Everyone and their mother’s son … and grandfather … and probably great-grandfather … knows about the B-52. The U.S. Air Force big strategic bomber first flew in the 1950s and has been crewed by multiple generations of pilots through thick and thin ever since. Boeing’s big stick looks set to continue for many more years thanks to pending upgrades.
There may be no need to upgrade your 1/144 scale BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fellow) collection after this release. Academy has done a stellar job capturing the B-52H with this well-designed kit. It features inserted panels to install the many antennas plus a number of options. You can build your BUFF gear up or gear down and with the bomb bay open or closed. A full set of M177 bombs are included for the bay and Mk.82 slicks or newer JDAMs are included for the detailed underwing racks. Also included is a SNIPER targeting pod and its pylon; the earlier LITENING pod and pylon are included as well, although they aren’t mentioned in the instructions.
Many B-52s have changed configuration and sensors over the years; some options are included in the kit but not mentioned, such as the upper nose “bump” that Memphis Belle carried earlier in its career.
The engines are designed with inserts for both the fan faces and the exhausts, allowing them to be painted and installed separately after the rest of the kit is complete.
Decals are included for three B-52s, including 60-0001 Memphis Belle, the very first H model.
The interior keel includes the landing gear bays and bomb bay, all well detailed for the scale. The main landing gear legs need to be inserted before closing the fuselage, so take care to mask them prior to painting. The gear legs are sturdy and detailed, but the triangular scissors are molded closed; I drilled and carved holes to enhance the detail. The cockpit is a simple three-part affair, with right and left side consoles surrounding a floor with pre-molded seats and sticks. I thought this adequate, but the canopy is so clear that the interior is quite visible. I recommend at a minimum adding some simulated instruments to the featureless face of the panel.
There are several inserts that must be placed inside the fuselage before closing it up, including numerous antennas. Fortunately, they slot in place firmly and fit well. Make sure all tabs are seated correctly for all the interior parts when closing the fuselage up. With everything aligned, you won’t need filler. The separately molded lower fuselage inserts include the numerous antennas already molded in place, and the fit is outstanding.
The long wings are in halves and include separate flaps. There is no detail molded in the flap bays. Open the slots in the flaps intended to fit the engine pylons prior to attaching the flaps. The outrigger gear bays have nice, molded detail.
The wings fit the fuselage perfectly as did the horizontal stabilizers with no gaps in sight. Both flying surfaces feature petite molded vortex generators.
The engineering of the engines is outstanding: Front fan inserts fit inside the one-piece forward the forward section and exhaust inserts that fit into the rear part of the nacelles. Those nacelles mount to the pylons and are keyed to each position, and then the assemblies slot into the wings. Pay close attention to the demarcation between the pylon and the tab so the pylon doesn’t insert too far into the wing. I attached the engine nacelles and pylons to the wing. A touch of filler smoothed the pylons to the fairings on the leading edges of the wing, the only filler I used on the kit. The exhaust inserts were finished and slid into the nacelles after painting and decaling were completed – as a precaution, I trimmed the front of the exhaust inserts so they sat a touch deeper in the nacelles to avoid potential fit problems. I finished the fan inserts and installed them into the fan shrouds after all painting was complete and attached the assemblies to the front of the engine nacelles.
I opted to arm my BUFF with JDAMs, which are each molded in two pieces; the fins are separate and keyed for alignment, making painting and assembly a breeze. The JDAM body is molded with the pylon adaptor already in place, so ignore the instructions to glue the separate pieces in place. The bomb racks themselves are nicely detailed, as is the included SNIPER targeting pod and pylon. All attach to the wing with no problems. I installed all the antennas and under-nose sensors before painting. The canopy is one of the clearest I’ve seen and the fit perfectly. Academy includes tape canopy masks, a welcome addition!
After painting the Stratofortress with Tamiya Dark Grey (No. XF-24), I applied the decals. There are a lot of them! I think I see 1/144 scale No Step marking my dreams now. Numerous stencils are included, and the diagrams adequately show placement. I would highly recommend cutting the walkway markings on the stabilizers into smaller sections and applying them individually instead of attempting to place them as provided.
Attaching the gear and weapons finishes off this well-designed kit.
Outstanding fit, good detail, lots of options, and, a personal favorite, canopy masks, made this a pleasurable build. I spent slightly less than 20 hours on my BUFF, and it should be an easy build for all but the newest modeler.