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

I've been enjoying following your build and love the work you've done. I have a basic question: After seeing that the kit is now available at Scalehobbyist.com I'm wondering if you'd recommend it. I only rarely build planes but this is one of my favorites so I'm very tempted. 

I am not sure what your experience level is at. This is a level 5 kit, so it is not for a beginner. It is an interesting subject and I would recommend it if you are an eperienced builder. 

JohnnyK

Update - February 6, 2022

There have been discussions on the web concerning the thin pins (black arrow) that support the main landing gear. The concern is that the weight of the model will cause the pins to beak off . In reality, the pins are alignment pins, and they do not support the weight of the model. The bottom of the landing gear (red arrow) sits firmly against the top of the wheel well and it supports the weight of the model.

The slot idea was a great solution, Johhny; but it also confirms that once installed the gear cannot be moved to a closed or semi-closed position (you can't just flip it out of the way)!

Y

Shipwreck

 

 

JohnnyK

Update - February 6, 2022

There have been discussions on the web concerning the thin pins (black arrow) that support the main landing gear. The concern is that the weight of the model will cause the pins to beak off . In reality, the pins are alignment pins, and they do not support the weight of the model. The bottom of the landing gear (red arrow) sits firmly against the top of the wheel well and it supports the weight of the model.

 

 

 

 

The slot idea was a great solution, Johhny; but it also confirms that once installed the gear cannot be moved to a closed or semi-closed position (you can't just flip it out of the way)!

 

Here is another reason why the gear cannot be installed in the retracted position. For a reason that I cannot understand, Revell molded the landing gear strut's length too short. When retracted the wheels do not fit into the cylinder that is molded into the top of the wheel well. HUH!!!!

JohnnyK

 

Here is another reason why the gear cannot be installed in the retracted position. For a reason that I cannot understand, Revell molded the landing gear strut's length too short. When retracted the wheels do not fit into the cylinder that is molded into the top of the wheel well. HUH!!!!

 

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!

 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

I have mine JohnnyK. Will follow yours for guidance. 

IBuild148

I have mine JohnnyK. Will follow yours for guidance. 

 

Have fun with your model.

JK

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

That nacelle looks fantastic.  Really nice weathering.

keavdog

That nacelle looks fantastic.  Really nice weathering.

 

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.

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. 

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

keavdog

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

 

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.

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.

 

Update March 17, 2022

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

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