1/48 Revell SR-71A WIP

[eaglecash867]

Just getting my WIP thread started for this group build.  I was planning on building this way back when I got it, but ended up back-burnering it.  Got lots of AM stuff for it along the way though, including some flight crew figures I ordered through Shapeways.  Just have to take inventory of the stuff I got for it as I start the build.

[Real G]

Ooh, I’m very interested in the Shapeways crew! I wanted one for my 1/32 X-15. They would also be very useful for the 1/72 and 1/48 U-2 family of kits. Please post detail photos when you start painting them.

I built the Testors/Italeri 1/48 SR-71 back in the early 1980s, and it was a hangar hog!

[armornutii]

   Wait for it...wait for it...

[eaglecash867]

Dec 31, 2023 21:18:19 GMT -5 Real G said:

Ooh, I’m very interested in the Shapeways crew! I wanted one for my 1/32 X-15. They would also be very useful for the 1/72 and 1/48 U-2 family of kits. Please post detail photos when you start painting them.

I built the Testors/Italeri 1/48 SR-71 back in the early 1980s, and it was a hangar hog!

You know, the Monogram flight crew for their 1/72 SR-71 was actually pretty nice too.  Have that one partially completed.  I think I had started building it in 2019...and 2019-2020 was when my whole life got turned upside-down by a cancer diagnosis and all the stuff I had to go through to keep from pushing up daisies.  Never got back to finishing that one.  Pretty well-detailed kit though, considering how old it was.  Did get the pit and flight crew on that one done.  I think I mixed a little Model Master Fluorescent Red paint, with their Flat Yellow to get a pretty decent color match for the pressure suits.  Planning on doing the same with this one.



I had that Testors/Italeri 1/48 SR-71 and U-2 combo kit they made to be sold by AAFES...bought it in the late 80s.  Only fairly-recently started seriously looking at building those...started with the U-2.  That lasted about an hour...LOL.  That Italeri rubbery plastic that didn't seem to respond well to Tamiya Extra Thin was enough to make me stop.  Never even tried the SR-71 kit in that box.  So glad when Revell finally came along with their 1/48 SR-71.

 

[Real G]

Yeah, Monogram did a great job sculpting the SR’s crew. And they were NOT identical, kudos to the talented people of the once great Monogram.

No worries Perry, Giant Robo just got taken down to pieces for the “proof shot” to verify state of construction prior to start time.

[eaglecash867]

Got started on the lower fuselage half this morning.  Going to be using a few upgrade sets from various manufacturers, starting with this one from Metallic Details:



Everything in the set is well-detailed with all of the wiring and plumbing reproduced in 3D printed parts.  It also looks like they designed things to not only make it all easier to paint, but to make it so you can put the landing gear on after the fuselage is assembled and painted.

Just had to make a few minor modifications to the inside surfaces of the lower fuselage half to accomodate the design of the Metallic Details wheel wells.  Once the mods were made, the dry fits were perfect.







Also had to modify the spine to accomodate the new nose gear well assembly, which also wasn't too big a deal.  Once the spine was modified, I started the process of mating it to the fuselage a little bit at a time to get the whole thing straight and solid.

[kyledehart5]

Sweet!! Can’t wait to see this one.

[eaglecash867]

Started working on getting the nose gear figured out, and the first problem I noticed with the Metallic Details kit is that the scissor on at least the nose gear strut is fully-extended, so it would only look that way on an in-flight aircraft.  So, had to drill the holes for the display stand from the outside, since the internal spine structure prevents drilling the way it was supposed to be done.  Just put my headlight on the bench underneath it and used the Tamiya scribe as a center-punch to get the drill bit to stay precisely in that spot.  Progressively drilled the holes and opened them all the way up to 2.1mm...but they need to be 2.2mm, so I have a larger set of bits on the way to finish that part.

Another problem I discovered today with the Metallic Details landing gear kit is that the scissor for the gear door actuators has no solid way of mounting it to the gear well...just some vague reference in the instructions to where the pins are supposed to attach...but no corresponding place in the gear well for those pins to actually attach.  The second glaring omission is the gear door actuators themselves.  They simply don't exist in the Metallic Details Kit.  So, I began the process of putting things together enough to where I could start grafting together some sort of solution using the Revell and Metallic Details parts for that scissor/actuator assembly.  While I was doing that, I made the shocking discovey that Revell actually has two sets of gear doors in the kit.  One set for a gear down configuration, and one set for a gear up configuration.  I did a dry fit of the doors for the gear up configuration, and they all fit beautifully...no gaps, and nice and flush with the fuselage.  So, since I was already forced into putting it in flight by the nose gear fully extended situation, I elected to by-pass all the brain damage of trying to make the Metallic Details kit actually work, and glued the doors in place for a gear up configuration.  That eliminated so many steps...it was as if most of the assembly process on this kit was all revolving around the landing gear. So relieved I won't have to deal with that now.

Here she is, with her belly all closed up...and the mounting holes drilled for the in-flight display stand.

[deafpanzer]

Freaking awesome! You are off to a good start. I have same kit and I will be following your build very closely. Good luck!

[kyledehart5]

Yes that already looks really nice!!

[eaglecash867]

Thanks guys!

Finally figured out what the lens is on top of the fuselage. It is the lens for the Astro-Inertial Navigation System, and I was able to find one good photo looking down into the lens. I used Alclad 111 Magnesium on the back of the lens to try to duplicate what I saw in the photo. Also got the re-fueling door put in. The fit around it wasn't anywhere near as good as the fit was for the landing gear doors, so I thought about displaying it open. Revell, for some unknown reason, made the re-fueling receptacle two pieces...which is what I would expect...but the assembly was split about 7/8 of the way along the sides, which would have left a really strange looking seam that would have been nearly impossible to deal with. So, I elected to close it up and just use Apoxie Clay to make the gap around the door a little less pronounced.  Love that stuff.  All I had to do was pack it into the gap and then gently engrave a line in it with a wet toothpick.

