I couldn't resist! SR-71A Blackbird

[billn53]

Very nice, Paul. Are those the kit's original decals? I have heard the ones that come with the kit don't go on well. Your's look fine to me.

[mcdonnell]

8 hours ago, billn53 said:

Very nice, Paul. Are those the kit's original decals? I have heard the ones that come with the kit don't go on well. Your's look fine to me.

Hello,Bill - Many thanks for your very kind reply.The Decals,apart from 9SREW Fin Crests ( donated by fellow modeller) were original.I haven’t experienced any issue with Academy’s Decals personally.With all my builds I make sure I have a high-gloss surface for the Decal application and use MicroSet/Sol as a rule.I then apply a further gloss coat to seal everything over prior to final finishing varnish.

 I love the detail work you’re doing with this great subject and look forward to following her progress.Great work,That Man!

 😉👍 All The Best from across the pond,Paul.

[snapper_city]

Good looking build. 

[billn53]

I finally have all my holes cut out, 25 in total (including the cutaways for the landing gear bay PE). I'm mightily glad that job is done!

 

 

As you might expect, I had quite a few instances of knife slippage, so I need to fill in all the various scratches and cuts around my holes. For this job, I used a Liquid Paper pen from my local office supply store.

 

 

The technique is to draw over the scratch with the pen, let the white gunk dry, then wipe it off with isopropyl alcohol. Even the finest scratches get filled in. Here is an example:

 

 

As you can see, I still have a lot of work to do to clean up the area around the holes. This I will defer until the grids are all in place. Speaking of which, I plan to wait until the fuselage halves are together before adding the grids. I anticipate a lot of flexing when I do the fuselage join, and don't want any of my grids popping off.

 

One thing I will need to do before I go much further is to thoroughly clean my workspace. There are gazillions of tiny pieces of plastic everywhere from cutting out all those holes. Not to mention this:

 

 

That's not a scratch -- it's a hair from my cat. Pussy isn't allowed in the workroom but he doesn't like to be left alone and sneaks in anytime I leave the door ajar. He can be quite distracting!

 

 

Ciao until next time!

 

[billn53]

With the week-long surgery mostly finished, I'm at a point where I can resume construction (instead of destruction LOL). This update focuses on finishing off the landing gear bays which, you may recall, is where I first started this build.

 

First, the main landing gear bay. The Eduard PE includes a three-piece assembly that goes in the top of the main bay. These represent metal shields on the actual aircraft, whose purpose is to prevent damage should a tire explode in the bay.

 

 

Here they are, temporarily fitted into the bay:

 

 

The bays and PE were masked and sprayed with Tamiya Titanium Silver. The exterior of the shields was painted red with a hairy brush:

 

 

After gluing the PE in place with CA, I gave everything a black wash to bring out the detail and then applied brown and gray pastels to dirty things up.

 

 

Moving to the nose gear bay, I painted and weathered the Eduard bay (with my hand-built nitrogen tanks)...

 

 

and carefully CA'd it into place.

 

 

Big improvement over the original:

 

 

At this point, I did a test fit of the two fuselage halves and discovered a couple of problems, both easily corrected. First, the nose gear bay interfered with the rear of the cockpit. I fixed this by cutting away a portion of the canopy floor behind the aft bulkhead. This will not be visible when the fuselage is assembled.

 

 

At the opposite end of the aircraft, I found an injection error on the upper fuselage half. I'll fill in the missing area with putty when I assemble the fuselage.

 

 

That's my progress report for the weekend. In retrospect, it doesn't seem like much but I assure you it took more time to do than it took to post.

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2017 by billn53

[Ade]

Great work so far! I look forward to the next update.

[S5 modeller]

Like the work on the grids, the finished result should be worth all the effort. 

 

Matt

[billn53]

Not an update, but I found this video that may be of interest!

 

Black Basing 201: Not Quite Blacks

 

https://youtu.be/jYgAvwBVY_U

 

 

 

[billn53]

The past two evenings have been spent fixing various minor scratches, dings, etc. on the fuselage with Mr. Surfacer and polishing cloths. 

