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CD72058 - B-52H Stratofortress


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CD72058 will be a limited edition sheet featuring current/recent markings for USAF B-52H Stratofortress; designed for the AMT / Italeri kit. Accurate stencilling, nose arts galore, etc. A 1/144 version will be forthcoming soon afterwards. It will most likely be a late summer 2016 release.

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A 1/144 version will be forthcoming soon afterwards. It will most likely be a late summer 2016 release.

Finally desperately hunting for a Fox One sheet is over...

Edited by Teeradej
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Great announcement Kursad. I know a lot of people have these kits in their stash, even me. In fact I have both the AMT and Monogram versions.

Good news for those searching for the Fox One sheets as well as the old Cutting Edge sheets. Don't have either so it may be something to consider once you release them.

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The Buff in Dr Strangelove was a short-tail variant as I recall.

I've been thinking about what's been done for the H in 1/72 and what hasn't, specifically focused on the 1980s to the present, since the AMT/Italeri kit most nearly represents a 1980s fit OOB:

- Fox One covered Minot & Barksdale fairly thoroughly from the Air Combat Command days, spanning the mid 90s until 2003 or so.

- Eagle Strike's sheet was largely redundant, covering the same units but different tail numbers/nose arts.

- Three Guys Replicas was a mid-late SAC-era sheet: a Carswell jet in Strategic camo, 1990; a KI Sawyer jet in overall 36081 also from 1990, and another KI jet from 1981 in the SIOP scheme with commemorative D-Day stripes.

- Wolfpak has a sheet with a contemporary AFRC jet at Barksdale, really only differing from the Fox One & Eagle Strike sheets in that it is a different tail number/different nose art. Wolfpak also did a sheet with an H in the SIOP scheme, circa 1979.

- Cutting Edge: Overlap with Three Guys for the KI Sawyer AFB jet in SIOP camo with the commemorative D-Day stripes. Also did a pre-EVS H in SIOP scheme, and an early H in natural metal over white. The other Hs were 2 Barksdale jets, that were again similar to what Fox One did. Also the NASA H in overall white w/ blue stripe.

- Almark: Fairchild SAC-era H model, similar to what's on the AMT kit sheet.

So, what does that leave that hasn't been done? Lots!

- Griffis AFB (416 BW): Griffis got Hs for a little while after the Gs were retired, receiving the large Statue of Liberty markings on the tails. After the transition to ACC, Griffis marked its Hs with a "GR" tailcode and a black/gray stripe with a Statue of Liberty motif, before transitioning to a predominantly red tail stripe with "Griffiss" in white.

- Fairchild AFB (92 BW): The original AMT release contained a SAC option (Seahawk logo) and a later ACC option (red/black checkerboard stripe with 'FC' tailcode). Italeri's rebox contained a SAC option similar to original AMT decal. It would be great to see those offered in a higher fidelity than what the kit offered. Fairchild also used a solid blue tail stripe with the FC before transitioning to the checkerboard.

- KI Sawyer (410 BW): Used a 'KI' tailcode between converting from SAC to ACC and the base closing in 1995. Jets also used rainbow-themed tail markings, similar to what's in the Italeri rebox, but different from what was represented on the Three Guys Repicas sheet

- Carswell (7 BW): Three Guys' sheet was good, but there are lots of other great subjects with nose art to choose from, including 9 BS flagship 60-0009, that sported an enlarged "9" on the nose number in recognition of the 9 BS. Additionally, the transition from SAC to ACC was ongoing as Carswell was shutting down, so only one jet (60-0007) got the ACC markings, which was a 'CW' tailcode and blue stripe with "Fort Worth" text. As the last jet to transfer out in 1992, it also sported commemorative nose art honoring the bases' namesake, Maj Carswell, a WWII Medal of Honor recipient.

- Barksdale AFB (2 BW/817 WG/307 BW): There's been some changes to the 2 BW markings since the Fox One & Cutting Edge sheets were released. In recent years the "Barksdale" text on the fin flashes has changed from black to white, and the squadron flagships now have squadron-specific text in place of "Barksdale" --('Red Devils' for 96 BS, 'Buccaneers' for 20 BS). Additionally, the Barksdale test jets (OT tailcodes) have never been done to my knowledge, nor has the Weapons School jet, which is maintained by AFRC and therefore has similar markings as the other AFRC jets, but has a yellow/black checkerboard tailflash and "340 WPS" flagship titles. Additionally, in the early years of the Air Force Reserve's association with the B-52, the jets sported a large, full-color 917 WG patch on the nose, which has never been done in decal form to my knowledge. The 917 WG was replaced by 307 BW a few years ago, which changed the markings on a couple of jets.

- Minot AFB (5 BW): The 23 BS has been well-covered by Fox One & Eagle Strike, but there are a couple of interesting variations. The 5 BW used a red/white candy-cane striped tail flash, before introducing squadron-specific stripes for both the 23d & 72d BS. The 23d got the red/yellow flash with "Barons" text that it still uses today. An experimental tail flash, identical to the standard "Barons" tail flash but with the colors reversed, was applied to one jet in the 90s when all the Hs were being consolidated at Barksdale & Minot. The 72 BS used a black tail stripe with a white lightning bolt representing a stylized '72' when viewed on the left side of the tail. Later, a red/black pattern with slanted checks was introduced around 2009 when the 69 BS was activated, and many jets wore that tail stripe until the 69 BS was fully operational and introduced its yellow tail stripe with "Knighthawks" text.

