Reviews : Tamiya Boeing B-52D Airplane Aircraft

First, I'm not sure why it says 'space program kit'. It is a pure air force kit. This is pretty much the only easily found D kit, and it is a little old, but overall it's satisfactory. The parts are molded from a dark green plastic. It is harder and more brittle than other plastics, so the layers can peel if you're not careful with the sprue cutters. The panel lines are raised, and most parts fit together OK. The engines generally did not fit together perfectly, but that could be corrected easily with files, sandpaper, and about 5 minutes of work each. The clear cockpit window also needs some persuasion to fit flush with the side of the fuselage. The wing/tail/fuselage halves fit perfectly. Although this model is large in size (the wingspan is only slightly shorter than an arm's length), the construction is fast and simple. I did mine with wheels up, bombs bay door closed to simulate getting ready for linebacker II, so a lot of the internal details could be skipped. No matter what, I would recommend installing the bulkheads. They really seem to help with rigidity and make lining up the fuselage halves easier. The kit also includes some hangers if you want to hang the model up. The instructions tell you to cut holes in the wing and fuselage to glue the hangers in place. The hangers are unrealistic, so I didn't use them and instead just looped thin fishing line. The model is nose heavy, so I put a loop near the wing root and loops near the wing tips to create some anhedral and wing-bending. The decals are usable, but they have to be submerged for a longer time than, for example, Trumpeter decals. The instructions are so-so, lots of words all over the pages, but it's not really a problem since this is so simple to build, and there are a lot of idiot-proofing in the kit design. I think this is good value for only $50.