Dave Williams Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 (edited) Just got the kit in hand. As the pre-release photos show, it comes with ACLMs, even though the kit doesn’t come with the wing straklets that were required by treaty to identify cruise missile capable G models. In addition to ACLMs on the wing pylons, you get a rotary launcher for the bomb bay (the only bomb bay option, BTW). However, in a nice surprise, the kit also includes alternate weapons. They included two sprues of weapons from another kit (labeled 1/144 Typhoon), as well as sprues with two HSABs on short pylons. The alternate weapons are Mk 82 slicks, M117 bombs, and Harpoon missiles (unused weapons on the sprue are Penguin missiles, AGM-65s, and HARMs). On the down side, you only get 12 of each of the bombs and 8 Harpoons, although the HSAB could carry a total of 18 bombs or 12 Harpoons. If they had added one more sprue of weapons it would have been perfect. So the good news is that you can make something other than a treaty violator BUFF, just not a fully loaded one. I tried looking for the kit that the weapons sprues came from, but I don’t see it. The sprue is also labeled H and SN-05. Pit Road/GWH does make kit SN-05 1/144 Typhoon FGR.4, but the weapons sprue in that kit is G, and there is no H sprue. Edited May 31, 2021 by Dave Williams Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Thanks for the intel Dave, I look forward to getting my copy. How do the decals look? I noticed the LGBs included with the H kit are also marked SN-05 Typhoon. Harpoons will be nice to have since they are appropriate for the Loring option, as I don't believe Loring ever had the ALCM mission. I primed my GWH H today; hoping to get it done before the G lands! Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 Decals look OK. The sharpness and registration look good. The only weird thing that I see is that some of the decals have a matt finish, so I don't know how well the carrier film will disappear. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 (edited) Dave & Chris, I believe that the additional weapons are labeled SN-05, Typhoon Sprue H because that is where they had additional sprue space in the molds for the B-52G/H weapons. I think that they ran out of sprue space on the B-52G/H molds, there is a lot of plastic in the box! Hmm! I may have to get me a GWH B-52G now! K/r, Dutch Edited June 14, 2021 by Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Pre-treaty ALCM bird? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Da SWO said: Pre-treaty ALCM bird? That's an interesting idea...after some quick research, it appears SALT II (1979) predated the fielding of ALCM (1982), so I'm thinking the strakelets were part of the initial ALCM modification, though I don't know for sure. Of the three decal options, only 58-0183 was ALCM modified, so for what it's worth, GWH actually got it right for 2 of the 3 options. As a follow-up on Harpoon, Barksdale also had that mission; so the Harpoons could also be used with the kit decals for 57-6473 Hard T'get (non-ALCM jet). Chris Edited June 1, 2021 by Gator52 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Chris, Do you think the GWH G kit is worth trading up to from the Revell G? K/r, Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 In general, yes, though I'd like to get a firsthand look at how GWH rendered the J57 engines (Revell omitted the oil cooler inlets) and the aft fuselage. Might be good to wait a bit and see if Academy produces a G; since the fuselage tool would require modification for the tail gun, ECM antennas, and the MRT antennas, they have an opportunity to add the strakelets while they're at it... I do like how the GWH H is coming together, and the windscreen is way better than Revell's. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Chris, All good points. I think I will also wait and see if Academy releases a G. If not the GWH may be the best way to get a straight wing G. Agree that the Revell G/H windscreen is garbage, but I puttied it over and used Caracal's windscreen decal and it fit perfectly. So, if Academy does not release a G, then I will keep my Revell G's for the strakelets and buy a couple of GWH G's for the straight wing bomb trucks. K/r, Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dehowie Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 My understanding was this boxing of the G is a “Secret Squirrel” boxing with a non strake G’s with CALCM’s which look identical to ALCM’s is 100% correct. Only nuclear alert G’s where modified with strakes and none of the aircraft in operation secret squirrel or and other Gulf War G’s doing conventional work where fitted with strakes. So inclusion of ALCM/CALCM which where visually identical is perfectly correct. Happy to be corrected but GWH got this spot on with non strake fitted G carrying CALCM. Wondering if any notes are in the instructions on the asymmetrical loadout used. https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0494squirrels/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted June 2, 2021 Author Share Posted June 2, 2021 1 hour ago, dehowie said: My understanding was this boxing of the G is a “Secret Squirrel” boxing with a non strake G’s with CALCM’s which look identical to ALCM’s is 100% correct. Only nuclear alert G’s where modified with strakes and none of the aircraft in operation secret squirrel or and other Gulf War G’s doing conventional work where fitted with strakes. So inclusion of ALCM/CALCM which where visually identical is perfectly correct. Happy to be corrected but GWH got this spot on with non strake fitted G carrying CALCM. Wondering if any notes are in the instructions on the asymmetrical loadout used. https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0494squirrels/ The strakets were tied to the ability to carry cruise missiles, whether they were nuclear tipped or conventional. If they could carry one, they could carry the other, so they had to have the visual identifier under the treaty. The Secret Squirrel aircraft depicted in the kit was “Valkyrie”, which still exists and has the strakets. There is nothing in the instructions about loadouts for each plane, asymmetric or not. The instructions simply show how to build 4 loadouts. You’re one your own guessing which is correct for which aircraft. GWH simply got it wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Quite a few of the jets deployed to Desert Storm were ALCM-modified, though used only for unguided weapons. Good summary & photos here; the jets marked with AGM-28 pylons were ALCM-modified (mostly Griffiss/Wurtsmith/Barksdale), those marked stub pylons were straight-wing (mostly Loring/Castle) One other note on ALCM/CALCM: B-52Gs were not CSRL modified, so there's another consideration for the GWH G kit. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Although the G could carry 12 Harpoons, my understanding is that they ended up carrying only 8 most of the time. Not sure why, though. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JakubJakepilot Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Gator 52: As a follow-up on Harpoon, Barksdale also had that mission; so the Harpoons could also be used with the kit decals for 57-6473 Hard T'get (non-ALCM jet). Only a few Gs were Harpoons capable: 58-0258, 59-2565, 59-2570, 59-2578, 59-2585, 59-2592, 59-2595, 59-2596, 59-2598. So, no Harpoons for 57-6473... Btw check my guide here at https://dstorm.eu/pages/build_instructions/b-52g_info_en.html - I guess that all ALCM capable B-52Gs had added strakes, so you can not properly build 58-0183 "Valkyrie" from the box .... And one more question: before the SALT treaty, was there possibility to see ALCM loaded G without strakes ? Does any pics exists ? Thanks ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 The SALT II treaty was signed before B-52Gs were modified to carry cruise missiles. Adding the strakets would have been part of the modification. Not all G models got the ALCM modification. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) Jakub, Your Desert Storm website is excellent, thank you for creating it for us! The book ACC Bomber Triad by Logan lists 57-6473 as Harpoon capable, so I don’t know where the discrepancy is. I haven’t seen very many photos of B-52s loaded with Harpoons to back up the data. For what it’s worth, the Logan book lists B-52Gs still in service in June 1992; 6 of the jets you mentioned are listed as Harpoon capable (along with 36 others). 59-2578, 59-2592, and 59-2596 are not listed at all, presumably retired prior to June 1992. Chris Edited June 5, 2021 by Gator52 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 The 42nd bomb Wing at Loring AFB, ME was Harpoon capable, I believe. I'm not sure another wing was. Yeah, I don't remember seeing many pictures of a B-52 with Harpoons loaded. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, wxltcol said: The 42nd bomb Wing at Loring AFB, ME was Harpoon capable, I believe. I'm not sure another wing was. Yeah, I don't remember seeing many pictures of a B-52 with Harpoons loaded. Tom Yes, Loring was first with Harpoon, followed by Mather, Andersen, and Barksdale, according to B-52G/H Stratofortress by Rogers & Jenkins. Later, after the B-52Gs left Mather and Andersen, the Harpoon jets wound up at Loring and Castle, as documented in Logan's ACC Bomber Triad. The jets at Castle were split across the 93 BW (training unit) and the 366 WG (assigned to Mountain Home); don't know if the 93 BW ever utilized that capability or not though. Chris Edited June 5, 2021 by Gator52 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote74 Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 18 minutes ago, Gator52 said: Yes, Loring was first with Harpoon, followed by Mather, Andersen, and Barksdale, according to B-52G/H Stratofortress by Rogers & Jenkins. Later, after the B-52Gs left Mather and Andersen, the Harpoon jets wound up at Loring and Castle, as documented in Logan's ACC Bomber Triad. The jets at Castle were split across the 93 BW (training unit) and the 366 WG (assigned to Mountain Home); don't know if the 93 BW ever utilized that capability or not though. Chris Castle (93rd BW) was at that time the B-52G 'schoolhouse' so it's likely they would have operated a couple of the Harpoon-capable airframes but not with any operational mission. Castle was also the only wing at the time that operated a mix of ALCM and non-ALCM Gs, again for training. All other G units operated one or the other, with the non-ALCM units given priority for conventional missions including antiship strike with the AGM-84s. My recollection is that Loring, ME (42nd BW) and Andersen, Guam (43rd CW) were the initial operational Harpoon units, essentially an "Atlantic" and "Pacific" squadron for the same role. My impression was that the 320th BW at Mather AFB, California, was a lead unit on AGM-84 integration but not necessarily one of the "operational" antiship wings. Harpoons at Mountain Home (366th CW) and Barksdale (2nd BW) didn't occur until the transition from SAC to ACC, when the entire G fleet was consolidated and most units retired. (Most of this is backed up here and here) As far as a "non-strakelet ALCM carrier," the earlier posts are correct that there technically never was such an airframe in operational use, but at least two Gs (58-0204 and 58-0247) were used circa 1979-1981 for the initial "fly-off" between the AGM-86B and AGM-109 Tomahawk, and carried full AGM-86 loads (albeit test shapes, not live missiles) prior to strakelets being adopted fleetwide for the Gs receiving the ALCM-capability upgrade (roughly half the total of remaining Gs would eventually be upgraded accordingly). You can just see the unmodified wingroot in this shot: If you wanted to depict a truly unique load, at least one airshow featured the full set of AGM-86s on the port wing and AGM-109s on the starboard as seen on this page. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 Thanks Gator52 and Quiote74 for the additional info! I don't have either of those books, so I just didn't know. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnEB Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 And just a note. ..The photo above shows the AGM-86Bs in test colors. The operational missiles were grey. I was at Griffiss AFB, NY when the 416th BW was the first unit to achieve IOC with the missiles in 1981. Gee, it doesn't seem that long ago... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JakubJakepilot Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 Gator52: My list comes from XLS sheet "B-52G and H Assignments, 1958-1994" I downloaded from internet. I also updated my sheet with additional info like service in Gulf war, Harpoon capability, AGM-142 capability, and nose art. I was wrong with the number of Harpoon capable birds, I have 31 of them listed.. I added the xls file here for you all to have a look. It is not finished from my side, as I want to add more nose art info there ... Thanks for all the inputs !! B-52G and H Assignments, 1958-1994.xlsx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Jakub, the file won't download for me, can you try posting again? Thanks, Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 You can’t upload attachments directly to the forum. You can only post links to where the document is hosted elsewhere on the web. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JakubJakepilot Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 I am sorry gents, I uploaded my file to my backup server, here is the link - B-52G/H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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