 

 

 

There were also some areas around the grid holes that needed attention. The kit's grids (actually, they look more like grills) aren't all in the correct place, and the PE replacements don't always fit the kit's openings. This is especially so for the gridwork on the top half of the engines:

 

 

Being in an awkward location to work with, I used thin plastic sheet to fill in the guilty areas...

 

 

and then gave everything a layer of putty:

 

 

Just out of curiosity, I decided to try out artist's acrylic paste to see how it works for filling in gaps. It's relatively inexpensive for the amount you get! I'll let you know how it works out...

 

On the Blackbird's belly there are two grids whose location (best I can tell) are way off. I filled these in with Liquid Putty and cut new openings for the PE pieces.

 

 

Finally, while waiting for the putty to harden, I turned my attention to the Wolfpack afterburner and engine nozzles. These are definitely the biggest pieces of resin I've yet had to work with!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2017 by billn53

[matteo44]

Great work! 

[Gremlin]

wow fantastic work so far

 

Cheers

 

[Trencher]

Very inspiring work so far! As a young lad, I had a go at Revell's SR-71. With a generously slapped-on black enamel paintjob and a liberal amount of glue, of course! 

[k5054nz]

1 hour ago, Trencher said:

As a young lad, I had a go at Revell's SR-71. With a generously slapped-on black enamel paintjob and a liberal amount of glue, of course! 

Mine was moulded in black so there was no need for this paint nonsense! Half an hour or so and my Blackbird was doing photorecon sorties around the lounge!

 

It's really enjoyable seeing this come together Bill. And I'm glad I'm not the only one with troublesome assistants!

[billn53]

I looked it up... President Johnson revealed the existence of the SR-71 in 1964. That would have made me ten years old at the time. I'm not sure how soon after that the Revell kit came out, but I do remember building it. And as Zac said, it was molded in black so a little tube glue and slapped-on decals and it was done!

[billn53]

I haven't had a lot of time the past few days, but what time I have had I've spent working on the SR-71's afterburners and exhausts. First, here's what the real aircraft looks like:

 

 

The interior of the afterburner is lined with ceramic. I painted mine a very light gray (FS 36622) and gave it a wash of Flory brown. The flame retainers were also painted light gray. There I used various pastels to make it more interesting and better match what I've seen in photos.

 

 

And the pair partially assembled. There's still about an inch and a half of nozzle to add!

 

 

I'm hoping to get more build time in this weekend. Who knows, I might even be able to button up the fuselage!

Edited October 28, 2017 by billn53

[Tim Moff]

Great work.....did the academy kit in a Mildenhall Habu (I was bought up there and used to see the launches). Look forward to seeing yours finished!

 

[billn53]

Thanks, Tim. Long ago I went to an air show at an Air Force base in California. A Blackbird did two passes, one slow and the other fast. At the end of the last it put its nose to the air and simply disappeared. Very impressive!!!

[billn53]

Today I finished assembling, painting, and weathering the Wolfpack resin afterburner cans and nozzles. I'm very happy with how this piece of aftermarket turned out, take a look:

 

 

If you viewed the video I posted earlier this week (Black Basing 201: Not Quite Blacks) you may be wondering exactly what black I am using. What you see in the above pic is Stynylrez primer. It comes in three colors (white, gray, and black) and is airbrush-ready. This is my first time using it and I like it a lot!

 

 

With the engines done (for now), I moved on to installing the cockpit into the upper fuselage:

 

 

I do have a few small gaps, such as around the pilot's IP...

 

 

... and this one at the pilot's aft bulkhead...

 

 

... but they should be easy to fix once the fuselage is buttoned up for good.

 

My biggest concern was that the cockpit would interfere with the nose gear bay, which sits immediately behind the system operator's position. A test fit showed that my worry was unfounded!

 

 

I also checked to see how the aircrew and bang seats fit. I believe the pilot may be a bit too high... I'll check my references and if I am right, cut down the bottom of the seat a wee bit.

