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Well, here she is! Revell's 1:48 SR-71 Blackbird in all her glory. This was a project asked of me around August last year, in order to be done for SMW'22 at Telford. It was a big project and down to the wire as I was still working on her at 2am on the Friday I was meant to be leaving for Telford! Anyway... Built for Revell UK, she shall be seen at various shows, both model related and not, advertising the Revell brand and what they are capable of producing, around the UK this year. She's now in their capable hands for the foreseeable future, so it was a good thing I was taking photographs of her at 2am, almost reminiscent of the night before Telford. Safe to say, I probably won't build anything this big again, especially to photograph as it was a nightmare to even get these half decent shots! Not a bad build and if you take your time, everything fits fine. a Few sink marks needed filling here and there but nothing major or to worry about. See you round! https://www.facebook.com/jamescommissionbuilds

Just coming in under the wire for 2022 here is my last build of the year; the Italeri/Testors 1/72 Lockheed YF-12A "Blackbird". The YF-12A was a 2 seat version of the CIA's A-12 built as a high speed high altitude fighter-interceptor. Although some would say that it was just an elaborate cover story to hide the real purpose of the SR-71. I read a review of this kit that praised the near perfect fit of this kit which would require no filler. I can only think that reviewer must live in and alternate universe because what I got in this Testors' boxing was a typical Italeri kit with short run model poor fit, Especially problematic was the the fir of the upper front fuselage to the upper rear and and the inside joints on the engine nacelles. Unlike the A-12 and the SR-71 only the chines on the YF-12A were painted black leaving the rest of the fuselage and wings bare titanium. The only titanium paint I could find was AK's Extreme Metal AK 669. I have been very happy with AK's Real Colors so I got that. But it also has a special primer and cleaner, so I got those too. The primer is supposed to have a high gloss black finish but what I got was a pebbly semi gloss black that never fully dried and remained tacky. I sanded it smooth and masked it with Tamiya mask and sprayed on the titanium. Unfortunately, when I pulled the mask off the glue stayed behind on the black primer. Mineral Spirits removed the glue with some rubbing and left most of the black, which was still tacky, but took enough of the black off that I mask the titanium and respray the black areas with the AK Real Color "flat" black, which is a semi gloss. This time when I removed the mask only a little of the glue stuck to the titanium. Once again Mineral Spirits removed it this time without hurting the titanium. I have never had this happen before, especially not with Alclad, although I never got a nice gloss finish with Alclad primer either. The decals were by Scale Master and pretty old. They turned out to work very well but, I only used them for the serial number and FX number. The rest came from other sheets. Not my best work, but I think it came out OK. Sorry for the dark pictures but it is a dark and rainy day here in my part of North America. Next up is a EB-66C using the Italeri EB-66E kit and the Airwave conversion Enjoy and Happy New Year

Hi guys, Here is my Italeri 1/48 YF-12A. A old kit from 1983 with a lot of flaws but I chose to build it pretty much out of the box since the size is impressive enough. There are a lot of aftermarket goodies for it but most are quite expensive so chose to go OOB. I only added new seats and wheels and off course new decals since the kit ones weren't useable anymore, Caracal decals came to the rescue. Erik

Seen in the Phoenix Scale Publications stand at Telford (https://www.phoenixscalepublications.co.uk/ & https://www.facebook.com/phoenixscalepublications), the Vintage Fighter Series future 1/32nd Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird special edition injected kit - ref. - scheduled for mid 2023. 🤪 Source: https://www.facebook.com/phoenixscalepublications/posts/pfbid02xjSwddmAejAJtCVhMA8BQy9aXuyVijZp7DxRcg7oML8W6VrfofQppERg4H7cnAeul V.P.

