1/144 AMP B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber

Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

1/144 AMP B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, March 19, 2021 8:20 AM

For my next build this is the 1/144 AMP B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber. This is another build for a local client. I will be mounting it in one of Grandpa’s Cabinets display cases. (https://www.grandpascabinets.com/model-display-kits/ ) The kit comes with four different aircraft markings of New York, Indiana, Arizona, and California. I will be using the “Spirit of California” for this build. The kit has very good details for such a small scale. I will also be using Metallic Details photo etch set to detail some of the areas. To start off I assembled the cockpit and used the kit decals for the instrument panel and side/center consoles. The seats were assembled and I used thin strips of Tamiya tape to make the seat belts. The nose gear bay was detailed with some photo etc parts. The rest of the landing gear bays will be detailed later as the photo etch details run between the bay doors and the bays. I would like to note that the parts require a lot of clean up due to mod seams and minor flash on many of the parts. However with all the seams and flash cleaned up the fit is very good.

I assembled the bays and closed the bomb bay doors as this will be mounted inside the case. I then built up the intakes and exhaust so I can assemble the main fuselage. While reviewing the instructions, I found out there is an error in them. The instructions call out to assemble the intakes and mount them to the outside intake panels then install them from the top. While checking the fit into the fuselage I quickly realized the intake assembly cannot fit in from the top. You need to install the intake assembly from the bottom then the outside panels from the top. Surprisingly it all fits together very well. With the intake assemblies, exhaust, landing gear bays, and cockpit installed the fuselage was them assembled. The fit of the fuselage halves after cleaning up the seams and flash is great. There are no gaps at all.

I then installed the windscreen to the cockpit and used kapton tape to mask it off. The kit comes with a mask set but they seem slightly undersized for the windscreen. The kapton tape was trimmed to the edge of the frame. With the fuselage assembled I am starting on the landing and wing assemblies.

Check out the build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-144-b-2a-spirit-stealth-bomber/

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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modelcrazy

Member since
July 2014

Posted by modelcrazy on Friday, March 19, 2021 8:52 AM

Intresting, I've been wanting a B2

Steve

Building a kit from your stash is like cutting a head off a Hydra, two more take it's place.

http://www.spamodeler.com/forum/

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fotofrank

Member since
June 2017
From: Winter Park, FL

Posted by fotofrank on Friday, March 19, 2021 10:14 AM

Why is your work space so neat and uncluttered?

OK. In the stash: Way too much to build in one lifetime...

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, March 26, 2021 11:28 AM

fotofrank

Why is your work space so neat and uncluttered?

I clean it up and unclutter it at the start of each build. Soon after starting it does not look very clean or uncluttered. Wink

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, March 26, 2021 11:29 AM

More work continues on the Spirit. This week I assembled the fuselage and attached the wings. The wing edges that mate with the fuselage needed to be sanded smooth due the molding process but once cleaner up the fit is very nice. Once the fuselage and wings were done I filled the landing gear bays with paper towels and covered them with kapton tape. I also taped off the intakes and exhaust then sprayed the rest with six parts FS36118 and one part aluminum. This gives the stealth paint the slight hue changes from different angles like the real aircraft.

While the fuselage dries I started on the landing gear. There are landing lights on all three. The dual set on the main gear had sink holes in the middle of them so I drilled into them and painted the inside chrome silver. Next I filled them with a small drop of acrylic gel to make a lens. I did this for the nose gear as well. I also purchased the Metallic Details (MD14438) photo etch set for this kit. This had details for the landing gear and associated bays. I added these details to the landing gear and the bays. After the fuselage was dry I removed the masked covers on the landing gear bays and added the photo etch details. I am getting ready now to apply the numerous decals.

On a side note, the display case arrived yesterday. As usual, Grandpa’s cabinets did another awesome job. The display case arrived safely. The only thing I am waiting for now is the brass nameplate which is scheduled to arrive on Monday. Should have it all competed by Monday night!

Check out this build from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-144-b-2a-spirit-stealth-bomber/

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Tanker-Builder

Member since
October 2019
From: New Braunfels, Texas

Posted by Tanker-Builder on Friday, March 26, 2021 3:42 PM

Okay!

It looks like it's gonna be Purty! Oh, as an afterthought,You build on glass don't you?

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, April 2, 2021 7:42 AM

Tanker-Builder

Okay!

It looks like it's gonna be Purty! Oh, as an afterthought,You build on glass don't you?

Yes I use a piece of glass to work on. It is easy to clean off paint and glue and makes a nice surface to cut and trim photo etch parts.

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, April 2, 2021 7:43 AM

The AMP 1/144 B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber is now complete and delivered to the client. The kit decals for the ”Spirit of California” were applied. The decals went on nicely. The walkways were a bit tricky due to there is no film between the lines. Getting them moved into place and aligned took a lot of care to avoid tearing or rolling of the decals. After the decals had dried, the model was top coated with a matte clear finish.

Next I drilled a hole in one tire on each landing gear and glued a 30 AWG wire into each one. The display case base was then drilled into 3 spots to line up with the wires. The wire was coated with epoxy and the aircraft e=was set into position. The brass nameplate from EnM engraving was affixed to the bottom left corner. I then made the Northrop Grumman Logo for the top left corner. I used their new logo instead of the older blue one. Finally the Lexan cover was set into place. Last night this was delivered to the client. He was VERY pleased with his new addition to his home office!

Overall the AMP 1/144 B-2A is a decent model. It has good details for the scale, fit was very good, and the decals were delicate but very good. The only negative is the instructions on installing the intakes. I would recommend the Metallic Details set as well. While the kit has good details, the photo etch set compliments them well.

Check out this build from start to finish in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-144-b-2a-spirit-stealth-bomber/