Cutting Edge 1/72
B-52H Factory Configuration Conversion

The B-52 first flew in 1954 and has been flying ever since.  The Stratofortress is one of the most recognizable aircraft in the world.

We do not need to get into all the historical details so lets look at what Meteor Productions is offering for the modeler. Cutting Edge came out with two resin sets to convert the Monogram/Revell B-52D to a B-52H early or late config and two resin sets to make a B-52 H early or late config.

Monogram made the B-52D back in the 60s I believe and it was one of the biggest plastic models ever made. DB productions made a conversion for the Monogram/Revell B-52D to turn it to a late variant.  When DB went out of business Airwaves produces the conversion and it was used as a correction set for the AMT kits.

AMT/ERTL first came out with G and H family back in the 90s.  Although the kits filled a big gap in modeling collections, they left a bit to be desired with their accuracy and quality of engineering.

Back in 2003 AMtech had announced that they would make a massive correction set with the collaboration of Black Box for the AMT kits but the project was never completed. Golden Dragon (found at Great Models) still makes many conversion sets for Monogram B-52 but the quality on all of my samples was variable.

So now we come to the present and the Cutting Edge products. These sets came out to the customers during the week of 11 February as one of the very last products that Meteor put out before they closed their doors on
18 February 2008. It feels a bit strange reviewing a brand new product from a company that is no more.

What we get in the resin sets is all the parts needed to convert the Monogram and later Revell reissue of the B-52D to early or late G or an early or late B-52H. The sets are very comprehensive and cardboard boxes are stuffed with lots of gray resin.

Notable items are the very clear replacement canopies. The canopy is gives a one big clear resin piece and it should be much easier integrating it to the plastic fuselage than having to insert it from the front and into the fuselage slot.

The engines are finally of the proper size and they have the correct look to them unlike the anemic sized AMT engines. The nose radomes look great too in their subtle differences from early to late configurations. Jim Rotramel's support documentation and templates are top notch as always.  From what I see in the conversion sets we finally have all we need to turn our old Monogram kits to any late variant of the B-52.

The B-52H Factory Configuration Conversion is a stand alone conversion for the Monogram/Revell B-52D kit. It contains a new nose section, a new tail, a resin rear fuselage extension, a new double radar tail gun section and most importantly nice properly sized P&WA TF-33 turbofan engines. The anemic TF-33 engines of the AMT/ERTL (and currently Italeri) kit were the point of contention for many years. A multitude of other details are provided such as proper pylons, speed brakes, escape hatches and the smaller wing tanks.
A nice touch is the Black Magic mask provided for the clear resin canopy.

The sets were purchased from Meteor but they are not available anymore.