SR-71A Ejection Seats PRINT (648758 for Revell) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Revell’s new SR-71A Blackbird in 1:48 has catapulted the old Testors kit into the back of the stash, and brings a lot more detail to the party, as well as a much more structurally rigid model once complete. Eduard’s heap of detail sets for this kit was already quite long, and you can see some of our other reviews here, here, and here too. This new set provides a pair of directly 3D Printed ejection seats for the Blackbird in incredible detail. The set arrives in a flat Brassin pack with card insert keeping it and the instructions straight, and the parts themselves are safely inside a small clear plastic box to prevent crush damage and jostling. Inside the clear foil bag is the box containing both ejection seats, which has a small sticky label to reduce the likelihood of excessive movement within. The detail is truly stunning, and there is more to come from the included Photo-Etch (PE) sheet of seatbelts, and a small decal sheet that contains stencils for the sides of the seat. Construction is simple, as much of the detail is already printed. The belts and pull-handles are also pre-painted and nickel-plated, so painting of the seat itself is all you need do, apply the stencils to the sides of the seats, then glue on the belts as instructed, all of which is times two, as the Blackbird is a two-seater. The detail is exceptional, which is what we’ll come to expect in the 3D printing age we’re entering. The cushions, sides of the seat and other such details are crisp and accurate, with the first print as good as the last, removing the lottery that was mould-wear on traditional cast resin. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Welcome one and all to my next build, Revell's venerable 1/72 SR-71 Blackbird. I've seen some fantastic 48th scale blackbirds built around these parts in the last few months and was inspired to have a go at my own version of this amazing aircraft. I pondered long and hard at which kit to buy as all the 1/72 versions seem to have their issues... In the end Revell's boxing was relatively cheap, quick to be delivered and had a nice cockpit, with pilots(!), which I'm a sucker for, even if i they're going to be pretty much invisible. The kit turned up in a slightly battered state, though the box art is lovely: Everything is in black plastic, there are raised panel lines, a bit of flash and first impression is that the cockpit, indeed, is great, but the rest is going to need wrestling together. I'm already envisaging a fair bit of sanding and filling and that'll probably lead to a load of rescribing, how much I'm not sure yet, but I'm really keen to get a clean, crisp finish which is going to require a fair bit of elbow grease! So far I've just got the cockpit and pilots done. This was a mix of airbrushing the base coats followed by detail painting, shading and highlighting with brushes. Not going to see much of this with the canopies on but at least I'll know the pilots are well turned out in there! I'll try and keep regular updates going on this one but won't bore you with too many gory details of ill fitting parts and lashings of sprue goo... Thanks for dropping by! Sam

Hi all, Here is another Blackbird topic from me. In this WIP I will present the improvements/modifications I am planning to do on recently released 1:48 Revell SR-71A using the 3D printed parts I modeled for my other ongoing Blackbird/Oxcart projects. I will not go in detail for the kit review because recently @Mike posted an excellent review here: and @Alan P did a great WIP and RFI here: Here are some pictures of boxart and the sprues: The built Blackbird is the 1:48 Italeri/Testors kit which is used currently for 1:48 A-12B "Titanium Goose" conversion reported here: I hope you will enjoy this build. Serkan

Hi all, Here is another build of Oxcart/Blackbird series: A-12B "Titanium Goose" based on 1:48 Italeri/Testors kit. I had built this kit 30 years ago but during some house moves (one of them was international) as many of my other models this bird was also heavily damaged. I decided to recover this model 2 years ago and applied the black primer to complete the build. But after the announcement of 1:48 Revell Blackbird kit release this projects was suspended till today. As many of you I had pre-ordered my Revell sample too and this new kit has arrived in beginning of December. Recently @Alan P has started a work in progress topic here: I follow this topic with great interest and it helps a lot to see the areas/parts that need to be improved. I decided to launch here this topic to share the results using the 3D printed parts developed in my another topic: In this topic I will convert 1:48 Italeri/Testors SR-71A/B "Blackbird" model into A-12B "Titanium Goose". It will be also a good test bench to check how all these printed parts look like in 1:48 scale and if they fit the kit... I wish you all merry Xmas. Serkan

PLatz is to rebox the Dragon 1/144th Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird kit - ref. AE144-6 Source: https://www.facebook.com/platz.global/posts/421128506197384 V.P.

