Hello Every one! I just recently got back into modeling from a long hiatis approx.25 years. I’m trying to get my young son interested in something other than video games and t.v. ( I know good luck !) Any way, I bought a 1/48 Testors SR-71 Black bird #7584. I figured it was not too expensive, not very detailed, and something easy I could get back in the swing of things. Did I mention I was only 14 when I stopped modeling, but I’m not completely building stupid if you know what I mean. I’ve been reading and trying to get as much info as I can. This kit seems like more problems than it’s worth though. There’s flashing galore, ejector pin marks all over it, and now i’m only on step 5 but the dang thing isn’t really fitting well. I know you get what you pay for but this just seems ridiculous. Has any one ever built one of these or similar. There are big gaps in the fuselage and It just really seems flat, too flat. It feels like I’m going to use about 3 tubes of filler putty just to make it look half respectable in my own standards. ( which aren’t really that high right now.) I want to finish it, my son really likes the jet. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I would post pics but don’t have the capability to do so. Tanks!
That kit does have some gaps. Some have been built by people who have posted about it recently, and did seem to survive the kit. When you do fill the gaps, you might try a method I have used. Tape on both sides of the seam you need to fill, leaving the tape about 1/16 or so away from both sides of the seam. Then mix a little nail polish remover or lacuer thinner in with the putty and spread it in, trying to use as little as possible. I use a little flat stainless steel tool to spread the putty. If the putty starts to dry on me I just thin it a little more. I use Tamya putty, a lot of people use the Squadron brand. Another filler to use is Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer 500, which is very thick primer you can brush on.
Good luck, you can do it. I think all of the SR-71 kits will have gap issues, it kind of comes with the shape of the beast.
John,
Thanks for the tips and encouragement. I greatly appreciate it. I have the squadron putty. I was just on the Testors web site and saw that they are selling this kit for $50. WOW, I actually have had this kit for a little over a year. I bought it one day as I was walking through the mall and stumbled across a hobby store. That was a find in itself. They’re hard to find where I live. Of corse, It’s no longer there! My son liked it so I figured what the heck. It could be a rainy day project. I found it in the closet a few weeks ago and he’s been bugging me to put it together. The thing is it really relit a desire in me to start building again. The price tag on it was $24.99. Can’t believe it went up that much since then. Thanks again. I’m sure I’ll have more questions as I go along. I can’t believe This thing was in service before 1970. Makes you wonder what really went on in roswell all those years ago…LOL!
You’re welcome. I’m surprised that Testors has priced the kit so high now. There are a lot of helpful people on this forum, you will find.
It’s great that your son is interested. I have an 8 year old grandson that figures he’s going to make a pretty good dent in my stack of kits. We went out and flew an RC plane some today, the first “stick time” he has had. We have put together several models in the past, but at present he is kind of stalled on a Tamiya Patton tank. He picked it to build, but it has too many little bits and when he has had enough he says his fingers are tired. Some of the older Monogram kits like the T-28 or the FW-190 are better choices for kids. At first I let him nip the parts off the sprues, then I added putting the glue on. He’s now where he can start to go it alone on the right kit.
I have built most of the SR-71 kits on the market including the one you are working on. It most definately IS a difficult kit. It is pretty accurate as far as scale to the real one, but the way the kit parts fit together leaves a lot to be desired. I use pretty much the same method listed above with the tape and minimum putty. The less putty you plaster on the model, the less that you have to sand off.
These two photos are of the Testors 1/72 SR-71 that I built as the C model trainer. It was a hangar queen at Beale from 1976 until it was trucked to the museum at Hill AFB, Utah in 1990. I scratch built all of the red protective covers and tow bar. More photos can be viewed at:
http://s130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/texgal45/YB%20Jets/SR%2017981/
Click on the first photo and then use the “next” & “back” buttons to step through the rest of the photos.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
Yardbird,
Thanks for the reply. The pics of your 71 are most impressive. The detail you added is amazing. I hope I can build something that even remotely resembles that. I’m glad I’m not the only one who had or is having problems with this build. I noticed that you made the modification that the kit suggests for the CIA version of the aircraft, with cutting the little tail section off at the back. I was thinking about this but it may be more than I could handle. Did you also use the paint mixture that they suggest for the titanium color? That was kind of worring me too with that coming up in the next few steps. Also, I should wait till the buils is comlete before I start the “putty project” right.
John , My son is also 8. I also gave him the job of cutting the parts off the sprue. With all the flashing on some of the parts he’s having a little challenge himself. I have to make sure he’s not cutting the part.
The SR-71C is actually a composite aircraft built from the tail section, (wings, nacelles and aft fuselage), of YF-12 # 06934 and an SR-71 forward fuselage test article. I did essentially the same thing by combining the aft portions of the YF-12 model with the front section of an SR-71 model. I used the B model raised aft cockpit and filled in the camera ports since the trainers did not carry cameras. I used straight Model Masters flat black paint on the whole airframe and then highlighted panels lines and the composite, triangular, radar reflectors on the wing leading edges with a prisma color silver pencil.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
Medic18;
Welcome to the forum [#welcome] as you’ll find out there are alot for great people on this site with loads of great ideas to help you do your modeling needs, as for your build I’ve seen Squadron (mail order Hobby shop) has the resin cockpit (Which is 100 times better) for your model, this will bring the detail out and make it look really great, but the cost is $8.96 if your intrested, I’ve built that kit about 24 years ago (When it came out) when I was stationed at Nellis AFB, and a few years ago I stripped it back down and re-built it but I re-scribed the panel lines, the main problem is the seam just forward of the refueling receiptical, But remember is just have fun and relax and who cares what the the critics say as long as it makes you happy
You might also consider the Revell kit if the Testors one really starts to gnaw at you. I built the Revell kit in a day, and the gaps that did appear were very hard to see with the black paint. It also has very nice cockpit detail, as well.
Thanks for the help and advice guys. I’m determined to finish this. It’s nice to know there are a lot of helpfull people on here. YOU GUYS ARE GREAT !
Chris