1/72 Italeri B-52G, Hound Dog, SOD.....

[CANicoll]

Hi all!  I'm kinda back.  Too much having gone on and going on to get into, so let's jump into this build.  A friend has a huge collection of mostly diecast planes but does not have a B-52.  We are trading this build for a nice Burbon (of which I have so little knowledge to be useless on the subject).  But my friend has over 500 bottles and knows his stuff.

Sorry to be so absent - I'm sure I've missed a lot of what you all have going on. Have missed you all!

Here is the kit, however I will be doing one out of Barksdale AFB in SEA camo:

I debated on the Italeri or the Modelcollect but my friend bought the Italeri kit so here we go.

This thing is MASSIVE.. OMG.  There is literally NO detail in the bomb bays, and the early G's did not have wing pylons for bombs.  Just the nuclear Hound Dog missiles which were never used in Vietnam.  But my friend wants the missiles, so...

The build will be showing 'in-flight' and I'm thinking of printing off an aerial shot of a Vietnam bomb run and having this 'fly' over the picture, attached to a picture/display frame.  More on this later...

Kinda disappointed in the cockpit, but it is 1/72 so it is not as bad as it could be.  However, it turns out I used the wrong IP.  There were 2: One flat panel intended for use with the IP decal, and a panel with the raised gauges, switches, displays, etc.  Yeah, I used that one for the decal with tons of setting solution.  However, in this scale, through the cockpit windows, will anything be seen??

Isn't that nice!  They had a bed in the cockpit... 

Since my friend wanted the missiles, here they are, getting their camo. 

I'm primarily using MRP paints but could not get the Flat Dark Green in MRP so thought I would try the AK Interactive paints.  I can't decide if that is a mistake or not.  I failed to ready any reviews before I bought a couple of bottles of the Dark Green (did I mention this is a huge plane??).  Lots of reports of sputtering even with thinning, that the paint doesn't thin well with their own thinner, and various concoctions of other thinners, retarders and what-have-you.  I bit the bullet, thinned it about 50% with the AK thinner and stirred the heck out of it.  Still seemed to separate in the cup.  Weird.  However, the Dark Green, despite sputtering a lot while spraying, seems to have sprayed pretty smoothly.

Anyone have thoughts about the AK paints?

More to come!

[Landlubber Mike]

Welcome back Chris!  That model must be massive!  Cool that you are building it for a friend.  

[CANicoll]

Thanks Mike!  It is the largest plane I have attempted to build.  I have no idea how I am going to paint this thing actually....

How are things in your part of NOVA?

[DocRob]

Welcome back Chris, what a monster, but isn´t it LSM ? You´d need to rent another house for a B52 in 1/32 scale.
What AK colors do you refer to. The AK Real Colors I have used thin perfectly with Mr. Leveling Thinner and spray beautifully.

Cheers Rob

[belugawhaleman]

Wow! Even in 1/72 that thing is Huge! Nice work!! How does the kit go together?

[CANicoll]

On 10/9/2025 at 8:25 AM, DocRob said:

Welcome back Chris, what a monster, but isn´t it LSM ? You´d need to rent another house for a B52 in 1/32 scale.
What AK colors do you refer to. The AK Real Colors I have used thin perfectly with Mr. Leveling Thinner and spray beautifully.

Cheers Rob

On 10/9/2025 at 8:25 PM, belugawhaleman said:

Wow! Even in 1/72 that thing is Huge! Nice work!! How does the kit go together?

Howdy!!

The AK color I used is the AK11346 Forest Green from their AFVI series, the Radome Tan is from their Air series and in all candor, I didn't even realize I was buying those and not Real Colors, when I ordered from SB.  They both say they are 3rd Gen.  But I used their thinner, not MLT.  The result was excellent - flat, sturdy.  Just the spraying sounded like an angry cat spitting.   I'll try using the MLT shortly - thanks for the suggestion!

The kit is going together not fantastically.  The halves for the hound dog missiles did not line up very well.  I'm thinking that enormous fuselage will have the same issue so I am planning on going not quite inch-by-inch with the Tamiya Extra Thin, but probably pretty close.  The dry fitting of the wings shows similar alignment problems.  When I get to them in earnest, I'll post pictures.  Thanks for the reminder.

With my plan to mount this on a poster and frame, the focus is really topside (but I do want the bottom side to look as good as I can get it).

[CANicoll]

I'm putting this away.  Probably permanently.  The fit of the major parts is just not good enough for me to build this for a friend.  The engine cowling parts would require so much putty and scribing to get them looking decent, coupled with NO bomb load or detail in the bomb bay and I've decided to call it a day on this one.

I've been working on it, putting it aside, coming back to it, putting it aside.  Finally decided it is time to move on.

Good news!  The Modelcollect  B-52G Early Type from Linebacker II came today.  Full bomb bay (be careful what you ask for: 27 bombs!!!) and I MAY, just for the sake of it, add the Hound Dog missiles.  Send good vibes.  This looks like a much better kit, with most of the interior detail going to covered up. but still should be a cool build.  Did I mention 27 bombs?  No paint call-outs whatsoever so will be relying on the Italieri instructions for that.
 

Stay tuned!

[DocRob]

Sad to hear it, Chris, but sometimes it´s better to quit, than to burden yourself with a very unpleasant build experience as a mojo killer. I always hesitate twice, before buying an Italeri kit, there are so many bad ones and that from a major company.
I wish you luck with the new kit in town.

Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

Thanks Rob!  I'm looking forward to getting started with the ModelCollect kit soon.