Howdy, Which 1/72 Blackbird kit, if any, offers the option for the B model trainer? I know at least 1/48 kit does. Thank you folks!

SR-71 BlackBird Jet Nozzles 1:72 Metallic Details The Lockheed SR-71 was the ultimate in fast reconnaissance aircraft fielded by the USAF. With a top speed over Mach 3 (which was never actually disclosed) the aircraft needed a new at the tine Pratt & Whitney J58 engine. The exhausts and afterburner provided quite a distinguishable feature on the air frame. At speeds of over mach three the rotating parts of the engine produced only drag with the afterburner providing 100% of thrust. As with many kits the engine molding while OK in plastic cant compare with the castings available in resin. This new set fro Metallic Details is a four part affair which needs only minimal cleaning up before fitting together. The casting is first rate and these will make your finished model realy pop. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I don't usually do a WIP for my projects for a number of reasons but, it was suggested that I start one for this project. So I figured I would give it a try. This project will be converting the venerable Hasegawa P-2H (P2V-7) Neptune kit To an OP-2E version using the newly released Blackbird conversion kit Also while I was waiting for the Blackbird conversion kit to come out I came across another white metal conversion by a company called C Scale My current plan is to only used the chaff dispenser which is the circled part. Finally I will be using the Pavla P2V-7 cockpit interior set Augmented with the Eduard P2V-7 cockpit set and mask set. The Blackbird set does not come with decals but both Caracal and Wolfpak do have sheets and while the Wolfpak one is out of production and I couldn't find it anywhere I was able to get the Caracal one So I think I have everything I need so it is time to get started. The Blackbird resin looks pretty goo but it is not without issues But that is easy to fix. It looks like he tried to just make some mods to the instruction for the AP-2H conversion and reuse them. So far I have found a couple of issues. The first of these is with removing the front of the fuselage. The drawing show cutting off the front of the bomb bay door is the process. None of the sources I have describe this as part of the conversion and in fact the Wayne Mutza book says that the bombay was enlarged, although I am guessing that was mostly internal. On the other hand the plug provided to fill the hole left by removing the radar is long enough to fill the bay door section removed. In my first cut I left the bay doors intact but I will probably cut them back. The other issue is on the other end; clipping the tail. The instructions show removing a sizable section including the mounting area for the stabilizer. But there is no way that the tail piece provided can replace that much area or the mounts So this is where I decided to only remove the MAD portion of the tale and use the C Scale chaff dispenser to fill the hole. So today I primed the resin parts and sprayed the interior gray and I cut up the fuselage Still to do will be to remove the large bulge on the bottom of the tail and cut back the bomb bay door. Then I'll start of the cockpit details.

As my another ongoing Blackbird project is close to end and all necessary parts for this one were built during that project I decided to launch a parallel thread for M/D-21. This build will include all resin parts I casted for A-12 here: There will be some addons on D-21 Tagboard, namely the nose and tail cones used during drone transportation. Serkan

On display in the Revell stand at the Nurnberg Toy Fair 2020. Revell is to release a new tool 1/48th Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird kit in 2021 (or later as Revell is not famous for the respect of such deadlines). Source: http://www.greenmats.club/forums/topic/6758-revell-1-sr-71-засветился-в-нюрнберге/ Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2805402012855804&set=pb.100001580974587.-2207520000..&type=3&theater V.P.

Hi everyone, after the Telford pre-release, my new AG-330 Start Cart kit (1:48) is now officially released. It's available directly from my website: https://www.hypersonicmodels.com/product/ag-330-start-cart as well as: the48ers F4dable Models BNA Modelworld Thank you for your attention Cheers, Jeffrey

During Ced's recent MD-21 build I have decided to build some Blackbird versions using the kits in my stash. But I was not aware that all available models have major issues to be corrected to build a real Blackbird (whatever the version is). After spending couple of weeks for searching the reference materials (pictures and drawings) I have decided to go with my own drawings based on available pictures and my engineering judgements. Here I would like to share my findings as well as the pictures of my drawings and comparison results. Of course all feedback and comments are very important to build each of these legendary aircrafts as accurate as possible. Serkan

