Testors 1/72 B-2 Stealth Bomber By Dave Flitton

Background

Along with the B-52 and B-1B, the B2 Stealth Bomber provides the penetrating flexibility and effectiveness inherent in manned bombers. Its low-observable, or "stealth," characteristics give it the unique ability to penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most valued, and heavily defended, targets. Its capability to penetrate air defenses and threaten effective retaliation provide a strong, effective deterrent and combat force well into the 21st century.

The revolutionary blending of low-observable technologies with high aerodynamic efficiency and large payload gives the B2 Stealth Bomber important advantages over existing bombers. Its low-observability provides it greater freedom of action at high altitudes, thus increasing its range and a better field of view for the aircraft's sensors. Its unrefueled range is approximately 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 kilometers).

The B2 Stealth Bomber's low observability is derived from a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual and radar signatures. These signatures make it difficult for the sophisticated defensive systems to detect, track and engage the B2 Stealth Bomber. Many aspects of the low-observability process remain classified; however, the B2 Stealth Bomber's composite materials, special coatings and flying-wing design all contribute to its "stealthiness."

The B2 Stealth Bomber has a crew of two pilots, a pilot in the left seat and mission commander in the right, compared to the B-1B's crew of four and the B-52's crew of five.

The first B2 Stealth Bomber was publicly displayed on Nov. 22, 1988, when it was rolled out of its hangar at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, Calif. Its first flight was July 17, 1989. The B2 Stealth Bomber Combined Test Force, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is responsible for flight testing the engineering, manufacturing and development aircraft as they are produced.

Whiteman AFB, Mo., is the B2 Stealth Bomber's only operational base. The first aircraft, Spirit of Missouri, was delivered Dec. 17, 1993. Depot maintenance responsibility for the B2 Stealth Bomber is performed by Air Force contractor support and is managed at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla.

The success of the B2 Stealth Bomber was proved in Operation Allied Force, where it was responsible for destroying 33 percent of all Serbian targets in the first eight weeks, by flying nonstop to Kosovo from its home base in Missouri and back. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the B2 Stealth Bomber flew one of its longest missions to date from Whiteman to Afghanistan and back.

The Kit

The model comes in a BIG box, but once you open it up the kit looks small in comparison and tends to rattle around, marring the plastic. Good thing the clear canopy is in its own plastic wrapper. The kit is molded in dark grey or gunship grey plastic with both engraved and raised detail. The deeply engraved lines denote doors and movable surfaces and the raised lines for panels. This is a reissued kit from 1991, unfortunately it looks more like a kit from 1981.

The cockpit is all of 10 pieces and three decals. In other words it’s pretty simple and incomplete. It is missing the avionics bay that is quite visible in the sources that I have found on the internet. The side consoles are covered in decals and are basically one-dimensional. Can you tell I am a bit disappointed?

The landing gear bays and weapons bay are basically empty boxes. Since this kit was designed soon after the unveiling of the first machine it is no wonder that much of the detail, which would normally be placed in these areas, is missing. The doors are devoid of any detail, instead, ugly pour stubs are present and need to be sanded off.

The largest parts are, of course, the wings and the fuselage halves. My example has suffered from rubbing damage as the parts shift too and fro inside that massive box. The wings, both upper and lower pieces, suffer from warpage, get out the big casserole dish and microwave some water to get them to lay flat again. The raised panel lines are inaccurate in shape; they will need to be removed. In fact, getting rid of the panel lines will be a great improvement in the overall look of the model. I intend to show panels by painting them different shades of grey as on the real aircraft.

The one thing that I am grateful that Testors did was to place the canopy glass in its own little protected package. This kept the glass clear and free of damage.

There are two different ways to put this kit together. You can either build it in the standard manner by putting the fuselage halves together, the upper and lower wing halves together, and then bring the three big pieces together and hope it all straightens out. Fortunately, the instructions provide a second way that promises to not only be easier but also help keep the wings straight. I tested the fit of the fuselage and the fit of the wings. Massive gaps showed up which means it will shim, putty and gap filling super glue time. From the testimonials of other people who have built this kit, this is where most of the time will be spent.

According to the instructions, it would be best to place the decals on the unpainted model since it has been molded in the correct color. Well, that’s all well and good if you don’t have to sand and putty the thing together. As you can tell in the preceding rant, this will not be possible. From what I have read of other’s experience with the decals, they had a hard time in keeping them glued to the model, which means a real chance that silvering will occur. Good thing that I have been given the chance to use Begemot decals from Russia for my build.

Conclusion

OK, this is the only B-2 model in 1/72 scale on the market (as far as I know). It also looks very accurate in overall shape. It portrays the original Block 10 version of the aircraft and minor changes to the leading edge and the paint scheme will put it up to Block 30 standards. The kit is missing the crew door and stairs as well as the air bypass doors atop the engine nacelles to pose this sleek bird in a standard ground setting. Being the only game in town, a lot of work will be needed to build this kit into something that will be pleasing to the eye. If you want to build this kit into a nice show piece there are a number of things that will help. Eduard has produced a nice photo-etch set that adds missing details such as the upper air bypass doors and the spoilers that allow correct weapons separation when the bomb bay doors are open. Golden Dragon Productions has a detail kit that will upgrade the cockpit, landing gear bays, bomb bay, engine inlets (seamless even) and droppable flaps. The Begemot decals will not only give this model a nicer look but a few different subjects to choose from. So, the prospect of building the Testors B-2 Stealth Bomber into show stopper hasn’t looked better in years. Look for a full build with all of these products in the near future! (Give me month or so).

Thanks go to Testors and Matt Bittner of Internet Modeler for the review kit.