-6, I used the nav’s seats downstairs and made them fit the pilot’s stations. I made parachutes and harnesses for a little additionsl detail.

    The gear wells have basic 70s vintage details but when painted and installed they’ll pass...just. Same on the bomb bay. I sprayed Tam. gloss white with some interior green thrown in. That’ll have to do. You could spend a lifetime detailing that space but I have to balance my priorities!

   So, all the big airframe components fit decently but a couple of fuselage joints around the gear wells wouldnt close the way I like so Miliput to the rescue. The wings and tail surfaces were no “sweaty da” (something I heard USAF NCOs always say???). Engine nacelles left me scratching my noggin. Once I caught on I was trying to glue J-57 G model stuff together, things made sense. I threw the G stuff out and proceeded to clean TF-33 parts up. I elected to scrape out the last 4 formers inside the nacelles and glue the J-57 “t” wheels in place giving the illusion an engine is in there. Although a crude approach, it’s so dark in there, you can just make out the exhaust cone. Again, close enough for government work. Before gluing halves together, I rattle canned gunship gray inside the intakes and painted the fan blades. Once joined, i filled rhe interior seams with epoxy. The main thing to be prepared for is lots of clean up and filling. There’s a jillion sprue gates to fool with on this guy.

   So, that’s my take so far. Generally, I like this model. It gives you a good platform to start from, the shapes, sans external tanks seems pretty good and the fit  issues won’t deter most builders. As a final note, the outrigger wheels are totally goofy. I found some nice wheels from a Russian aftermarket supplier that have tread and sidewall detail so I ordered those. Before final paint, I’m pondering a way to simulate wrinkled skin like the real McCoy. I’m thinking about heavy primer embossed with something textured before it dries creating a subtle dimpled effect. Yes? No?

 

 

Edited March 24, 2019 by BillS