Hi, Here is my Italeri Blackbird Original panel lines are raised. So i do at first a sanding on all the plane and the panel lines were engraved I use Tamiya & Gunze Acrylics for painting Wheathering was done with pastel and oil. [

This is my Lockheed AP-2H Neptune using the Hasegawa P2V-7 kit and the Blackbird conversion set and decals. The AP-2H's were 4 P-2H (P2V-7) Neptunes converted to a Gunship configuration and used in Viet Nam. They were equipped with a Forward Looking IR (FLIR)sensor and Low Light TV (LLTV) in a pod in the nose, replacement radar, tail turret, fuselage mounted grenade launchers, downwards firing wing mounted miniguns and Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR). Bombs and napalm could also be carried on under wing pylons. In addition both the piston and jet engines where equipped with sound dampeners. They were then painted with a 3 color gray camouflage. While there is at least one of these on display much of the special equipment such as the SLAR, sound dampers and armament was removed when they were when they were withdrawn from Viet Nam so, good photographic documentation is almost none existent. The Hasegawa kit is old and shows its age with raised panel lines, flash, and a bare cockpit but, it went together well. I used a combination of the Pavla resin interior overlayed with the Eduard etched brass that I think came out well. One comment is that the Pavla set includes 2 nicely cast seats for the pilot and copilot but, it does not have one for the observer in the nose. So I had to use the kit one spruced up with the Eduard seat belts. The Blackbird resin and decals were excellent, but both instructions were very lacking. The sound dampers were included but there were no instructions on mounting or coloring, and the some total of the decal instruction was a small left side profile. I assume this is because of the above mentioned lack of photos, but some commentary would have been helpful. Also the decals are missing the prop warning stripe and the jet intake warning chevron. I am guessing this is because there was no room on the sheet for them. Both of these are different then the normal red stripes and chevron that are solid red lines. These should be thin parallel lines with a space between them. I cheated and used a solid line for the prop warning, but punted on the jet intake warning. So on to the pictures. So I made some mods; Uncovered the cheek windows, repainted the SLAR and jet engine sound dampers and added some Mk 82 bombs I still have 2 more Neptunes that I plan on building: an OOB P2V-7 and a P2V-5 with the Blackbird conversion, but these will have to wait since next up is the Mach 2 (arrg) Ryan X-13 Verijet. Enjoy

Modelcollect is to release a 1/72nd Lockheed A-12 Oxcart / SR-71 Blackbird family. Source: https://www.facebook.com/Modelcollect/photos/a.153755038112938/1136440403177725 Box art - ref. UA72??? - Lockheed A-12 Oxcart Any link with the Kiwi Models project ? https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235026630-172-lockheed-a-12-project-oxcart-by-kiwi-models-box-art/ V.P.

May I present to you my fourth build this year following a long absence from this hobby: plus a wee bit of aftermarket: And many shades of black! WIP is here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235027443-i-couldnt-resist-sr-71a-blackbird/ Lots of pics follow, so hold on to your hats!

HpH is reported working (3D) on a 1/32nd Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird polyurethan resin kit. Sources: http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=105045&start=405 http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=28641&p=882912 V.P.

Metallic Details has just released two impressive improvement sets for the old 1/48th Italeri/Testors Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird kit. Source: https://www.facebook.com/metdetails/posts/517600175117673 - ref. MD4816 - Grids & jet nozzles Available: http://metdetails.com/catalog/metalic-details/aircraft/148/md4816-sr-71-blackbird-grides-and-jet-nozzles - ref. MDR4804 - Inlet cones Source: https://www.facebook.com/metdetails/posts/517599088451115 Available: http://metdetails.com/catalog/metalic-details/aircraft/148/mdr4804-sr-71-blackbird-inlet-cone V.P.

