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1/72 scale SR-71 Blackbird. Academy vs Revell vs Italeri. Questions regarding general preference and pros/cons.


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Hey there everybody. First post here and I wanted to jump straight in with a question regarding a favorite aircraft of mine: the SR-71 Blackbird. 🥰

 

I've recently started collecting 1/72 model kits (mainly from Revell with one kit from a company called Airfix). This sudden urge to start collecting came about due to the release of "Top Gun Maverick" so I bought the F14, F18, the "Mig" (that one was from Airfix), and then I also got a 1`/72 scale A-10 as well as an Apache from Revell/Monogram (at least I believe it was the Monogram version due to it having a different type base than the Top Gun bases).

 

My very first 'kit' was a 1/100 scale A-10 Thunderbolt from Revell's EasyKit line (so you can't really call that a kit as it was more a kid's toy) but that one was just way too small imo and I think these 1/72 scale kits look way better in terms of size.

 

One thing I should mention is that I have zero experience with airbrushing. I don't own any airbrushing kit and also don't plan on buying one so any painting would have to be done via spraycans and those small acrylic or enamel cans that I have from Revell and Humbrol. I do have some past experience painting lots of fantasy and sci-fi miniatures (Games Workshop figures etc.). So I know a little bit about drybrushing and washes and stuff but I'm by no means a professional. I just want my models to look somewhat presentable whilst standing in a display case.

 

Now I noticed that the SR-71 has quite a few 1/72 scale kits out there from various manufacturers and I was wondering which one is generally the preferred option. Now I narrowed it down to Academy, Italeri, and Revell; but ofcourse you're more than welcome to suggest another manufacturer. These were simply the ones that were around the same price. I also saw a Hasegawa kit but that one was quite a bit more expensive.

 

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

Limited Edition

Academy | No. 12448 | 1:72 - 2021 latest version

Blackbird-Academy.jpg.34e8277ed735f86beb5b915943f74ab1.jpg

 

The 2021 Academy "Limited Edition" kit with around 37 parts

 

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird w/ Drone

Italeri | No. 145 | 1:72 - 2011 latest version

Blackbird-Italeri.jpg.1435be9c25d8a389d9718e5525f3f47d.jpg

 

The 2011 Italeri 1/72 kit with around 64 parts and comes with a drone that was never used on the SR-71 to my knowledge. Not sure why that was included.

 

SR-71 Blackbird

Revell | No. 85-5810 | 1:72 - 2017 latest version

 

Blackbird-Revell.jpg.168fb35ed210b8d72cbd2d59d8a23d6b.jpg

 

The 2017 Revell 1/72 kit with the latest release in 2011 and seems to have 64 parts.

 

 

All of them seem pretty comparable in terms of pricing within my country so I was wondering if there was a general preference for any particular version. I did read bits here and there that none of the kits from any manufacturer were ever perfect and each had good things as well as bad things so I'm basically just wondering which one would be the most acceptable (or maybe they all are) and what would be the pros and cons of each. Like I heard that the Revell kit had pretty big seams which needed lots of putty and sanding or another kit where the cockpit was too wide and more of such things so if any of you could help me out I would greatly appreciate it!!

 

At present time I was gravitating towards the 2021 Academy "Limited Edition" version as it was the most recent release; but I just don't want to make a huge mistake or something and suddenly end up with a kit that was the worst possible choice when for the same price I could have gone with the Revell or Italeri version that might have been a much better option. Better safe than sorry and all that. 😅 

 

 

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Hi Danakar, welcome to ARC!

 

If you weren't already aware, Revell and Monogram were originally separate companies that were consolidated under Revell's brand name in the late 80s (and Revell itself has had a few rounds of restructuring since).  So many of the kits now marketed by Revell were originally Monogram molds.  This is also why you'll occasionally see references to "Revellogram" as a manufacturer.

 

Your research thus far is accurate in that no single kit of the SR-71 in 1:72 is perfect, but the general consensus is that the Revell kit you listed has the most accurate overall shapes (FYI note this is a Monogram tooling - there was also a Revell kit of the same subject, much older and less accurate so Revell seems to have abandoned it since the merger).

 

The Monogram/Revell kit's biggest flaw is that the canopies are too wide so their shape is noticeably different from the real thing.  Since the canopies blend into the fuselage contour there's not a simple fix for this, and I would not call it a huge error, just something noticeable if you have a good idea what to look for.  Other shortcomings are the seams you mentioned (not awful but take some effort to fill) and panel lines that are raised rather than recessed - not a "fault" per se, but the majority of builders today prefer recessed lines for various reasons.

