SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post

ET2SN · 12-18-20, 06:55 AM

After submarines, my favorite airplane kit is the B-52.

I started seeing vids about Great Wall Hobby's new 1/144th scale Buff last week, I found a nice kit review and initial build:

It looks good so far and I hope to get one or two on order by next month (?).

This kit builds a modern B-52H, namely an aircraft modified to "Phase VI" standards (the updated, lengthened tail section with phased array antennas and final version of the EVS turrets under the nose), the addition of a "sniper pod" on the STBD wing and a "Bobbited tail"*. The B-52 can best be thought of as the airplane the USAF can't get rid of, no matter how hard they try.

There are already "3rd Generation Crews" flying the same aircraft their grandfathers flew and the B-52 will easily last in front line service until the 2040's. The Pentagon has already ordered new, more efficient engines and there are plans for the B-52 to become an electronics jammer/ECM aircraft. To put it in better perspective, consider that the B-52 has outlasted the planes that were supposed to replace it. The B-58 Hustler, the B-70 Valkyrie, the B-1 (A and B) Lancer/BONE and the B-2 Spirit were or will be retired before the B-52.

From what I've seen, Great Wall did a CAD re-scale of their 1/72nd scale B-52 kits from last year. This could be good or bad, Great Wall wound up getting thrashed with their initial releases of these kits and had to offer updated nose parts and still got the tail and horizontal stabs wrong.
The good news was that they offered multiple versions of the B-52G and B-52H in 1/72nd scale, so we should expect a couple more kits in 1/144th scale.

While Academy released a 1/144th scale (modern) B-52H several years ago, it has massive problems in how the fuselage and EVS turrets were modelled.

The only other alternative in this scale came from Revell, who offered "modern" B-52G and H models back in the early 1990's via Revell USA and Revell Germany. I built a couple of these kits in the barracks at Pearl when we weren't at sea and managed to snag one more on EBay a couple of years ago that I work on from time to time. Buffs in 1/144th scale are mostly the perfect size, large enough to show off detail work and painting but not so big that they don't fit on the display shelf. Paint is really easy, B-52's have been painted over-all in Gunship Gray (FS 36118) since the mid 1990's. Make sure to weather and fade the paint on the upper wings and fuselage, B-52's don't spend much time in a hanger. If the instructions tell you to apply "stars and bars" to the wings, don't. The B-52 has such a unique outline that , since the mid 1990's, national markings are only applied to the sides of the fuselage. Decals are provided for half of the six current squadrons (plus nose art) and hopefully there will be some aftermarket decals available.

To sum it up, I'm looking forward to ordering a couple of these kits and hopefully there will also be a B-52G in the pipeline.

There are two things that still concern me, the first is that Great Wall never really got their 1/72nd scale kits "right" although they did the right thing by remolding the nose and fwd fuselage (on this kit, the one internal item you will be able to see, the head rests for the pilot and co-pilot, are missing and will need to be carved then painted red). The second is price, for a 1/144th scale kit expect to pay somewhere in the 30-40 US Dollar range once it becomes available.

For that kind of money, you do get a decent amount of plastic and its nice to see the selection of weapons and the sniper pod. The CSRL (combined stores rotary launcher) is a nice detail for the bomb bay but might be better saved for a side display/diorama.

*- By the early 1990's, the USAF decided to retire the B-52G's and remove the M61 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon from the tail of the surviving B-52H's plus the enlisted gunner from the crew. The loss of weight in the tail was compensated for by adding slabs of high tech concrete and this "less manly" mod was named in honor of John Wayne Bobbitt who's angry wife cut off his *ahem* late one night while he was passed out.

In theory, the USAF has kept the M61's in storage in case they are ever needed again, but this would be a long term refit, much like Mr. Bobbitt's reconstructive surgery.

12-18-20, 06:55 AM	#1
ET2SN ET2/SS Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,513 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	Another new model kit, coming soon. After submarines, my favorite airplane kit is the B-52. I started seeing vids about Great Wall Hobby's new 1/144th scale Buff last week, I found a nice kit review and initial build: It looks good so far and I hope to get one or two on order by next month (?). This kit builds a modern B-52H, namely an aircraft modified to "Phase VI" standards (the updated, lengthened tail section with phased array antennas and final version of the EVS turrets under the nose), the addition of a "sniper pod" on the STBD wing and a "Bobbited tail". The B-52 can best be thought of as the airplane the USAF can't get rid of, no matter how hard they try. There are already "3rd Generation Crews" flying the same aircraft their grandfathers* flew and the B-52 will easily last in front line service until the 2040's. The Pentagon has already ordered new, more efficient engines and there are plans for the B-52 to become an electronics jammer/ECM aircraft. To put it in better perspective, consider that the B-52 has outlasted the planes that were supposed to replace it. The B-58 Hustler, the B-70 Valkyrie, the B-1 (A and B) Lancer/BONE and the B-2 Spirit were or will be retired before the B-52. From what I've seen, Great Wall did a CAD re-scale of their 1/72nd scale B-52 kits from last year. This could be good or bad, Great Wall wound up getting thrashed with their initial releases of these kits and had to offer updated nose parts and still got the tail and horizontal stabs wrong. The good news was that they offered multiple versions of the B-52G and B-52H in 1/72nd scale, so we should expect a couple more kits in 1/144th scale. While Academy released a 1/144th scale (modern) B-52H several years ago, it has massive problems in how the fuselage and EVS turrets were modelled. The only other alternative in this scale came from Revell, who offered "modern" B-52G and H models back in the early 1990's via Revell USA and Revell Germany. I built a couple of these kits in the barracks at Pearl when we weren't at sea and managed to snag one more on EBay a couple of years ago that I work on from time to time. Buffs in 1/144th scale are mostly the perfect size, large enough to show off detail work and painting but not so big that they don't fit on the display shelf. Paint is really easy, B-52's have been painted over-all in Gunship Gray (FS 36118) since the mid 1990's. Make sure to weather and fade the paint on the upper wings and fuselage, B-52's don't spend much time in a hanger. If the instructions tell you to apply "stars and bars" to the wings, don't. The B-52 has such a unique outline that , since the mid 1990's, national markings are only applied to the sides of the fuselage. Decals are provided for half of the six current squadrons (plus nose art) and hopefully there will be some aftermarket decals available. To sum it up, I'm looking forward to ordering a couple of these kits and hopefully there will also be a B-52G in the pipeline. There are two things that still concern me, the first is that Great Wall never really got their 1/72nd scale kits "right" although they did the right thing by remolding the nose and fwd fuselage (on this kit, the one internal item you will be able to see, the head rests for the pilot and co-pilot, are missing and will need to be carved then painted red). The second is price, for a 1/144th scale kit expect to pay somewhere in the 30-40 US Dollar range once it becomes available. For that kind of money, you do get a decent amount of plastic and its nice to see the selection of weapons and the sniper pod. The CSRL (combined stores rotary launcher) is a nice detail for the bomb bay but might be better saved for a side display/diorama. - By the early 1990's, the USAF decided to retire the B-52G's and remove the M61 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon from the tail of the surviving B-52H's plus the enlisted gunner from the crew. The loss of weight in the tail was compensated for by adding slabs of high tech concrete and this "less manly" mod was named in honor of John Wayne Bobbitt who's angry wife cut off his ahem* late one night while he was passed out. In theory, the USAF has kept the M61's in storage in case they are ever needed again, but this would be a long term refit, much like Mr. Bobbitt's reconstructive surgery.