Metallic Details SR-71 Blackbird Jet Nozzles (MDR4859) 1:48

[Mike]

SR-71 Blackbird Jet Nozzles (MDR4859)

1:48 Metallic Details

 

 

We were treated to a 1:48 SR-71 in 1982 thanks to Italeri, and it has been rereleased over the years in many boxes from a number of manufacturers, most notably Testors and Italeri, but also Tamiya as one of their cooperative ventures.  Its age makes it ripe for detail upgrades, and there have been many, but this new jet exhaust set from Metallic Details is quite special, utilising the most modern mastering technology we have – 3D Printing.  The set arrives in a card box, and inside are eight resin parts in separate bags, plus some clear foil to keep things safe during transit.

 

 

 

Each exhaust is made up from four parts of exquisitely detailed resin parts that have such fine detail and tight tolerances that the two parts that arrive slotted together appear as one until you pull them apart.  If you applied too much glue or paint, you may spoil the fit.  The forwardmost part of the assembly depicts the rear of the engine face and the afterburner ring, which are deeply recessed and finely cast.  That slides inside the exhaust trunk, which mates tightly with the next part, together making the inlets that partly surround the trunk, and it is these two parts that are handed due to the arrangement of the inlets.  The final part is the exhaust nozzle, which is deeply ribbed inside and each petal is finely riveted, another masterpiece of design work.  Each set of parts makes up one trunk, and care must be taken to ensure that the Left and Right marked parts are correctly positioned for accuracy’s sake.  Careful painting in metallic shades will show off the detail, and let’s be honest – the detail is fabulous, as can be seen below in the detail shots.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Metallic Details continue to excel, and every time I open one of their sets to review, I’m astonished by the level of detail, finesse and fit that is included in the box.  Mind-boggling stuff.

 

Extremely highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of

 

 

[redcap]

Excellent review and photos Mike thank you.

 

The only problem with these pieces is that they will simply amplify just how basic and poor the rest of the base Testors/Italeri 1/48 kit is. Hopefully, they will re-engineer the set to fit the announced Revell 1/48 SR-71 once released as I am sure the kit parts won't be anything like these jewels!

 

Thanks again.

Gary

[Filler]

That looks a beautiful set and I see that they do some other nice parts for the same kit. But to justify buying such fine exhausts, surely you'd want to address a lot more of the kits deficiencies?

 

But crikey, to have a nice SR-71 you're perhaps looking at:

 

Italeri Kit: £130 plus (if not already in the stash)

Metallic Details exhausts: £55

Metallic Details landing gear: £56

Metallic Details corrected nose cone: £25

Metallic Details inlet cone: £45

True Details cockpit set: Sold out and likely going to cost a lot on eBay - if you could ever find one.

Master pitot: £5

Caracal or Afterburner decals: Sold out and anyone's guess how much on eBay, if they appear.

 

Perhaps in the region of £400 for a Blackbird.

 

I'm out.

 

[Filler]

Sorry @Mike, I didn't mean to confuse, but I appreciate I did go off on one. I think Gary neatly summed up what I was trying to get at whilst I was typing. Hopefully the Revell effort will be of an overall higher quality base kit and with luck these will fit it and they will do each other justice. They really do look to be some of the finest aftermarket exhausts I've ever seen.

[Mike]

4 hours ago, redcap said:

Hopefully, they will re-engineer the set to fit the announced Revell 1/48 SR-71 once released as I am sure the kit parts won't be anything like these jewels!

That's the beauty of CAD.  You shouldn't have to start from scratch if you've been careful with your design.  I'm looking forward to the same scenario too

[Shalako]

On 9/3/2020 at 6:00 PM, Filler said:

Perhaps in the region of £400 for a Blackbird.

 

I'm out.

 

Ain't that the truth!

 

I'm in a similar position with my ESCI S-3 (£56 for a resin wheel bay!!!😡) and the cost keeps rising BUT, in the end, it is our hobby and we do have the thinking mentality that can help us decide which aftermarket set will truly benefit our build, and which one is of secondary importance.

 

If you don't want to improve the exhausts/intakes that's easy. You buy a set of covers and you're done and instead you invest on buying a resin set for the cockpit and some new wheel wells. I know I make it sound rather simplistic but, that's how things are if you think about it.

 

Will I invest £56 to buy the resin wheel bay for my S-3? If I find it even £6 cheaper I will. But, I'm not going to buy a new set of decals neither a bomb bay set (after all, when the S-3 was parked the bomb bays doors were closed. Lucky me!!!).

 

Just my two cents.

[lesthegringo]

We are into true fan country here. I absolutely love the SR-71 and is one of the few things myself and Jeremy Clarkson will ever agree on: it is simply the most beautiful man made object. 

 

However until I  can command the overblown salaries that he manages, 400 quid means I'll keep it as a dream and no more.

 

Les

[Ray Madani]

@Mike Hi Mike,

I've never used a 3D-printed part. I see some nasty markings and layer patterns on those parts. Should we sand them off or just accept them? 
What is your experience like? I appreciate you if you could spare a few minutes to enlighten me.

 

Cheers

[Mike]

1 minute ago, Ray Madani said:

I've never used a 3D-printed part. I see some nasty markings and layer patterns on those parts. Should we sand them off or just accept them? 

You have to realise that they're magnified to the nth degree, and scoped out by a decent DSLR with a noice lens When you get that down to ordinary human(ish) eyes they're almost invisible, and under a coat of primer they just disappear.  Speaking generically, the worse the printer and the set-up of the part on the bed, the worse the lines will be, so people that do it for a living are generally really good at it.  SLS printing (which this is) is much better than the deposition layer type too, using far thinner layers that are tiny.  At some point in my short and uninteresting life I want to see whether this set will fit the new Revell kit

[LorenSharp]

Those exhausts look pretty nifty @Mike. I have the MD P/E exhaust set somewhere in the stash, but these take those to a whole 'nother  level. Much better than the Cutting Edge set(and probably a whole lot cheaper too)

[Ray Madani]

16 hours ago, Mike said:

You have to realise that they're magnified to the nth degree, and scoped out by a decent DSLR with a noice lens When you get that down to ordinary human(ish) eyes they're almost invisible, and under a coat of primer they just disappear.  Speaking generically, the worse the printer and the set-up of the part on the bed, the worse the lines will be, so people that do it for a living are generally really good at it.  SLS printing (which this is) is much better than the deposition layer type too, using far thinner layers that are tiny.  At some point in my short and uninteresting life I want to see whether this set will fit the new Revell kit

Wow, you know this stuff bro. 
Thank you heaps for taking the time to write this clear and detailed answer. 
you are a gem in the modeling community 
Take care : ))))

[Mike]

7 hours ago, Ray Madani said:

Wow, you know this stuff bro. 

I really don't Ray, but thanks anyway   Incidentally, I wish I did but I'm an end-user so far.  Don't have the space for a printer, or the mental persistence to learn how to create a 3D shape on my PC.  I'd be constantly re-learning the basics

[Ray Madani]

On 3/24/2022 at 11:55 PM, Mike said:

I really don't Ray, but thanks anyway   Incidentally, I wish I did but I'm an end-user so far.  Don't have the space for a printer, or the mental persistence to learn how to create a 3D shape on my PC.  I'd be constantly re-learning the basics

At least you are an end-user with an ocean of knowledge and experience about the stuff he is using. 
BTW, I had a chat with Metallic details last week about the mesh grill set for the new Revell's SR-71. Alexander said he is going to prepare a mesh only PE (without the exhaust nozzle enhancements ) in a month

 

cheers

Ray