 

Italeri's kit has recessed panel lines but some more significant shape issues, with a nose that seems halfway between the SR-71 and similar A-12 predecessor, and some odd curvature around the main wheel wells that shouldn't be there.  Overall I'd rate it 2nd to the Monogram.

 

Academy's kit is a clone of Hasegawa's.  I don't have this kit or know too much about it but it is generally ranked behind the Monogram and Italeri for accuracy,

though it still generally "looks like a Blackbird."  Academy kit decals are generally awful, which may be a factor since aftermarket sheets for the SR-71 are relatively rare.

 

Overall if you were happy with the Revell and Airfix "Top Gun" kits (none of which are the top of the line for their respective subjects), I'd say you can't go wrong choosing whichever is least expensive and using the kit to build your skill set. Unless you plan to enter competitions, you'll probably be the harshest and most knowledgeable critic of your own work on display so remember the point is ultimately to build what you like and have fun!

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3 hours ago, Quixote74 said:

Hi Danakar, welcome to ARC!

 

If you weren't already aware, Revell and Monogram were originally separate companies that were consolidated under Revell's brand name in the late 80s (and Revell itself has had a few rounds of restructuring since).  So many of the kits now marketed by Revell were originally Monogram molds.  This is also why you'll occasionally see references to "Revellogram" as a manufacturer.

 

Your research thus far is accurate in that no single kit of the SR-71 in 1:72 is perfect, but the general consensus is that the Revell kit you listed has the most accurate overall shapes (FYI note this is a Monogram tooling - there was also a Revell kit of the same subject, much older and less accurate so Revell seems to have abandoned it since the merger).

 

The Monogram/Revell kit's biggest flaw is that the canopies are too wide so their shape is noticeably different from the real thing.  Since the canopies blend into the fuselage contour there's not a simple fix for this, and I would not call it a huge error, just something noticeable if you have a good idea what to look for.  Other shortcomings are the seams you mentioned (not awful but take some effort to fill) and panel lines that are raised rather than recessed - not a "fault" per se, but the majority of builders today prefer recessed lines for various reasons.

 

Italeri's kit has recessed panel lines but some more significant shape issues, with a nose that seems halfway between the SR-71 and similar A-12 predecessor, and some odd curvature around the main wheel wells that shouldn't be there.  Overall I'd rate it 2nd to the Monogram.

 

Academy's kit is a clone of Hasegawa's.  I don't have this kit or know too much about it but it is generally ranked behind the Monogram and Italeri for accuracy,

though it still generally "looks like a Blackbird."  Academy kit decals are generally awful, which may be a factor since aftermarket sheets for the SR-71 are relatively rare.

 

Overall if you were happy with the Revell and Airfix "Top Gun" kits (none of which are the top of the line for their respective subjects), I'd say you can't go wrong choosing whichever is least expensive and using the kit to build your skill set. Unless you plan to enter competitions, you'll probably be the harshest and most knowledgeable critic of your own work on display so remember the point is ultimately to build what you like and have fun!

 

Hey there Quixote, how's it going? 🙂

 

Thanks a lot for your post, I really appreciate it; especially as a mega-noob (of however beginners are classified when they start out). I did indeed read about Monogram molds eventually ending up with Revell. Seems they changed hands a few times but in the end Revell got hold of them and it sounds like they threw some of their own molds away because the Monogram ones were better.

 

I did read about the raised panel-lines and cockpit width somewhere for the Revell/Mono kit which was apparently a pet-peeve for many builders. It's nice to hear that the Italeri kit does have recessed panel lines but it sucks that there are significant shape issues. It's also pretty weird (and egregious) that they slapped on an old nose. I guess maybe Monogram had the details for the actual test-model? Heck, maybe they had a confidential agreement to make a miniature so that a bunch of generals could look at it (and this time didn't turn it into a Bradley). 😅  

 

Didn't know that Academy kits are clones of Hasegawa; that was a surprise to me considering I found sites listing both but in general the Hasegawe was 50%-150% more expensive. Or are Academy kits more like I am a spammer, please report this post. knockoffs where they just 'borrowed' the design? It was rather difficult to find much information on this "limited edition" as it was apparently released in 2021 and none of the sites I found them on could tell me what's so "limited edition" about them. Unless it also contains that drone that should even exits in these kits as the SR-71 never flew with a drone equipped on top to my knowledge (and neither did the plane it was intended for apparently). All I could find was that apparently the Academy kit was also supposed to have recessed lines; which is something I am looking for as I'd rather work with washes and drybrushing corners than drybrushing/sanding raised edges without wash.