OK - I go to Rio on the 29th so this is a bit of a gamble......I started looking at the kit whilst finishing the A10 and Harrier......then I cut some parts from the sprues....then primed.....you know how it is!! The kit looks fairly shake and bake, simple colour (!!), with a bit of post shading can add some wear and tear.... Decals are from Wolfpak Recce birds, with a choice of the older white serials, 17964, or the later red serial, 17964 or 17980, which also had camels painted on after the Libyan raid in 1986. I lived in Lakenheath and remember the Habu well, going up to the end of the runway on school hols, early, to catch them launching and going vertical! I was on leave as a 16 year old Junior Para during the week before and the night of the Libyan raid, and the 2 Habu's were flying daily, so we knew something was up. The night 48TFW launched 24 F111F's, (6 returned as spares, 18 pressed on) and we could here the KC135 and KC10 launches from Mildenhall.....we thought WW3 had started - it was in fact the start of the attack phase of Operation El Dorado Canyon. The Habu's had been gathering intelligence and target photos in the week before. 17980 taken on 25 April 86, post Op El Dorado Canyon Later we heard about the strike in Libya and that 1 F111F of the 494TFS 'Karma 52' was lost, with both crew. http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-eldorado-canyon-libya-under-air-attack-in-1986/ The Mildenhall SR71 story http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/mildenhall.html http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/oldstuff/2006/sr71/sr71.htm This raid operation was a distraction from their day to day role in the 1980s....strategic recce for NATO against the Warsaw Pact. The SR71A was, in hindsight, one of the main symbols of the cold war in my eyes....as well as the U2/TR1. The KIT! So, I needed 2 crew - you remember the doomed Hobbycraft F5E - the Pilot was rescued, converted slightly and made to look like he was wearing a 'David Clark S1030' Full pressure suit.....along with a Harrier Pilot that looked like a Spitfire Pilot in my last Sea Harrier build. A bit of filler and sanding and he was now in the rear pit! Didn't try too hard as when the canopies are closed you can see very little inside. http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/press_suit001.html Primed and painted the interior the standard US airforce colour. I then pretty much put it together! Be some work to do on seams, cleaning up the gear doors etc.....so I am on track....ish!

Hello, Here's my recently finished 1/72 Italeri YF-12A. It's completely OOB, painted with Tamiya paints mostly, and weathered with some pastel powder. Not the best kit in the world, but it looks alright from a few feet away. I hope you like it. Thanks for looking, Pete

