I recently was asked to build the amt 1/72 XB-70. The kit is being supplied to me. Since this is my first build that’s not for me, I wanted to know if there are issues to be on the lookout for with this kit. I guess since this is my first “commissioned” build i am kinda nervous but looking forward to it at the same time. Thanks.
It’s quite a simple (low parts count) kit, is reasonably detailed & mostly goes together OK, but…;
The fuselage comprises the nose & a cylindrical forward section, which is then joined to the wing by two parts (3&4 I think) for the blended rear section of the fuselage. The nose & forward cylinder are fine, but the two rear parts don’t fit so well. When trying to fit them you will be battling between getting them to match the forward cylinder, fit at the wing roots & at the tail.
I would strongly suggest doing a good bit of dry fitting before deciding how to join it all up. I ended joining it all up & accepting that there would be a fair bit of filling at the wing roots (not as noticable as at the fuselage joint).
Thanks milairjunkie, I really appreciate your advice. I guess it can’t be any worse than dealing with their KC-135 wing warp/fit issue.
Not familiar with that one.
The fuse areas concerned are pretty featureless, so any muck up is pretty obvious… I sure if you Google something like “xb-70 build review” you should find some articles that explain it better than I have & maybe with some better suggestions for a better / easier workaround.
Good luck.
That’s a cool project to take on! You get to build one of the slickest airplanes ever and don’t have to pay for it!
I was priviledged to see the one at Dayton around 1998, which was neat because I’m old enough to have followed it in the news when they were flying.
Best of luck with it.
I’ve never built it but have read build blogs of those who have, and I have seen it built at our club meeting. I can say that they all mention fit issues, so I agree with the others who caution you to test-fit frequently.
You might also want to have this thread moved to the Airplanes forum (just PM Aaron), and search there, too, if you haven’t already, because if anyone here has built the kit and posted about it, it’s likely he’d have posted there.