- Edwards AFB: the primary jet (60-0050) has never been done in decal form to my knowledge. Of interest is the commemorative emblem it carried when it flight tested the synthetic fuel blend.

Where does that leave us? Some good options out there, but also plenty of potential, especially considering the quality combination of Caracal & Cartograf!

Jonah

Edited by Gator52
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The Buff in Dr Strangelove was a short-tail variant as I recall.

Both short and tall tails were seen on Kong's aircraft.

- Three Guys Replicas was a mid-late SAC-era sheet: a Carswell jet in Strategic camo, 1990; a KI Sawyer jet in overall 36081 also from 1990...
Well, here's my reason to acquire a B-52H. Edited by Slartibartfast
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Didn't someone do Kong's D from Dr. Strangelove? I have Monogram D with no decals.

The B-52 bomber "Leper Colony" flown by Maj Kong's crew from the movie "Dr. Strangelove" is either a G or H model. You will have to dramatically modify the old Monogram D kit.

The opening credits from the movie "Dr. Strangelove" show the aerial refueling scene between a KC-135A & B-52G. However, the later "flying" scenes depict a model of a B-52H "flying" over the frozen landscape. I saw the movie again last week and did not see any shot of the nose art or insignia for the fictitious 843rd Bomb Wing at Burpelson AFB, only the SAC insignia.

I nominate a variation of the "chicken" or "turkey" insignia of the 4083rd Strategic Wing from Thule AFB Greenland. 4083rd Strategic Wing

R/ Dutch

Edited by Dutch
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Dave, I would love to see a B-52G in 34th BS markings, preferably when they were assigned to the 366th Wing at Mountain Home AFB, though they remained at Castle. They carried the "MO" tailcode with the red/black "Thunderbird" tailband. Wolfpak did these markings in 1/72, but are hard to find. I would really love to see them in 1/144 scale.

B-52G MO tail Code #1

R/

Dutch

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Dutch, a 34 BS jet would be near the top of my wish list for Gs as well; here's a couple of other views of 0242 that shows the T-Bird nose art that I think would look so good on a model:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Air/Boeing-B-52G-Stratofortress/0827969/L/&sid=ce57a07bdea87d3617f7156e5a59a404

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Air/Boeing-B-52G-Stratofortress/0139070/L/&sid=26b273599c6c15800de417bf23ac2513

ACC-era options from Castle & Loring would be good too, along with Desert Storm jets.

Jonah

Edited by Gator52
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  • 3 weeks later...

Timely thread - I scored an Italeri reissue B-52H (have the LSM engine set but never found the kit!) and the Monogram B-52D at a recent show. For obvious reasons I'd be interested in Carswell AFB birds - the Italeri kit has one scheme for Carswell at least. Chris - we'll have to order a couple sets, one for each of us!!

Jim Carswell

Edited by junglejim38
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  • 1 month later...

Maybe this project should go on hold for a bit. Why, well, there is a company called Modelcollect that has announced a brand new -52H, suggested retail of $100 US. These guys have been doing 72nd armour for a few years and their kits are fantastic! They seem to be working at doing families, ie T-80 family, MAZ chassis family, etc. The H model Buff may just be the start of a B-52 family!!! Website; http://modelcollect.com/

IMHO the Italeri kit is overpriced and a horrible kit, I would hate to see your excellent decals wasted on this styrene mess! The one kit I have will be turned into a mega fortress from the famous novel, since I can't justify the work to make it a B-52.

Just my $00.05 worth!!

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Maybe this project should go on hold for a bit. Why, well, there is a company called Modelcollect that has announced a brand new -52H, suggested retail of $100 US. These guys have been doing 72nd armour for a few years and their kits are fantastic! They seem to be working at doing families, ie T-80 family, MAZ chassis family, etc. The H model Buff may just be the start of a B-52 family!!! Website; http://modelcollect.com/

IMHO the Italeri kit is overpriced and a horrible kit, I would hate to see your excellent decals wasted on this styrene mess! The one kit I have will be turned into a mega fortress from the famous novel, since I can't justify the work to make it a B-52.

Just my $00.05 worth!!

I am already well aware of the Modelcollect kit and had given this some thought.

There is pretty much absolutely no marking on a B-52 that is shape-dependent, i.e. that would require closely matching to the shape of a kit element that may change between different scale models. There are walkway lines on the horizontal stabs which may vary slightly depending on how the kit manufacturer interprets the panel lines; and that is pretty much it. No full-rudder decorations, no intake splitter markings, nothing. I do not see any reason why a correctly-scaled B-52 sheet would not work on any correctly-scaled B-52 kit.

I have been designing very successful decals for a long time; so rest assured I will take whatever little precaution is necessary and the decals will work on either kit. At any rate, I do not see the B-52H sheet being ready before October/November, by which time the new kit may already be available.

Edited by KursadA
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