Reviews : Revell-Monogram SR-71A Blackbird Stealth Jet
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Not bad. Problems when applying final coating on decals...
I've allways looked for a blackbird. And this was the one I found. I've enjoyed building it, even if it was hard to disguise some of the seams without taking out the raised pannel details. Some of those details I do think they could be excessive, however, the corrugated titanium skin, which gave it a ford trimotor look, is well done. The ammount of detail is adequate, and the painting may be one of the simplest, as most of it is black, except for the exhaust nozzles. One detail is that it is not expressed that with the drone in piggy back mode, it may never be a SR-71 blackbird... The drone only goes on the back of a M12, a modified version of the A12 interceptor, but were soon out of commision because of danger of collision during launch. Even if the A12 does look like a SR-71, its actually slightly different airplanes... That should be mentioned on the manual...
I did had problems with the decals: they looked wonderfull, and when I sprayed the matt final coating, they started to curl and unglue... I had the same problem on a Monogram B2, but I dare to say it was manufacturing problem... But there are plenty of aftermarket ones, and as long as you're carefull on the matt coating, everything may be ok. The airplane does look beautyful. My advice is to get it.
Building the SR-71 BIGbird
By: Baron619
Ok as the title insists, this is a pretty large kit even for its 1/72 scale size. It's molded in black plastic so if you're not so great at painting large parts you can leave it alone, however doing this greatly reduces the beauty of this plane as the casting imperfections are highly visible. To get the best finish I would prime the entire fuselage and then spray on some flat or satin black. It's also fairly easy to add lights to the cockpit and the detail inside is pretty good for the scale of the kit. The fuselage fits together in such a way that the seam where the two halves join is next to invisible. The smaller drone aircraft is also a nice bonus and can be mounted on the SR-71 with a little modification, which only involves drilling out two holes on top of the plane, or on the included cart. The decals are ok, nothing really special but they look ok. Along with the positive comes the negative. Some of the parts are too firmly attached to the sprue. If you are not careful you can easily damage these pieces and in turn the entire look of the plane. Still overall this is a nice kit and worthy of the build. The only reason I didn't give it the final star was because of the issues around the overly attached pieces.
Awesome hanging from the ceiling
My father got me this model to build with my boys; knowing the grandsons would like this spaceship. The model had sat in its box in his garage a few years; as he planned to build it with another one of his grandsons but never got around to it. His loss was our gain. This is a quick build, that ends up looking awesome, particularly if, as in my case, I grew up thinking the Blackbird was the coolest plane on the planet. Hanging from the ceiling from a few feet away the plane looks like a professional built it despite my lack of modelling skills. PROS: The plane looks great and requires minimal painting and it goes together well, especially at the normally problematic in other models wing/fuselage area. CONS: The canopy is extremely difficult to get built well due to the size of the parts and making a wheels-up version requires a good amount of sculpting the wheel-well. My kids love the model!
Looks good, fun to build
By: kuririn111111111
Great kit, parts fit fairly well for the most part. Two things to watch out for during assembly: 1. If you are going to assemble the plane with the cockpits closed, the figures must be removed, otherwise the cockpits will not close completely ( yes, I made sure to completely seat the figures and seats into the cockpit module).2. The pilots' canopy frame is thin, so you need a sprue cutter or hobby saw or knife to detach it without breaking the frame. Decals are good but the pinstripes, as I call them ( the long red decals ) are difficult to apply. Apply water or microset to the surface first, slide the decal on, and use a toothpick to maneuver the decal into the correct position. Use microsol if necessary. Option to display the drone on a cart or piggyback on the main bird. Overall, very satisfying build.
Revell SR 71 Review
By: jsea96
This is a decent kit from Revell. Very easy to assemble and the kit details are good. Panel lines are raised and not engraved. Cockpit and landing gear are detailed. Requires putty work to hide the seam for the main fuselage. Canopies are molded in back plastic with clear inserts. They can be mounted in open or closed position. The decals are very good and we're very easy to apply. There are thin red lines along the fuselage that are tricky to position. I would suggest cutting into 2 pieces to make it easier to position and avoid tearing the decal. The kit comes with a drone that can be mounted on top of the SR 72 or on a cart:carrier. Note: you will need to drill 2 small holes for the pins for the mounting bracket for the drone. Overall a fun kit to build that looks terrific when painted.
Great kit to build patience handling decals
One of my first attempts after being away from models for about 30 years so my skills are rusty. There are a lot of issues with this kit from fit to fiddly little bits to an excess of decals. Every color on the exterior is a decal. There are nearly 100 of them so it would require a very patient person of any age to install them correctly. I gave up after tearing a couple of the long red ones. This was the first kit where I had to use filler between sections because they just didn’t fit well even with clamping See my photos of the back end of the model). It was a good kit to learn airbrush skills because of the large flat surfaces. Overall, I will be looking for another SR-71 kit to try again.
FASTEST AIRCTAFT OF ALL TIME.
By: fredfredburger
This was one of my early builds. My mistake again (as with the p-61) of not painting the overall body in black because it was molded in black already. It was not hard, but was a lot of details in the interior, and it was very delicate overall the body. Take your time with the landing gear, the interior panels, and antenna (my broke). Also take your time with the decals one by one the red lines tear very easily. A masterpiece of an aircraft. Make sure all panels line up and compress them lightly by rubber bands or clamps.