 

 

Finally, I did a test to confirm that the Wolfpack afterburner cans will slide into place with the fuselage halves assembled. If there is a problem here, I will need to install the cans prior to joining the fuselage parts. But everything slips together a-okay!

 

 

That's about it for today's work. Looks like tomorrow I'll finally reach the major milestone of buttoning-up the fuselage.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2017 by billn53

[billn53]

Had a busy day today, too many personal things getting in the way of my hobby time. But at the end of it I had a few hours free and put my time to good use!

 

Before closing up the fuselage I had a couple of things to attend to. First, the resin afterburner & nozzle pieces add a good ounce to the rear of the aircraft, and it would be bad form to end up with a tail sitter. A little calculation told me that adding about 13 grams forward, over the nose gear, would be sufficient to compensate. Breaking out my scale, I found a set of fishing weights to fit the bill and with a little 5-minute epoxy the job was done:

 

 

The second item concerned the cockpit. There are a couple of places where sidewalls are missing, leaving a gaping hole that might potentially be noticeable.

 

 

I'm aware that it's going to be hard to see this in the Blackbird's cockpit, even with open canopies, but just to be safe I added sidewalls to blank off the holes.

 

 

Finally, the big moment! After a test fit to make sure everything would come together without problems, and to ascertain where I would need clamps and tape, I glued together the top and bottom fuselage halves using Testor's cement, plus a bit of Tamiya green cap in strategic places:

 

 

I'll give the glue a good 24 hours to do it's job before unclamping and untaping. Then I'll putty and clean up the gaps in preparation for painting.

 

Speaking of painting, I plan on trying the "black basing on black" technique from the video I posted earlier. The video's recommendation is to start with the blackest black as the base coat, then progressively work through lighter shades. So I did a little experimentation to sort out the different shades of black in my paint collection. Here's what I selected as my sample set:

 

 

I hand-brushed a liberal coat of each color on a sheet of white styrene, which gave me this result (I apologize for the poor image, but black is difficult to photograph and the variations between shades hard to see)

 

 

The final tally (darkest to lightest):

 

 

- Alclad gloss black lacquer

- Mr Paint (MRP) 5 (Black)

- Tamiya XF-1 Black & MRP 255 (WWI Night Camouflage Black) -- tied, as far as I can tell

- Vallejo black primer

- MRP 171 (Super Matt Black) & Stynylrez black primer -- tied

- MRP 77 (Nato Black -- has a distinct brownish tint)

- MRP 66 (RLM 66 Schwarzgrau - also has a bit of brownish tint)

- MRP 173 (Tyre/Rubber black)

 

So, it looks like I'll be using the Alclad gloss black lacquer for my base. This will have the added benefit (?) of making any surface imperfections easier to find and correct. But I still have a lot to do before I get to that point. Can anyone spell "grids"? LOL!!!

 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2017 by billn53

[billn53]

I removed the clamps and tape after getting home from work today, and gave my Blackbird a close inspection. Of course, I found a few problem areas!

 

This one I already knew was coming:

 

At the other end, the chine on the bottom of the nose is going to have to be filed down:

 

There's a gap in the join inboard of the left engine intake:

 

And the bottom of the right wing tip didn't seat properly. This one will require some careful work to correct, so I tackled it first.

 

First, I carefully scraped it down as much as I could.

 

Then, I used Tamiya green cap cement to re-glue it in place. A few of my strongest clamps ensured it stayed down until the glue set.

 

With that problem solved, it was time to putty up the long seam between the upper and lower fuselage halves. Nearly all of this join is on the underside of the aircraft, thankfully, where any flaws will be less noticeable. I began by building a trench for the putty from masking tape, to protect the surrounding surface detail.

 

 

With that job done, I applied Perfect Plastic Putty to he seam. A messy job at its best.

 

 

I'll let this sit overnight and tomorrow we'll see how things turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by billn53

[glatisant]

Superb work in every respect. You are a man of rare talents.

