WIP-- Update 3-22-2022 New 1/48 Revell SR-71A Blackbird

Still can't get over how great the finish is on your build.  Sure hope the engines don't give you too much trouble.  You've got to be at the finishline at this point.

Update March 22, 2022

The white tab that holds the wing/engine assembly to the fuselage is waaaaaaaaay too small. It should have been twice as long and twice as deep to support the weight of the wing/engine assembly. The wing wobbles up and down eventhough I used a lot of glue on tab.

The front landing gear was installed without a hitch. Remember, the landing gear should be one of the last parts installed.

Masks for the canopies are not included in the kit. I used Tamyia Yellow tape to make the masks.

RacerToo

Amazing job. The weathering looks spot on. Can you handle the model after Aqualine applying it? Do you seal it at any point?

 

 

Amazing job. The weathering looks spot on. Can you handle the model after Aqualine applying it? Do you seal it at any point?

Looking very good.  So tough to pull off a black finish, but that looks really good.

Update March 17, 2022

The weathering of the fuselage is complete and the two cockpits are finished.

wpwar11

Is Aqualine just an acrylic based diluted mix?  You're getting great results with it.  I'm thinking maybe Flory wash might yield similar results.  Thanks for the tutorial.  The bird looks awesome.

 

Is Aqualine just an acrylic based diluted mix?  You're getting great results with it.  I'm thinking maybe Flory wash might yield similar results.  Thanks for the tutorial.  The bird looks awesome.

keavdog

She's looking very impressive!  I bet those red wing decals were a joy.

 

She's looking very impressive!  I bet those red wing decals were a joy.

Update March 13, 2022

This is how I weathered the nacelles. First I painted on some blobs of Aqualine weathering paint. Aqualine is a Russian product that is no longer made.

Then I used a paintbrush that was damp with water to smooth out the paint. I know, it looks like a giant mess.

Mext I used a damp paper towl to wipe away the weathering paint.

I kept wiping with a damp paper towel until I was happy with the result. 

Almost finished. I still need to weather the fuselage. 

The decals are pretty thin and easily torn. 

I used Tamyia Mark Fit Strong as a decal setting solution. If you intend to use this product I strongly advise that you put your bottle of Tamyia cement into a drawer or some other place that is far from your workbench. The two products are in identical bottles with identical looking caps. It would by a really huge bummer to accidently use the cement instead of the decal setting solution. The result would be a lot of swearing and cursing. That would be what I would do.

Here are two examples of how to go really fast. 

JohnnyK

The right engine nacelle is finished. I used AquaLine weathering paints to do the weathering. I applied a light coat of AquaLine and let it dry. Then I wiped it from top to bottom with a damp paper towel to remove the excess weathering solution. AquaLine is no longer in business.  

Johnny, that right nacelle came out real good; you really nailed it. You may want to check your references; most Blackbirds had a silver tip of some sort of very hard metal on the tip of the cones.

keavdog

That nacelle looks fantastic.  Really nice weathering.

 

That nacelle looks fantastic.  Really nice weathering.

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

I have been out town for a few weeks, hence no recent posts. Now I'm back.

The final painted finish is Tamyia Black Rubber. Black Rubber is a super flat finish. I was concerned about decal silvering, so after the Black Rubber dire I coated the painted surfaces with MM gloss clear. I couple of coats were required. I used Tamyia "Mark Fit" strong decal setting solution to apply the decals. After the decals dried I applied a final coat of Tamyis clear flat. I was amazed. There was zero decal silvering. This photo was taken prior to weathering.

The right engine nacelle is finished. I used AquaLine weathering paints to do the weathering. I applied a light coat of AquaLine and let it dry. Then I wiped it from top to bottom with a damp paper towel to remove the excess weathering solution. AquaLine is no longer in business. 

The fuselage is getting painted in the spray booth. The front opening in my spray booth is 29". The fuselage barely fits.

This model is impressive.  I’m enjoying the ride , but final pictures are going to be great.  

Your use of different shades of black and dark grey are perfect. You're really getting a fantastic looking finish already.

fascinating build info, definitely great to see all the great insight on this kit.