 

Ofcourse most of my kits are of a pretty low difficulty rating as I didn't want to dive head-first into "Difficulty 5" and give up out of frustration halfway. So those Top Gun kits were basically of the "EasyKit" variety with just 10-14 parts because I just wanted something cool on display and they both came with stands. Two things I did want to do was practice my paint skils again (it's been a while since Games Workshop miniatures) so I did get the optional paints listed on the box) and another thing is that I want to install small 3mm orange LEDs in them because I like my models to do something. In this case I figured that some LEDs in the engines would look cool as I also build my own lightdaber in the past with a crystal chamber that had LEDs to simulate the crystal activating. 😛

 

DanakarLightsaberFinalsmall.jpg.d4abef0405cd5f43fa91f2ee03a18638.jpg

 

But you're right. I'm not really looking for the most authentic true-to-life kit; I just want a kit that resembles the SR-71 without having to deal with a lot of issues. So thanks a lot for your response; I really appreciate it! It't always nice to hear from someone who is a lot more knowledgable than me as I really am more like a 6 year old trying to learn on how to build model kits. I mean, as I said I don't even own (nor dare to attempt to use) airbrushing and still rely on oldschool acrylic spraypaint with acrylic and/or enamel 17ml cans from Revell and Humbrol.

 

I do hope that I can apply enamel detailing over acrylic paint. I know there's this nasty thing with using oil-based and acrylic (especially when using topcoats that cause these raised 'veins' but I hope that enamel paint was created to work alongside acrylic. Otherwise I'll be in for a world of hurt. 😂

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The Hasegawa and Academy kits have identical sprues with one important difference - Hasegawa has raised panel lines, Academy has recessed panel lines.  If you get an Academy kit, definitely get the latest release #12509 as it has an excellent, comprehensive decal sheet.  The decals in all earlier Academy and all Hasegawa releases are fairly basic and the "red" stripes are almost neon red.

 

Also, Testors reboxed the Italeri kits, including the YF-12 release.

 

Finally, many of the SR-71 kits include the D-21 drone - which the SR-71 never carried.  The D-21 was only tested on a modified A-12, designated the M-21.

 

.

 

Edited by habu2
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4 hours ago, habu2 said:

The Hasegawa and Academy kits have identical sprues with one important difference - Hasegawa has raised panel lines, Academy has recessed panel lines.  If you get an Academy kit, definitely get the latest release #12509 as it has an excellent, comprehensive decal sheet.  The decals in all earlier Academy and all Hasegawa releases are fairly basic and the "red" stripes are almost neon red.

 

Also, Testors reboxed the Italeri kits, including the YF-12 release.

 

Finally, many of the SR-71 kits include the D-21 drone - which the SR-71 never carried.  The D-21 was only tested on a modified A-12, designated the M-21.

 

 

Thanks for your response! It looks like that one was a 2013 "History" release

SR-71A "History"

Special Edition

Academy | No. 12509 | 1:72

BlackbirdAcademySpecial2013.png.fd513c93c3d985dec0283c632ce324cc.png

 

 

Sadly I can't seem to find any online store in my country that still has that particular version in stock. They all appear to stock the #12448 "Limited Edition" instead of #12509 "Special Edition".

 

These are the decals that are supposedly coming with the #12448 edition. Are they the same as #12509 or are they the basic version with almost neon red stripes?

 

I've included two images of the same sheet. They do look slightly different yet both show the same 12448 number so I guess it depends on the country.

 

lockheed-sr-71-blackbird-limited-edition-academy-12448-decals.jpg.57b522afe77aa9274e5c429cf5532d6e.jpg

lockheed-sr-71-blackbird-limited-edition-academy-12448-origineel-b.jpg.422e772c5441a64e1fe1014e604bbd1d.jpg

 

As for the drone, it's pretty funny how a lot of these manufacturers keep throwing it in there even though it was never used; expect for very early testing purposes apparently where it apparently did not function as expected. 😅

 

 

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13 minutes ago, habu2 said:

I don't have a scan of the 12509 decals but found this image of the options. It appears the later release has the same options. Note the are printed by Cartograf

 

2.jpg

 

 

 

 

I'm a little confused now. Is Cartograf an aftermarket manufacturer for decal sets or did Academy specifically go with a decal sheet by Cartograf for their 12509 "Special Edition" kit while the 12448 "Limited Edition" kit have decals from a company called Crossdelta? 😕

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Cartograf is a well know decal company out of Italy.  They used to sell their own decals, but these days they seem to mostly print decals for various model manufacturers, as well as for other decal companies like Fündekals.  Their decals are excellent.

