B-52G kit advice

High on my to-buy list is a B-52G in 1/72. I’ve loved them since I grew up seeing the BUFFs of the 319th Bomb Wing in Grand Forks, ND. (along with KC-135s and later B-1Bs)

From my research it seems my likeliest available options are kits from Model Collect, Italeri, or AMT. Are there any reasons NOT to buy one of these kits, and are there better options out there? The price tag on these kits is many times what I’m used to spending (I get it…they’re huge), so I just want to do my due diligence beforehand.

Thanks for any advice!

Hey there Schmidty…

I haven’t built this one yet. My dad flew the B52 pre-Vietnam and taught other pilots how to fly it. I actually met one of those pilots in my professional life. I moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in 2001 and one of the people I worked with asked if my dad was such and such… Which he was and he said that my dad taught him how to fly the B52… Anyway…

As I said, I haven’t built this, but I have the Italeri models in my wish list as my kit of choice. Take that with a grain of salt.

If you do start this project, we’d love to see the build pictures of it.

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Don’t forget the classic Revell/Monogram B-52 in 1/72 scale too.

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That’s a really cool story! Small world.

I’ve been leaning towards the Italeri. The one with the Hound Dog missiles. Whenever I do get to it, I’ll be sure to put up some pics

I can’t remember right now, but I may have seen it. I’ll keep an eye out for it as I scour the internet for a deal!

The Italeri kit is a rebox of the AMT kit. Depending upon which boxing you get, it may or may not have new parts from Italeri. The Monogram BUFF is a tall tail D variant.

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If I remember correctly, AMT made two variants of their B-52. One was an early with the tall tail and it came with “Hound Dog” missiles and then a late version with the short tail and I believe that version came with cruise missiles.

AMT did two short tail 1/72 B-52 kits, the G and the H.

AMT/ERTL B-52 Kits

If (big IF) I understand correctly, these kits are now the Italeri G & H kits.

I feel like if I ever build a BUFF, I’m going to need a tiny Slim Pickens to go with it.

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I believe that there was a resin figure model a few years ago of Slim riding the atomic bomb.

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Oh my. That would be an awesome gateway to figures. LOL

Yep! That’s the model I was thinking of and that looks great in that B&W color scheme.