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.

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.

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.