Buff Master Designs 1/72 NB-52A/B Conversion with X-15 For Revell/Monogram
By Dave Flitton
Here is another B-52 conversion for those BUFF lovers out there. In this case it is a conversion of the Monogram/Revell B-52 to lug an X-15.
Specifically this upgrade provides a wing cut-out to allow the X-15 to be installed. Specific bumps to be added to the fuselage. A pylon to mount the X-15. A replacement tail empennage specific to NASA's Ball 8 B-52. X-15 fuel tanks and last, but not least, an X-15.
The wing cut-out and various bumps are from a previous upgrade kit BMDR72011 NB-52A/B Conversion still available from Great Models. It looks simple but the interior of the cut-out is finely detailed. The pylon is also detailed but has a huge plug that will need to be cut down carefully to preserve the nice detail.
The X-15 Fuel tanks are also a previous upgrade kit listed as SBMR 72009. Nicely molded details on the top and front. It also has a large resin plug that needs some patient cutting, but once detached, the resin can be sanded down to a smooth finish.
What really makes this upgrade worthwhile is the X-15 kit.
Very simple build, fine details overall and an excellent cockpit. The huge plug on both fuselage halves are extremely large, and actually pulled the top fuselage to the right a bit. I have been told that the masters will be changed so that this malformation will not happen in the future, but for now I will have to heat-treat the top fuselage to conform to the bottom.The engine is beautifully detailed, looks just like the XLR-99 engine of the later flights and that is the rub, it only has one engine version. To do earlier flights one has to build their own eight-nozzle engine. The vacuum-formed canopy is really thin, one has to be extremely careful when cutting it out or it will crinkle, and you have to do it in one shot, there is no spare.
The X-15 kit does not have landing gear, nor are the landing gear doors scribed into the lower fuselage. I suppose, for the limited purpose of this upgrade is to provide a mounted X-15 it would still be nice to have a nose gear available.With this kit there are no decals, either scrounge them from the Monogram kit (which I am told the kit is not a true 1/72 scale anyway), or there is a person on E-bay that sells highly detailed decals for all the X-15 flights, but those are hard to come by.
Conclusion
All-in -all this is a fairly complete detail set. Details are fine and the parts count is low. Modeling skills will have to be up to par to really get all you can out of this kit because it is, after all, a limited-run kit.
Thanks to Buff Master Designs and Great Models for providing this kit for review.