This is the right wing engine nacelle. The entire middle of the engine is missing. I guess that it doesn't matter much because it will not be seen. However, the kit inckudes parts for an complete engine that can be displayed alongside the aircraft.

The engine on this aircraft is huge!. Compare it to a Saber Jet and a B-58 Hustler. I painted the nacelle with Tamyia Grey Primer, Tamyia Matt Black, Tamyia Black Rubber and finally Tamyia Flat Clear. Next up is applying weathering to the nacelle.

goldhammer88

Suspect the lack of soot residue is due to the use of JP8 rather than the usual JP4.

 

Actually, the Blackbird used a special fuel, JP-7 , that was designed for supersonic planes such as the Blackbird. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP-7#:~:text=Turbine%20Fuel%2C%20Low%20Volatility%2C%20JP-7%2C%20commonly%20known%20as,a%20high%20flash%20point%2C%20and%20high%20thermal%20stability.

As you mentioned in an earlier post, the fuselage panel joints were fabricated "loose" because the fuselage panels would expand due to the heat caused by high flight speeds. This caused the fuel tanks to leak when the plane was refueled on the ground. As the panels haeted and expanded the leaking would stop.

One of the ingredients in JP7 is a crucial part of Flit mosquito repellant. There was a shortage of Flit when the JP7 fuel as first being manufactured.

Suspect the lack of soot residue is due to the use of JP8 rather than the usual JP4.

Update 2-21-22

I fixed the color of the oleos.

I painted the inside of the tailpipoe vanes with Tamyia Grey Primer. I used Aqualine black, rust and dry earth to add color to the vanes. You can see the actual colors in my post above.

I decided to paint the entire model in Tamyia Grey Rubber. The three parts of the engine exhaust are dry fitted, so the joints are pretty large. I used Aqualine Dry Earth to add weathering to the two sections before the tailpipe. The tailpipe has no weathering. You can see the actual colors in my post above.

IBuild148

I have mine JohnnyK. Will follow yours for guidance. 

 

Have fun with your model.

JK

I have mine JohnnyK. Will follow yours for guidance. 

Update 2-14-2022

The engine is made up of 22 parts. 

Only eight parts are visible and need to be painted.

A couple pf parts have these nasty sinkholes that will need filling and sanding.

I did a dry fit of the right engine. Very few parts are visible.

Here is a great shot of the exhaust. Those rings at the far end are ceramic coated, hence the white color. The inside of the nozzel is very clean, I would have expected to see a lot of soot. 

Interesting colors inside the nozzel. I'll get out the paint and brushes after the sink holes are fixed. 

Well, here is a mistake that I haven't made in many years. I didn't use enough glue and the seam opened after I removed the tape.

More glue and many clamps should do the trick.

The original aircraft was painted a very, very dark blue--almost black. The paint faded to a dark grey. I did a sample of paint colors. On the right is Tamiya Matt Black.  On the left is Tamiya Black Rubber. After the paint dried I sprayed on a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear. IMHO, the Matt Black is too black and has a shine to it. I'll be using Black Rubber. 

Nice progress on it.

I was stationed at Beale, next door to the 9th SRW.  One story went around was that a tanker was scrambled a half hour before engine started on the SR.  Refueling track was supposedly over the Lake Tahoe area..  SR's leak like a spaghetti strainer until the fuselage heats up and expands.  Can't take off with a full fuel load either.  He was in the refueling track, going, where's my tanker, I'm on empty.

Another SR story revolves around what became a comedy routine, which I suspect has a grain of truth, since it was written by an SR driver with around  500 hours in the office.  Do a search for. "Aspen 20".  It's worth a couple of chuckles.

UPDATE 2-9-22

The top and bottom halves of the fuselage have been glued together. A lot of glue and a lot of tape is required. Make sure that you glue the scoop located behing the cockpits prior to glueing the fuselage together. It is easy to miss.

Shipwreck

 

 

The red oleo as a metal band that was used for permanent storage like a museum display or graveyard. It was never used on operational aircraft!