GAF (Avro) Lincoln Enhancement Set for the Blackbird Models Conversion 1/72 Red Roo Models Following on from the success of the Lancaster, Avro's infamous chief designer Roy Chadwick, developed the Lincoln as a natural evolution with the purpose of being able to fly higher, further and with a greater payload as a result of the longer wing span, greater fuel capacity and more powerful Merlin engines. Despite the prototype being first tested in 1944 shortly after D-Day, the Lincoln was too late to see service in WWII although was intended to join the Tiger Force against Japanese forces. Apart from the extended wings and fuselage, the nose was redesigned significantly incorporating optically flat panels instead of the characteristic Lancaster blister nose ti improve visibility for the bomb aimer. A further modification included a Boulton Paul turret armed with two .50 Browning machine guns. As well as this was the introduction of a mid upper Bristol turret with two 20mm cannon to significantly improve defensive firepower. The Lincolns began to replace the 4 engine heavies in RAF service soon after the war with plans to produce versions in Canada and Australia. With the end of hostilities, production in Canada was ended with only one aircraft produced, but the Department of Aircraft Production in Australia (later known as Government Aircraft Factory) produced 73 Mk.30's. The first of these entered service with No.82 wing at RAAF Amberley in 1949 where they replaced Liberators. In the 1950's, the RAAF needed the Lincoln to perform anti-submarine- duties. To incorporate the necessary equipment, 20 aircraft with modified in to Mk.31's with the most notable difference being a 6.5' nose extension. Whilst this enabled carriage of the anti-submarine equipment, the long nose made it incredibly difficult to land, particularly at night due to poor visibility. 10 of the Mk.31's were later updated to MR Mk.31 to facilitate maritime reconnaissance duties. The RAAF Lincolns took part in bombing missions along side the RAF aircraft in the 1950's operating out of RAF Tengah in Singapore during the Malayan Conflict. The RAAF eventually retired its Lincolns in 1961. The enhancement set This set is designed to enhance the Blackbird Lincoln conversion set for the Airfix Lancaster B.II that was released two years ago. Whilst the Blackbird set isn't the only conversion around (Paragon which is like rocking horse poo and the readily available Flightpath set), it is the only one for the latest Airfix Lancaster kits. I built the Blackbird kit last year (HERE) and as you can see below, it builds in to an impressive replica. Whilst the Blackbird conversion contains most of the key features to produce a pleasing Lincoln, there are still gaps in the parts list necessary to complete an accurate conversion. I addressed several of these details by scratch building, but used the Airfix FN.82 rear turret as the next best thing to the Boulton Paul 'D' type turret that was actually fitted. This is where the Red Roo set comes in with particular focus on the Australian variants, namely the Mk.30 and Mk.31's. Before I get in to the part contents, it's important to pay homage to the instructions contained in this enhancement set. I know from the build above how much research is required to complete the Lincoln conversion accurately and Red Roo have made this element of the build stress free by including an incredibly comprehensive 13 page A4 colour instruction booklet. Diagrams and detailed explanations clearly navigate the builder through the finer details of the Lincoln assembly referring to both the Blackbird conversion and Airfix Lancaster donor kit. Further, on page 11, there is a matrix of all the Mk.31's produced with the variations in turret armament , flare outlet plate, rocket rails and roundel configurations. Whilst this set is focussed on the Australian variants, the instructions would of been most welcome in building my RAF rendition of this forgotten bomber, in particular, the angular cut necessary on the rear fuselage to achieve the correct profile after inserting the fuselage lengthening plug. The parts supplied come in various formats, resin, brass coloured white metal, platicard and steel wire. The contents are: Correct Bristol Type D rear turret - resin base and gun mount with clear resin front and rear sections & white metal .50 brownings Mid upper turret - resin base and early / later clear resin cupolas, white metal 20mm cannon .50 Browning barrels for front turret - white metal Rocket rails that were carried on the Australian variants (paper template included for accurate location under the wings) Gun laying equipment blister Strike camera housing Various aerials carried by RAAF variants (white metal, resin and steel wire) Resin windows for the Mk.31 extended nose Correct tail wheel The resin components are of very good quality. The mid upper turret is located further forwards than on a Lancaster due to the extra weight, so a 15mm diameter hole will need drilling in the fuselage as explained thoroughly in the instructions. It's important to check your references on the aircraft you are building as to whether it used the early 'flatter' cupola or whether it uses the later more rounded version which has the strengthening frame across it further back from the centre line. The white metal components are nicely represented, although given the nature of the material, slightly less well defined in detail compared to the resin. That said, the perforations in the .50's are good as you can see in the photo below. The clear resin parts are nicely moulded and look to be accurate. In the review set, the later mid upper cupola has a few minor bubbles and slightly more distortion in comparison with the early version, but with a dip in Kleer, all parts should look good. Notable in the review pack was two copies of the 20mm cannon Conclusion Clearly, tackling a build that involves cutting up a kit and inserting significant plugs and additional detail is not aimed at inexperienced modellers, so this enhancement set does expect a degree of modelling competence. One could argue that some of the parts contained should of been included in the Blackbird conversion (correct BP rear turret in particular), so it is great to see a solution available. Having built the Blackbird conversion which is a great set in itself, this enhancement set would of made the build much easier, both in terms of the research provided in the instructions and the additional parts that would normally require scratch building (20mm cannon and mid upper base for example). Of course, buying a conversion and then an enhancement set pushes up the cost somewhat, but if, like me, you had wanted to build a detailed Lincoln for many years using a good donor kit, the investment is justifiable. Given the contents of this set, whilst it is primarily marketed as a RAAF enhancement, it is equally valid on an RAF variant too. Review sample courtesy of