 

Cross Delta is mostly known for PE details.  They do some decal sheets, but many of the decal sheets also have the Cartograf on the label so they may do the decal artwork and Cartograf does the actual printing.  Academy may have contracted out to Cross Delta to design their sheets.

 

Academy’s own decals (not printed by Cartograf) have a reputation of being poor, being stiff, not sticking, and not responding to setting solutions.  If you’re going to use kit decals, get a kit with Cartograf decals.

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10 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

Cartograf is a well know decal company out of Italy.  They used to sell their own decals, but these days they seem to mostly print decals for various model manufacturers, as well as for other decal companies like Fündekals.  Their decals are excellent.

 

Cross Delta is mostly known for PE details.  They do some decal sheets, but many of the decal sheets also have the Cartograf on the label so they may do the decal artwork and Cartograf does the actual printing.  Academy may have contracted out to Cross Delta to design their sheets.

 

Academy’s own decals (not printed by Cartograf) have a reputation of being poor, being stiff, not sticking, and not responding to setting solutions.  If you’re going to use kit decals, get a kit with Cartograf decals.

 

Ah, I see. Thanks for the tips! I'll keep things in mind. At present time I did purchase a bottle of "AMMO MIG 2029 Ulta Decal Set", "AMMO MIG 2030 Ultra Decal Fix", and a bottle of "AMMO MIG 2053 Lucky Varnish - Glossy - Acryl (60 ml)". It was claimed that this was good stuff for waterslide decals so I'm hoping that this is the case as I'd rather use decals for my models than stickers. 

 

As I recall most of my selection of 1/72 kits came with either waterslide decals or a combination of decals and stickers. Only my 1/72 Revell Apache kit apparently only came with stickers instead of decals which was rather unfortunate and I'm not sure if there are any good aftermarket waterslide sheets available for that kit.

 

Now I also purchased the 1/72 Revell 03899 F-117 Stealth Fighter which also came with decals. It's a shame I couldn't get the 2009 (?) SnapTite version as I believe that one was the 'flight-mode' variant with a stand whereas all the other version appear to have landing gear and open bomb bays. So I'll have to see if I can turn it into a flyable version that's getting ready to drop its bombs or something as I prefer all my planes to be flying instead of sitting stationary on wheels. It's a personal preference of mine but it coincides with how I wanted them to have those orange LEDs for the engine glow; just to make them feel less static. Although for the F-117 I don't believe it has any visible engine glow (unless it has very deep recessed thrusters) so I guess I should not be putting any orange LEDs in that one. 😛

 

Now I did pick me up a pack of "ICM A002 Aircraft Model Stands - Black Edition". It was mainly so that I could have a stand for that F5-E "The MIG" model kit from Top Gun as the model itself is also just sitting on its landing gear while I want it to be flying. As all the other Top Gun aircraft came with black stands I wanted to keep the theme going. 🙂

 

550x387.jpg.5ea8a2e7631e24dd40b2f90f972cf5dc.jpg

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Well, I spent the entire day checking out various retailers, comparing prices (as well as their other offerings) and decided to go with the 2021 Academy "Limited Edition" (#12448)

 

As stated previously sadly none of the kits are completely accurate and each has their own pros and cons. The Monogram/Revell kit is generally seen as the best option but I really dislike the raised panel lines and the canopies being too wide. The Italeri 1/72 kit does have the recessed panel lines but seems to have those significant shape issues with the nose that just didn't sit right with me. So then there's was the Academy's 1/72 "Special Edition" kit with the better decals but I couldn't find one for a reasonable price.

 

Now I did check the decals very thoroughly for this so-called "Limited Edition" and fortunately I did not notice any "neon red" so hopefully they updated the decal sheet or at least used different dyes perhaps.

 

At any rate I was very impressed with just the sheer size of the box itself; especially when compared to my other 1/72 kits that I have purchased. 

 

Anyways, I would like to thank everybody who helped me out and gave me pointers and tips; it was really appreciated! Now I can't wait to start putting these kits together!! So thank you Quixote74, habu2, and Dave Williams for all the information. 😃     

 

Lastly, I just wanted to show you guys a picture of the kits I bought plus some glue and stuff for decals (I already have a crate of various acrylic spray-cans and Humbrol/Revell color pots as well as washes. I guess most of you view these as 'toys' but for me I have to start somewhere and I don't have time to work on these for hours on end so I hope that these will help me along the way into becoming a bit more proficient with model kits in general. And who knows, maybe someday I'll even get an airbrushing kit and experiment with that (can't stay 'old-school' with spray-cans forever right?) 😅

 

 20230201_014749.thumb.jpg.da2cbded2241ec4c9b1c73634f4e7ed8.jpg                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

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