1/144 Academy B-52H, Barksdale AFB 1997

[Gator52]

Finally done with this one, really a nice kit.  Best detailed & most accurate main gear wells and bomb bay of any B-52 kit I've seen.  I also really like the windscreen, I think Academy captured the look better than GWH.  Academy missed the mark on the tip gear, it appears they used the diameter of the wheel as the overall diameter for the tire...it's way undersized.  The tip gear well is nicely detailed, but the inside of the gear doors are blank.  I may cannibalize the struts/wheels/gear doors from Revell for my next Academy build. 

 

For a mid 90s to the present B-52H, Academy is the way to go in my opinion.  OOB, GWH represents mid 90s to 2010ish or so, though the parts breakdown makes it easier to backdate to late 80s/early 90s than the Academy kit.  The Revell kit of 1990 more closely represents an early to mid 80s fit, but minor mods can bring it up to the 90s or later.  For this model, I left off the newer SATCOM antenna that was added with the CONECT mod, and also opted for the upper radome part with the ECM fairing.

 

Decals are a mix of Caracal, kit, and custom.  I backdated the nose art by changing the color of the wolf's tongue from red to dark gray to match photos of the version carried in the late 90s.

 

The AGM-142s were supplied by Dutch...they were apparently milled from a solid chunk of ABS or similar material, perhaps he can refresh my memory on where he found them 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With GWH

 

 

Thanks for looking,

Chris

 

 

Edited February 22, 2025 by Gator52

[strikeeagle801]

They both look great Chris. I still have to pull mine out and build it at some point. I just acquired a Revell C-17 to go with it. 

 

Aaron

[amato1969]

Great work !!!

[A-10 LOADER]

Very nice, good looking BUFF.

Steve

[bluedot25]

Nice work as usual Chris..! Another beauty for your miniature flight line! I’ve been slowly plugging away on mine… it IS a very nice kit as you point out. And the wheel wells, bomb bay and windscreen are definitely the highlights.  The AGM-142s are a great touch… definitely something you don't see on a 1/144 model everyday… if ever!

[Dutch]

Woohoo!  Chris, glad to see you put those AGM-142s to use!  Looks terrific!  And the GWH H also looks great!  Nose to nose you can see the differences between the two.  I like the Academy windscreen much better, but the GWH nose radome has a better shape, methinks. Oh well. Beautiful work. 

[jonwinn]

Nice! I always thought LA was a California code, took a while for Louisiana to sink in! LOL!