[ArmouredSprue]

Superb work.

I'm paying attention since I have the Revell one in my stash with plans to build soon.

Cheers

[billn53]

Just a quick update. I did remove the tape from around the putty and gave the upper & lower fuselage join a good sanding. On inspection, I found a number of areas where there was a step at the join. A combination of filing, scraping, and sanding has fixed this issue (I hope). The black plastic of the kit is making it hard for me to tell how well I'm doing, so I decided to go over the entire seam with Mr Surfacer 500. It should not only fill in some of the surface scratches from all my scraping & sanding, but it should make things easier to see to my old eyes. Here are some pics:

 

First, my Blackbird as she stands now, from beak to tail feathers:

 

Remember this? Some terrible ledges along the chine at the bottom of the nose!

 

 

What it looks like now:

 

There was also a sizable step along the left engine's join line, since removed:

 

My plan is to let the Mr Surfacer dry, sand it down, and then take stock of the situation. I'll probably need to do some re-puttying. Then, progressively finer versions of Mr Surfacer (1000, 1200, and/or 1500) until everything looks good.

 

Finally, last night was Halloween, and I couldn't work on my build because I was busy handing out treats to the kiddies. I couldn't resist dressing for the occasion...

 

 

Remember, make love, not war!

 

 

Edited November 2, 2017 by billn53

[billn53]

Okay, it's Friday evening and I've spent the entire week trying to get the seams at the fuselage join under control. Picking up from where I left off, I sanded down the Mr Surfacer 500 with my trusty toothbrush sander. Definitely a messy job! In retrospect I should have taped over the landing gear bays to protect them from splatter.

 

 

I then followed up with Mr. Surfacer 1000, which for some unknown reason comes in a stylish mahogany color:

 

 

 

One coat wasn't enough to get the job done... note the hairline seam:

 

 

Which is now gone following a couple coats of Mr. Surfacer and some careful hand sanding:

 

 

Some other before-and-after comparisons:

 

Wingtip:

 

Nose chine:

 

Tail (still some putty work needed here):

 

I think I'm at the point now where I can begin installing the various PE grids. Frankly I anticipate this will be a lot of tedious work, and I don't look forward to it. Perhaps I'll take a short break and work on something else, such as building up the PE landing gear doors or adding brake lines and lights to the landing gear. Check in to my next update to see what I've decided.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2017 by billn53

[billn53]

After having slept on the question of what to do next, I decided to go ahead and install the PE grids. But before showing you that work, I thought I'd share some info about tools and such. Here's what I will be using:

 

First, I needed some sort of glue to attach the PE to the ledges we created much earlier in this build. I wanted something that was thick, sticky, and wouldn't set up too quickly. I decided to try some homemade "sprue goo", which is simply pieces of leftover sprue dissolved in liquid plastic cement. If you want to know how to make this stuff, there are plenty of tutorials and videos on the web. Remember, Google is your friend ;-)

 

 

Here's something else that comes in handy for lots of jobs: micro applicators. You can buy these from various hobby suppliers, but their markup is outrageous considering these are basically women's cosmetic brushes for eyelash extensions. I got 400 for only $10 via Amazon.

 

 

And finally, for handling PE and small parts this thing can't be beat. I believe I bought this from Micro-Mark:

 

 

So here we go! After spreading the sprue goo on my ledge, I used my handy pickup tool to put the PE grid in place:

 

 

A couple of lessons learned -- I found that it's important that the curvature of the grids be as close as possible to what is needed before gluing them in place. Also, the sprue goo begins to set up rather quickly, so do only one grid at a time.

 

After a couple hours' work all the grids are in place!

 

 

 

The biggest part of this task is yet to be done, however. I need to fill-in gaps around the PE grids and blend them in with the rest of the fuselage. Here's an example of what I have to fix:

 

 

But I can't start that job until the sprue goo is completely hard, which could take a while. In the meantime I think I'll work on some of the other odds and ends that need attention. The weekend is just getting started, so stay tuned!

Edited November 4, 2017 by billn53