I have the Eduard LooK instrument panel set coming, so that should help eliminate some of the brain damage in dealing with the cockpit.  It is basically 2 color 3D printed pieces that are direct replacements of the kit parts, so I won't have to scrape away a bunch of raised detail before applying the Quinta set that I bought a few months ago.

[armornutii]

   Another fella trying to get me stuff my stash... well it ain't gonna work...today LOL.
   Looking good eagle, excited to see your cockpit detail. Did she come with a crew?

[eaglecash867]

Thanks armornutii! It doesn't come with crew, but I have that covered with a set I got from Shapeways.

[reserve]

Drag none of that probably expensive AM has panned out

[eaglecash867]

Reserve, not even their seats were all that great. But I got a new set of seats today that are a combo of resin and 3D printed from Hypersonic Models, and they look pretty amazing.  Also got the Eduard LooK set for the instrument panels today, which also look amazing.

Had the day off from work today, so I did some work on the engine assemblies...starting with the burner cans for the J58s. Revell did an excellent job with these...the tube itself is a single piece, so no seams to worry about on the inside. Separate parts for the ends of the tubes, which fit really well, and it all was easy to paint the different colors. Streaked the insides of the tubes with some black Abteilung oil paint.

[eaglecash867]

Making some more progress with the engine nacelles.  They're a pretty complicated assembly, consisting of a bunch of different parts, but that makes it easier to get everything painted.  Not sure how much of the insides of the nacelles are actually going to be visible, but I went ahead and sort of followed Revell's instructions for painting the interior.  I used MRP gloss black for a basecoat on everything, followed by MRP Titanium metallic paint.  I love the color of that stuff.  Used MRP Exhaust Soot on the rear sections to heat them up a little bit and make them look toasty.  The inlet cones were left bare with the MRP gloss black, which I then marbled over with MRP Tyre Rubber Black, followed by more marbling with a really cool color of theirs...IJNAF Cowling Color...to give it hints of blue.  It looks like its going to be a winning combination for the exterior once I get to that stage.

[406 Silverado]

How did I miss this??!! I'll be bookmarking this thread FO SHO eagle!!! At 1/48 scale this one's a BIG ol' boy! 

1. Front row seat....check

2. Popcorn.....check

3. Eyes glued to set.....check!!!

[kyledehart5]

Looks like I’m a little behind!!! Really fantastic work there. That’s all looking great.

[Joe Rix]

Although I may be tuning in late I am hugely impressed with the progress so far. Love the color combinations you have utilized for the nacelles. Looks really sharp. I've read rather positive reviews for this kit so I'm quite interested in how it goes for you. May have to consider replacing my older 1/48 Testors kit with this one.

[handiabled]

Just got caught up with this one. Excellent work so far! Bookmarked!

[eaglecash867]

Thanks for stopping by guys!

Joe Rix, the fit on things so far has been hit and miss, but nothing that can't be dealt with pretty easily. The main body of those intake spikes is made of two pieces that don't have a great fit, but with judicious use of Tamiya Extra Thin and pressure applied at just the right moment...followed by a little sanding...there were no seams that required any filler. Not that it would have been critical anyway, that part of the spikes gets buried pretty deep inside the nacelles.

[jeaton01]

Checking in. This is going to be real nice with the detail you are putting in. Just for fun and inspiration here's a photo I took of one in the late 80's at an air show the company I worked for was hosting.

[eaglecash867]

Thanks for checking in John!  That's a nice pic.  There's really nothing like seeing one in the flesh, in the air, is there?  I was at Plant 42 in Palmdale in 1989...saw a lot of SR-71s making their final landings before being either permanently or temporarily retired.

[lyle]

What they all have said. Wow. So well done. Looks o be a big girl, too.

[moparmadness]

What’s the total length in 1/48? It’ll make a statement on any wall or shelf!

[eaglecash867]

Jan 27, 2024 9:54:15 GMT -5 lyle said:

What they all have said. Wow. So well done. Looks o be a big girl, too.

Thanks Lyle!

Jan 27, 2024 22:53:06 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

What’s the total length in 1/48? It’ll make a statement on any wall or shelf!

Heh…I haven’t quite decided where I’m going to put it when its done, Chad. But, I’m in a nice, big new house now that is pretty much a blank slate at this point, so I’ll figure something out for displaying larger models. Its just shy of 28” long. I’ve got the 1/48 B-1B, 1/72 B-36, and 1/72 Shuttle in my stash too and I’ll finally have the space to build and display them.

[moparmadness]

With those beauties, you’ll fill up that space pretty quickly! And have a ton of fun along the way.

[jeaton01]

Jan 27, 2024 8:19:07 GMT -5 eaglecash867 said:

Thanks for checking in John!  That's a nice pic.  There's really nothing like seeing one in the flesh, in the air, is there?  I was at Plant 42 in Palmdale in 1989...saw a lot of SR-71s making their final landings before being either permanently or temporarily retired.

I live about 40 miles from Beale and was doing a lot of local flying when the SR-71 was there.  Actually shared the air with them a few times (briefly, except if they were doing pattern work) but U-2 types were much more common.

[Whiterook]

Sexy girl!!! Love this build.

[tcoat]

How have I not seen this thread. I must be really slipping!
This thing is gonna ROCK.