When paired with the D-21 drone, this is actually an M-21
By: rarem37
With the drone launching stand on the rear of the SR-71; it is actually a M-21. The two craft together were referred to as M/D-21. This kit is a simple but nice build. If you don't use the drone launching stand it is a good SR-71 model and the drone can be displayed on the cart supplied in the kit. Applying the decals can be a problem due to the corrugated surface of the wings. Applying them over gloss paint and using Micro Sol will take care of most of the problems.
parts removal from sprue trees
I purchased this model a while back and also noticed the extra plastic surrounding the plane parts. The best way to remove these, is very carefully cut parts from tree making sure enough plastic is being cut with part, so as to trim excess plastic around part. Use sprue cutters for removal or better yet use micro saws that will cut cleanly then trim parts accordingly. Where there is a will, there is a way. Common sense can go a long way, too. Hope this will help....
SR 71 BLACKBIRD REVELL
once I opened the box I found the kit in bad shape so I thought but on closer inspection all the parts were there just a little bit more flash the only real problem was no were in the instructions was there mentioned of were to place the 15 Grams of weight but with a little look at other kits just behind the nose wheel looked right and it was just in front of the cockpit other wise the kit is a 9 out of 10 but I never give a ten as there can be room for improvements
SR-71
By: mlaponte
This is the old Monogram SR-71 kit from the mid-1980s. It is a bit dated now, but the Hasagawa and Academy kits are from the same era. It was fairly easy to put together. I had recently watched a video of the 1/48 SR-71 being finished. The basics still apply. I used white acrylic paint on all the panel lines and a mix of dark grey and black to paint the airplane. I am quite pleased with the way it came out. Even with its age, it is a good kit to build.
Not bad for an older kit
Overall, the product was good considering the age of the kit. You will need to fill the gaps in the underside wing sections when you glue the two main fuselage sections together, and a little for the horizontal stabilisers. The decals were suprisingly good.
I omitted the landing gear and mounted it on a stand, and did not glue the canopies so that I could remove them to look at the cockpit details.
For a low cost kit, it was value for money.
Classic kit that never gets old.
By: blawhorne
This kit is an older kit,dating back to the late 70's/early 80's. It has molded-in black pieces, with five more clear. A surprising amount of detail from the cockpit jumps right out at you. It also includes 2 pilot figures, and a GTD-21A drone that can be displayed on the aircraft's aft. This beautiful kit has survived and aged well, and is still incredibly popular today.
My first model growing up
By: andrewzc17
This was my first model i could remember building, sadly i lost it years ago, but since i found it on here it made me smile and i had to buy it. Definitely wasn’t disappointed when it arrived, and it definitely brought back memories. The decals are a little touchy but i found that tweezers help with the long skinny red decal on the back of the plane.
Pretty basic, but fun
By: nholthaus
Everyone needs an SR-71 for their collection! This is a very simple build, not many pieces and the black plastic it's cast in almost doesn't require painting. WATCH OUT for the red stripe decals! They're very thin and fragile. My advice would be to cut the long ones into 3 smaller, more manageable pieces before trying to apply them.
Good representation of the SR71
By: jimmbbo
A very affordable SR71. Another Revell/Monogram kit that's been around for a while, but has aged well. The outline, shape and surface detail are very well done, and the kit has few parts, so ig goes together easily, and the D-21 drone is a nice plus. When completed, it captures the look of the Blackbird well.
The Best Budget Blackbird!
By: Ace Cobra
For many years this 1/72 SR-71 has been one of Revell's top sellers and that is simply because the scaling is accurate and the construction is very easy! Great detail from the inside out and the addition of the D-12 Drone! Perfect kit for all of you Blackbird lovers!
Best fitting SR71 I've built
This model went together perfectly. No problems at all. The pieses were flawless and building it was simple and fun, the drone won't fit under the plane if you choose to display it with the landing gear down though.
This is actually a 1/48 scale model kit, even though it is listed as 1/72.
I ordered this model to be a part of the 1/72 figures I have but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is actually 1/48 which matches the figures I ordered from this same order.
Fun model to work with
By: areon142
Very detailed and easy to put together. Order came in a timely manner. only con is that decals are hard to work with because they are very delicate.
SR-71
By: dennisshamel
Fun model to build. Tried to adapt it to the Lockheed A-12 but it was just too complicated. Can't buy a more interesting model for $18.00.
Okay
This model features the iconic blackbird. Looks nice sitting around but the decals are a big pain. They just rip and tear and fold over.
The blackbird is good
By: animetophat
Great easy kit. Decals are good later batches had less sprue issues i hear on here. love this bird.highley recommend this kit.
sr-71
I just got this model it showed up on time and now that i have the model i want to get a pic next to one in real life someday.
Big boy
By: Joseph (Oregon)
This guy eats up a lot of paint, three colors of black and a fair amount of glue to hold the whole thing together.
Great model
I've recently got into model building and this is one of my favorite models that I've built.
SR-71A BLACKBIRD
NICE BIG SIZE,COMES WITH DRONE AND DRONE CART,HIGHLY DETAILABLE.NICE KIT .