Minicraft 1/144 B-52H Stratofortress Build Review
By Fotios Rouch
| Date of Review | February 2019 | Manufacturer | Minicraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | B-52H Stratofortress | Scale | 1/144 |
| Kit Number | 14615 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Nice options in the box | Cons | See text |
| Skill Level | Experienced | MSRP (USD) | $30.00 |
The Build
This B-52 is one of the later re-issues of the venerable Crown kit of old. For a look at this kit out of the box, look here. The molds are getting tired with a lot of blemishes visible on the smaller parts. The plastic removal process from the hot molds was not so great and a lot of sink marks are present on the wings. I compared my latest kit with the original Crown molds and the differences are significant.
This model was promised to same friend that has all of my 1/144th scale 1950's and 1960's planes in his office display case. He wanted the Hound Dogs on it just like on a picture we shared. Most of the time was spent on fixing the sink marks. The build was easy overall. Things to watch are the canopy and small top windows fit. Also, the nacelle to engines fit is poor and leaves a gap.
The bottom wing part does not mate well with the top wing part and filler is needed near the outrigger landing gear.
The painting was done with Alclad II, AK and Vallejo metallics.
The kit decals were OK but a little hard, so decal softener was needed. I used fundekals black stripes to recreate the complicated horizontal stabilizer walkways that were not included in the decal set.
The end result looks good and the model is still huge even in 1/144th scale!
Try to find an older boxing of this model to avoid the plastic surface issues.